I spent a little bit more time with the TIG than I should have and ended up warping the receiver. It bent at the weakest area, right at the charging handle cutout, and went in the direction of the ratchet plate. Top cover still fits perfectly, buffer/stock assem. slips right in, and the charging handle is moving smoothly. Now the bad part...
I temporarily mounted the rails and tried to slide the bolt in. It only goes in about three inches and then binds up. Did I royaly screw up here? Is there any hope of being able to heat the receiver up and then bend it back? All I have avail. is the TIG and a propane torch, and a few bench vises. I am considering one of those receiver repair kits that Robert at RTG has available.
Any suggestiona at all would be greatly appreciated. Pics speak for themselves
I think I would carefully assess your weld,see exactly where it shrank,and cut with a Dremel,re-align, and carefully re-weld.You are close,it won't take a whole lot of fixing.You did not ruin the receiver,so replacing the rear at this point would be a waste af time and money.Remember the receiver was in worse shape before you started,it looks good not.You can fix it,just clamp tightly and go easy with the heat.Good luck,and I hope someone else also posts a reply and encouragement! ---bil
"I dream of a world where I can buy alcohol,tobacco and firearms from the same drive-up window,and use them all on the way home from work!" Dogbert
Thnx for the feedback. I 'm sorry, but I shold have clarified that this is a BRP full length reciever and not a de-milled reweld. The only welds that I did were the ratchet plate, blocking bar and buffer latch assembly post. That is why I was thinking of heating it up cherry red and then trying to bend it back. It's only off just a few mm, but just enough to interfere with the bolt movement. Making a small cut with the dremel the entire wide of the outside of the bend sounds like a vaible option as it would give me the extra room to move it back...good advice. Thnx bil!
It looks wavy opposite side of the ratchet plate?? Maybe just the picture.I would try cutting the front of the ratchet plate loose and bending,it seems to me the plate got too hot,was welded in the expanded state,then pulled as it cooled.Either way,good luck and keep us posted.All is not lost.BTW,the original plates were spot welded on-there is not a lot of stress on this part. ---bil
"I dream of a world where I can buy alcohol,tobacco and firearms from the same drive-up window,and use them all on the way home from work!" Dogbert
did you use any type of jig? if so what set up did you use? im only inquiring so as to maybe keep my receiver from warping when its welded up. Please show us what type of setup you used when you did the welding. These types of posts help immensely. Thank you.
In hindsight I should have used a jig to prevent warping, but then again, I 'm not positive if it would have prevented what happened. I used two small bench vises, one on each end and had the receiver feed side down. The ratchet plate was clamped to the proper side with two clamps. At this point I have unsecured the front of the ratchet plate from the receiver and will attempt to heat and re-straighten once I get my courage up. Will need to invest in a BIG bench vise, length of steel pipe, and something that gets hotter than an ordinary propane torch. MAPP gas maybe? I think that will produce a hotter flame as I believe that I will need to get the receiver cherry red in order to bend it back.
Advice/expertice/comments welcome at any time here folks.
Otherss' opinions may vary,but you may get yourself into more trouble heating it up so much,you are giving it a big spot to cool uneven and maybe even twist more.I would like to see some more input from others here-I would hate to see it made worse.Take a few pics showing where it has bent,including the opposite side.One of your pictures looks like it bent there,but I am not sure. ---bil
"I dream of a world where I can buy alcohol,tobacco and firearms from the same drive-up window,and use them all on the way home from work!" Dogbert
The top pic shows it pretty well. I'll post some more and try it with a straight edge to give a better visual.The warping starts just opposite of the charging handle cut out. I tried to get a better angle shot ,but it is not that noticeable at different angles. She is lying true in the verticle and not twisted of center, just a bit off to the feeding side.
bil do you think that the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE 1/2 inch angle iron jig that was posted several months ago would work on that? If im not mistaken, someone used a small portion of the flight deck from an aircraft carrier to make an "L" shaped jig Just kidding. They then posted the pics of the jig on here. That was probably the strongest welding jig i have ever seen in my life. That setup might help to take it back to its original shape. I was thinking that if he built that jig and then torqued the nuts down tight, he could heat it in specific places and tighten it back down. If he were to do it this way it could be bent at heated at certain points until it returned to its original specs....just my two cents.
That thing was HUGE,wasn't it!? I ended up making one out of unistrut,as my later pictures showed.The original became a header for a door in a concrete block garage! But you may be right,clamp the receiver to something like that,then heat and slowly tighten until straight.You may have to shim and slightly over-straighten,as the steel sometimes 'remembers' and tries to go back.But I don't think so in this case. ---bil
"I dream of a world where I can buy alcohol,tobacco and firearms from the same drive-up window,and use them all on the way home from work!" Dogbert
i really think that would be the way to go with all the warping that happened to his receiver...that thing was freaking massive bro! helluva jig though
I like the idea of the "Mega-Jig", but I'd have to figure out a way to attach the rear of the receiver. Since the warp is to the left (as you look down range) there is no natural attachment point aft of the camming section, at least not like you have with the barrel shroud. I envision some type of bracket with two bolts, but then how I would get even tension when tightening her down. I don't want to end up with a canted/twisted rear...unlike a girl I once knew back in high school
I think tho that this method would mean I won't have to make any cuts...??
you shouldnt have to if you secure it at enough points. there is a picture of the jig were talking about. you would probably do better to put more bolts in it to secure it.
I think the thread was 'bil's build',it was a horrible jig I first thought of trying,but ended up using the type used by Pete Stout and Pirate.The one refered here was a 4 inch angle iron,about 4 feet long! I may have a picture somewhere,I will look,but it wasn't much.I think it was so heavy the picture sank past the bottom of the screen-I should look on the floor below my monitor! ---bil
"I dream of a world where I can buy alcohol,tobacco and firearms from the same drive-up window,and use them all on the way home from work!" Dogbert
Good news! Upon CAREFULLY checking the receiver again, I found that the semi-auto bolt was seizing up on the top guide slot which had closed in approx. 1/16 with the warping. A little bit of filing down and the bolt rides in nice and smooth. I temporarily assembled everything and all parts are cycling just fine. A big sigh of relief! Now I can get down to business.
Thanx anyway for all the suggestions. Regretably the "Mega-jig" will not be making a re-appearance.
I would be reeeeaaaalllly scared of heating to try to bend this back. Bil has pretty much hit the bolt on the head. If you look for the point of most obvious bend in on the charging handle side then take a cutoff wheel and lope right through the side, then bend it to straight. At that point you need to figure out if you need some filler plate or if you can simply fill in the gap with tig rod. DO NOT TRY TO FILL THE WHOLE CUT AT ONCE!!!!! Make at least two less than dime size tacks ( three or four may be better)and then welding only a half inch at a time (allow cooling) fill in the rest. This is my suggestion. Wish you the best of luck!
Maybe just the picture.I would try cutting the front of the ratchet plate loose and bending,it seems to me the plate got too hot,was welded in the expanded state,then pulled as it cooled.Either way,good luck and keep us posted.All is not lost.BTW,the original plates were spot welded on-there is not a lot of stress on this part. ---bil
