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Posted: 7/22/2013 10:16:18 PM EDT
My uncle gave me a Colt Detective Special to try to fix, but it is rusted really bad on the frame and wheel. Bad enough that 1" sections have completey rusted away- steel is no longer where it should be.  I have read that some people have welded on new metal and reshaped the firearm, but this process decreases to hardness of the metal and that it would have to be rehardened. How can the steel be rehardened and is this the correct way to fix something like this? I know pictures are better, but I have problems loading pictures here. Suggestions anyone?
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The way you described seems as it will not be cost effective to do the repair. Nor the integrity of the metal well be worth jeopardizing a catastrophic failure.
The only way to really work with metal hardness and density is to anneal and re heat treat the proper hardness. Once that is done, then you have to worry about fitting tolerances. In a whole different ballpark, if you were to weld an integral part of the firearm, you would want to do ultrasound testing to check for discontinuities in the weld. |
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If your going to hang it on the wall, weld it up, otherwise write it off.
Rust never sleeps and it changes the metallurgy. What was once high carbon steel now has the strength of pot metal. If it was the gripframe, sight or another low stressed area that is one thing. |
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You NEVER weld or braze on a revolver cylinder, and frames are risky depending on where you're welding.
You can often Tig weld pits, but this depends on where the pitting is and how bad. This requires a REAL expert gunsmith/welder, not the local shop welder. Cost is always high and results can vary. In this case, the cost of welding, and refinishing alone precludes this. Another option would be to buy a cylinder and replace the pitted one. This also is cost prohibitive. A new cylinder ASSEMBLY, (cylinder and ejector) would be needed, and new parts just aren't available, the supply has been used up. Due to the cylinder assembly being the MOST hand fitted and adjusted revolver part, installation is NOT any where near a drop-in job and it requires a genuine expert, who don't work cheap. Bottom line, at some point due to cost and possibility issues and finding the required experts, you reach a point where it just isn't feasible. You could buy a near new Colt Detective Special for significantly less money than even attempting to restoer a badly pitted gun. Suggestions: Convert the gun to a wall hanger, sell it to someone else with the clear statement that it's "AS-IS NO RETURN, NOT SAFE TO SHOOT", or part it out. |
| Not concerned with cost, as I plan to do the work myself. I am not an expert welder, nor an expert gunsmith and I highly doubt some 'experts' would even attempt this. I am a person that believes anything can be fixed given the right amount of patience and knowledge. My knowledge may be lacking which is why I am asking questions. I am sure to find a lot of naysayers on the way, but I am bound to find one that thinks the way I do. I am not sure, but I think when someone wants to restore something, it is usually in bad shape. There seem to be a lot of people out there restoring things for a living. Just saying, where there's a will, there's a way. |
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I'm not trying to knock you down, but I want to point some stuff out that I hope you will reassess this as it could be very dangerous, and even cost someone's life.
I am not an expert welder, nor an expert gunsmith I am not an expert welder, nor an expert gunsmith this is a very important fact here. I highly doubt some 'experts' would even attempt this. there is a reason for this I am a person that believes anything can be fixed given the right amount of patience and knowledge.
My knowledge may be lacking which is why I am asking questions. It is good to ask questions as some have ecpereanced the same thing, it is always good to seek knowledge, but if someone can tell you first hand experience then this has more value. I'm certified in Transfrictional welding, Laser welding, inertia welding, tig/mig welding, heat treat to aircraft specifications, Florescent penetrant inspection, Ultrasonic weld inspection and Eddy Current inspection to ASNT specifications. if you are not familiar with the terminology, I invite you to look it up. I work in the Largest Metals testing and Nondestructive testing lab in the world. I am an engineer by trade. now, if you have the skill set to make a flawless weld with no discontinuities (assuming that you are using tig) and you are able to heat treat I again highly suggest you brush up on your ultrasonic inspection capabilities. you are repairing something that goes to higher pressures of 19,000psi within a fraction of a second.. it may not fail right away, it may never fail, but if you want to ignore advise, then, by all means, it is your hand and its your life. |
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And there are people who can restore this gun.
The problem is, the people who are qualified to do it are not common, hard to find, and absolutely do not work for minimum wage. Even most of them would tun it down. Due to the cost and level of the people qualified to do this, it's a matter of "Just HOW much money DO you have"?? Because when you get the job done, money-wise you could buy at least two nice Colt Detective Specials. The other way, is to find some jack leg who knows little about firearms and the problems associated with welding them. He may be a good welder, but good welders are seldom good gunsmiths, and don't really understand the dangers. You've gotten a post from a REAL expert welder, and I was a Colt revolver gunsmith for 30 years specializing in doing trade shop work for other gunsmiths who were not qualified to work on the Colt's. Yes, this gun could be saved, but cost would only be justified if it was a very rare, valuable gun, and even then, even most masters of the trade would not attempt it. So, take an ordinary better model Chevy out and set it on fire and let it burn completely out, until the motor glows red. After it's cooled off, ask about restoring it to usable condition. CAN it be done? Probably. Do you have the money to hire the experts who can do it? Or would you rather let Billy Bob at the local gas station patch it back together and then have you take it out on the highway and drive it at 120 miles per hour on a dangerous road? |
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