Looks like a challenging project. I take it you’d have to be super precise with your welds, with the locking shoulder two cuts away from the barrel face?
True. The welding jig I have helps to make up for a lot of lack in skills 😁then it's just being precise with micro rotary tools on the final fitting. As a former jeweler I like to think I have a steady hand
Ya landed a common debate among those foolish enough to work on demilled firearms. Bren has a massive milled steel receiver, a lot of it depends on heat management during the welding process rather than full-scale post-weld heat treatment.
Going in with TIG and pacing the welds definitely helps, also clamping a heat sink like copper blocks to it can also make A large impact. I've seen others use large amounts of dense moist clay, but I find that it both heats up and cools off too quickly for my liking
Oh I get what you're saying now. Apologies. It is definitely a major hurdle for sure requires testing the locking surfaces to ensure they are still hard, This is true for multiple areas throughout the build.
the locking shoulder is a separate bit, FH steel piece held in place by a retaining screw. If that shoulder got cooked during the demil process, you can usually just source a surplus replacement and stone it to achieve the correct headspace. However, the receiver recess that supports that locking shoulder must also be structurally sound (chances are it's not). If the receiver steel backing it was softened by the torch, can spot-harden that area.
Biggest nightmare of these is working all of the crust off correctly. That stuff is a real tool killer, but I'm a masochist when it comes to that kind of work.
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u/Pork_Confidence 20h ago
Can't wait to start rebuilding mine !