So I have finally found soemone that will TIG weld the rails in for me. But I have a question that I couldn't find a definitive answer to in searching through all 7 pages. Do I have him TIG weld the entire length of the rail or just certain sections? If just certain sections then which sections?

i mig welded mine, i looked were origional ones were spot welded and drilled 1/4'' holes in those places of reveiver, then clamped the rails in place and started the weld on the rail itself then swirled it in with receiver metal, then just grind the humps flush.

I am also welding the rails..and from what I've seen you drill a few small holes where the spot welds would normally go... then you put the rail in place and pool the weld over the rail (in the hole) to fill the hole.

This reminds me... those of you with mig welders, what size wire did you use and I'm assuming it wasn't flux core... ?

thanks

You would want him to do a plug weld.  Take a look at the reference photos posting and look where the spot welds are on a factory weapon.    I would then drill 3/16 holes in your reciever where the spot welds normally would be and have him fill those holes in with weld using your rails as a backing. Do not drill in the rails.  I MIG welded mine in using this same procedure with great results.  I opted to Mig over TIG because there was less heat and warpage because it is a much faster weld.   One of my builds i ground down the welds to look like they were not even there, and one other build i did them so well that the weld looked like a rivet head and i just touched them up a bit  with a dremel to make them look nice.    Believe it or not i like the looks of the rivet head weld look myself.
notice the Romy G build, you can see what looks like low profile rivets.  the Polish underfolder there is no marks to see at all

i use .023 wire and 75%argon/25% co2 sheilding gas.

Quoted: i mig welded mine, i looked were origional ones were spot welded and drilled 1/4'' holes in those places of reveiver, then clamped the rails in place and started the weld on the rail itself then swirled it in with receiver metal, then just grind the humps flush.

+1 works like a champ

booger weldz. (.023, argon mix)


Grind 'em down.

offroader and turbosc, thanks.