Welding the upper hood of a 1911 barrel

Hello everyone new year.

I have been hiding out on the 1911 form for a number of years building a few 1911s here in there for fun or modifying my current ones just to make them better and learn when I can. 

Recently I started a Fusion 6 inch 1911 slide build. The extractor, firing pin, barrel link, and firing pin stop are EGW. Really can’t go wrong with their wonderful parts. The barrel is stainless Nowlin. 

When firing the barrel I took a few to many file strokes off the back of the barrel hood. The sides are almost perfect. Only the faintest hint of barrel rock. And mean faint. But there is a gap on the back of the barrel hood. Almost paper wide. Way more then I wanted. 

There is a local place here in Akron Ohio that can micro weld and laser weld. I was going to have them weld up the sides and back of the barrel hood and then re fit. The lower lugs are spot on. 

For a stainless barrel,  is there anything to concern my self with as far as heat treating and what not goes?  Can they just be welding up and I start the process over?

I'm not a professional gunsmith but I would first check the gun for accuracy, before attempting to fix it any further. As long as the upper and lower lugs are properly fit and the bushing is tight enough, you gun should be accurate enough. If not, I would start with a new barrel rather than trying to fix the old one.

javaduke wrote:I'm not a professional gunsmith but I would first check the gun for accuracy, before attempting to fix it any further. As long as the upper and lower lugs are properly fit and the bushing is tight enough, you gun should be accurate enough. If not, I would start with a new barrel rather than trying to fix the old one.

That’s part of my dilemma. Welding up the current unshot one is only 75 bucks. It’s brand new. I built it as a bullseye build. So I hate to waist the the current barrel. Nowlin barrels are pretty nice.

The welder should know.

They can be welded and refit with no issues. Laser micro welding is a million times better than Tig welding because it doesn't discolor from heat transfer. Welds are typically hard! They've been welding up and refitting barrels longer than my 55 years. I only do it now on rare occasion. So go for it!
Jon

Shouldn’t there be a tiny bit of clearance at the rear of the hood? What should the gap be for a bullseye gun?

JKR wrote: What should the gap be for a bullseye gun?

None

A few years ago I milled the hood of a Kart barrel .003" too short.  Micro Precision Welding did an excellent job of adding a slight amount of material ( I believe it was about .008") to the affected area. It took a good hand lens to see where the metal was added and I don't remember seeing any heat discoloration. I adjusted the hood length with files and stones (not the milling attachment on my lathe...I didn't want to make the same mistake twice!) until it fully contacted the slide when locked up. The sides of the hood needed no attention after the welding. I would say the "repair" is not perceptible. I sent the welder a picture of a 1911 barrel and highlighted the area I wanted built up just to avoid any miscommunication. I recall that he did ask what steel the barrel was made of. The cost was way less than the price of a new barrel.

Micro tig and lazer welding is crazy good. The amount of heated area is so small you really have no concerns on the parts heat treatment. I use std tig and lots of heat sinks and low amps when welding up the hood or lower lugs. All i can afford

No ill affects welding up a barrel that I've seen. Lord back in the 60/70s they were gas welding and using coat hanger wire. Got so hot they had to aneal the area so you could cut it..

Call Nolan and see what SS they use on their barrels then let your welder know..KKM use 416r. Same as most SS rifle barrels.

I TIG welded a Sig barrel and just submerged it in a pan of water with just the area I was welding above the water. Worked for me.

I am going to try the same on 1911 barrel legs at some point just out of curiosity.

I own a laser welder.  There is no heating issue in most simple repair cases, especially for this situation.  You can hold it in your bare hands while welding.