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Need welding tips for Rem 700 recoil lug

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Mram10

Cast Iron
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
If you have welded a recoil lug to an action I would appreciate some information on how you did it. I want to make a switch barrel Remington 700 and welding the lug to it makes the most sense so you don’t have to remove it from the stock. I have. Hobart mvp210 mig setup. No tig. Thanks
 
You're going to have a brittle weld in you don't do the pre- and post-weld heatings, and they will likely anneal the receiver. I would not go that way. Instead, I would go with some kind of key arrangement. This could be as simple as drilling shallow holes at 4 and 8 o'clock at the lug/receiver joint and inserting short pieces of pin stock. I am thinking I would go with a thicker recoil lug than the standard one. I suppose you could tack the pins to the recoil lug if it is mild steel.
 
If you have welded a recoil lug to an action I would appreciate some information on how you did it. I want to make a switch barrel Remington 700 and welding the lug to it makes the most sense so you don’t have to remove it from the stock. I have. Hobart mvp210 mig setup. No tig. Thanks

Welding on the receiver ring risks changing the heat treatment, structure and isn't a great idea.
 
I am well aware of the heating concerns, thank you. It has been done for years by gunsmiths and machinists, so I am looking for details.
 
You're going to have a brittle weld in you don't do the pre- and post-weld heatings, and they will likely anneal the receiver. I would not go that way. Instead, I would go with some kind of key arrangement. This could be as simple as drilling shallow holes at 4 and 8 o'clock at the lug/receiver joint and inserting short pieces of pin stock. I am thinking I would go with a thicker recoil lug than the standard one. I suppose you could tack the pins to the recoil lug if it is mild steel.

I would prefer to have it act as one piece for harmonics alone. Pins break sometimes and I don’t want to deal with that. I like your idea of a larger lug. My plan was a .250” but maybe even go a bit bigger.

Considering tacking at 12 and 6 o’clock. Heat would be low and only touches the end of the action which isn’t an issue. Trying to avoid tig since I don’t have the means.
 
Desire to do something does NOT make up for a lack of proper equipment, knowledge and or experience. Lack of a TIG would be a deal breaker right from the start. MIG is NOT a suitable substitute. Pinning would be the ONLY safe option short of a TIG and a lot of heat putty.
 
MB,
Agreed. I have access to guys with great tig skills, just not me. Hoping someone here has wrapped the receiver in cold wet rags and spot welded on a cold day, or something.
 
MB,
Agreed. I have access to guys with great tig skills, just not me. Hoping someone here has wrapped the receiver in cold wet rags and spot welded on a cold day, or something.

MIG is the wrong tool. Not enough control. I also PERSONALLY would not substitute wet rags for proper heat putty... At the same time I'll also tell you that my TIG skills are NOT good enough that I would weld on a receiver. I find that I often start my welds to hot. With that said, I would pay someone with skill and experience. But it's your call in the end.
 
Gunsmiths don't weld receivers unless absolutely necessary and then they use TIG and follow up with proper tempering of the receiver. The 700 is pretty sturdy and you might luck out with your setup, but you might not. Best option is a competent Smith who is willing to do it.

Jeff

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
Is shrinking or Loctiting a sleeve with a lug possible? It would need a work around to mount a scope, but that could be done.
 
MB,
Agreed. I have access to guys with great tig skills, just not me. Hoping someone here has wrapped the receiver in cold wet rags and spot welded on a cold day, or something.

Bubba has done exactly that, cept he used his stick welder. Still has one good eye too!
 
The wet rags were a bad joke. Definitely not talking about a full around the action weld. Just spot weld on 12, 3, 6 and 9.
 
If you have been around a day or three, tell us the advantage of a thicker recoil lug than a surface ground factory Remington. I did this one time in a weak moment. I wanted to build a rifle with the barrel to match the OD of the receiver. The receiver was annealed, recoil lug was spot tig welded and reheat treated.
2s1n6te.jpg

The barrel and recoil lug was both made from 4140CM.
 
Bigger lug = more rigid. How much and is it negligible??? Who knows. I haven’t done the math. Can’t hurt
 
I'm no know-it-all-expert but a 'switch-barrel' without removing the action from the stock seems like a pretty good challenge. I'm curious how you would clamp the action while it is still in the stock? An action wrench that fits in the bolt-lug raceway then a barrel wrench out past the end of the stock forearm - 2-man operation?

Nevertheless, a pin in the lug that fits into a recess in the action seems the safest bet overall. Just my 2-cents.

Good luck!
 
Bigger lug = more rigid. How much and is it negligible??? Who knows. I haven’t done the math. Can’t hurt

I personally think the fat recoil lug is just a money maker. I have surface ground several factory ones and have never found a bent or warped one. Some are a few tenths off, but not bent.
 
Picture a glue in benchrest style of action where you simply turn barrels on and off hand tight. Don’t laugh or fret before you see one. There was a guy down in Utah doing long range shooting that had one. I thought it was a bad idea at first, but he proved me wrong. Both barrels shot very well at 1k+ and all he did was twist them on and off by hand.
 
I personally think the fat recoil lug is just a money maker. I have surface ground several factory ones and have never found a bent or warped one. Some are a few tenths off, but not bent.

For $22, I don’t mind throwing on a bigger lug that has been ground. Either way it would cost me to have it ground.
 
i you have bedded your action and recoil lug properly they shouldn't move when you remove the barrel. put the barrel in a barrel vise and use a action wrench that goes into the bolt lug passages. leave the action bolted to the stock.if you want to locate the recoil lug more precisely you can install a small roll pin in the lug that protrudes out the back about a 1/16 or so.cut a small slot in the action to receive the pin.this will prevent the lug from moving when you tighten the barrel. stay away from welding you will just make a mess and lose any value the gun may have.
 
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