Can barrels be welded ?

[Virginia Hessler]

Hi
I just purchased a set of Vulcan barrels from the for sale section of this board. They were advertised as having a dent in them, upon inspection there is a crack right through the center of the dent. I have not tried to raise the dent yet, I am trying to make a game plan before I touch them.
Please look at attached picture and advise if they are fixable or junk or whatever.
Thank you, Tom

[Dean Romig]

Others have had barrels welded - maybe they will chime in.

[John Campbell]

Barrels can be welded. If the flaw is not too near the chamber. In any case, a professional inspection is the wise way to go. I prefer Kirk Merrington for that.

As for welding, Micro Precision, 51797 County Road 652 Mattawan, MI 49071
Phone: 269.668.2760 - Fax: 269.668.2760

[Larry Frey]

Tom,
Are you sure it's a crack and not a scratch? Can it be seen on the inside as well? Barrel steel is somewhat soft and malleable so you would not expect it to crack from a small dent like that.

[Brian Dudley]

I am sure of can be repaired. But, it may not be worth the time/expense/effort.
Something else to consider is that the weld very well may show up when the barrel is re-blued. Since fluid steel is all one color, you have a higher chance of it showing.

Larry has a point. I have seen Damascus barrel crack in the bottom of bad debts, but not fluid steel. Cracks of that size would usually be a result of a blow out of something.

[Virginia Hessler]

Thanks guys

I can't see the crack from the inside, it is closed and it is at least a foot from the muzzle. I really have no way to get in there to look.
I have looked at it with a pretty good magnifier and it sure looks like one. I'm pretty sure this dent has been fooled with, so it may have been much worse I really don't know.

I just went down and re examined it and it is clearly cracked, I can see metal separation

[keavin nelson]

I had a VH with a similiar dent/crack. After taking the dent out, I had a local shop that does high pressure vessel and boiler tube tig welding repair it. Rust blued the barrels, you can't find the repair.

[Tom Carter]

Why don't you have them laser welded? Good luck. Tom

[Mike Franzen]

I had a Damascus barrel tig welded. I believe it was in an article I wrote for the last Parker Pages. I don't think a crack like that so far down the barrel from the breech would be a problem to fix. If you have any shops in your area that perform tig welding on high pressure vessels they might be able to help. Should be a pretty cheap fix.
To check if the metal is cracked through plug the breech with a rubber stopper. Insert a very bright flashlight down the muzzle and position it near the problem. Cap the muzzle so no light can escape. Go into a room that gets very dark when the lights are turned out. Take a magnifying glass and see if you can detect light coming from the crack. Another option would be to stopper the muzzle and fill with water to above the crack. If there is separation you should detect water leakage.

[John Campbell]

Once again, with all due respect to the wise gentlemen here: "Plugging the hole" is just a first step. Striking off the surface, cleaning up the bore interior, and refinishing the barrels remains. These tasks are best left to a professional.

Thus, the initial welding is best done by an experienced firearms welder. Such as the one I suggested. They know what steels to use, and how to keep the repair invisible.