Welding where the torch cant reach?

[tab]

evening all

i'm currently de-activating a shotgun (i'm fully covered licensing wise before anybody asks) for those in the know its an over and under, for those not it means one barrel is on top of the other

heres my problem, for them to be deactivated they have to have both barrels blocked with plugs and the plugs welded along the length and around the top of the plug in the chamber (top photo shows the plug in the top barrel) now when i've done side by side shotguns they have been no problem as because they are side by side access is not a problem, but on the over and under i cant get the torch into the top barrel.

the second picture shows the idea that i have, extending the tungsten to reach, up the gas flow and block the barrels to help keep the gas in the weld area. but i'm not even sure if this would work?

i'd appreiciate any advice any body has on doing this as i'm sure someone will have come accross something similiar before, i dont really want to be spending loads on new bits of kit like a torch with flexible head or something like that as i'll only be doing this sort of thing every now and then

tom

 

[madkayaker]

If you stuck some of the Ali duct tape stuff over the ends and as much of the breach as you can then turn the flow up it should work only issue I can see is the tunsten trying to arc side ways if you get to close perhaps some insulation tape on the breach? It doesn't need to be best weld after all only enough for the proof house

 

[the snooper]

could you mig it ?

block the openings remove the mig shroud and fill with gas then weld

 

[Paul.]

I would just run a 2.5 electrode along it, tigs not always the best process.

 

[Robotstar5]

Looks like they've (sensibly) changed the rules then, I remember when 2 hacksaw cuts and bend the tang into the breech was good enough.

 

[octo0072000]

ideal for a stick welder if you have one

tigpaul beat me to it

 

[the snooper]

ideal for a stick welder if you have one

thats so simple why didnt i think of that

i even has one

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

could you mig it ?

block the openings remove the mig shroud and fill with gas then weld

Or use gasless wire? no concerns about gas

 

[tab]

i think i can do stick off my welder but i've never tried it and not really got time to get all the practice in to just do this small job, not got a mig welder either

as madkayaker says it doesn't have to be the best weld and the welds at the top of the plug should hold the plug in place, they put a punch (well probably something a bit larger) and whack it with a hammer if it doesn't move it passes (if everything else meets the criteria aswel i should add)

didn't think about the arc trying to wonder so i'll try that with the insulation tape.

robotstar5, yeh theres lots of things that need doing to them now, some of the older ones i've come accross really do make you wonder how they passed as de-activated

thanks for the advice

tom

 

[hotrodder]

Virtually all TIGs are stick welders too. If you're determined to TIG it then i'd be thinking...
extra long ceramics (google pics) and a bent tungsten- strike an arc on a hefty chunk of something and then while the tungstens still red hot you should be able to bend the tip slightly by pressing it against the chunk

To do it with looooooots of tungsten stick out you'll need to set up a purge to keep the barrel flooded with argon. Argon is denser than air so damming up the sides and end will keep the argon around but it's obviously gonna eat a lot of the stuff

 

[penfold]

i think i can do stick off my welder but i've never tried it and not really got time to get all the practice in to just do this small job, not got a mig welder either

as madkayaker says it doesn't have to be the best weld and the welds at the top of the plug should hold the plug in place, they put a punch (well probably something a bit larger) and whack it with a hammer if it doesn't move it passes (if everything else meets the criteria aswel i should add)

If you can TIG, you will be able to put in a passable stick weld after an hour or two of practice. The difficult bit will be avoiding distortion, but you'd get round that by stitching.

 

[ChrisJohnsSculpture]

I would stick weld it, you can even just put a stick electrode in a TIG torch with the right diameter collet for small jobs like this. If your welder doesn't have a TIG/stick switch just turn the gas off at the bottle first.

If you can TIG weld a horizontal stick weld should be no problem, 5 minutes practice on scrap maybe, just keep a slow travel speed and fairly high current for something like that.

 

[rich r]

This is one of the areas where arc welding is superior to mig and tig with their (comparatively) large torch heads. You can poke a 30cm long rod into quite small inaccessible areas and still get a decent weld.

I'd run a 2.5mm rod down there too.

 

[gerry3]

Arc weld it,
Place an electrode in the holder, with the machine still switched off and lay the electrode along the bore from one end.
Make sure that the electrode is touching all the way along and that it cannot move.
Now switch on the welding set, set the current to the higher end of that recommended for the electrode size.
The coating of the electrode will prevent the arc from starting. all you need do now is to short out the end of the rod to the bore and an arc will form, producing a neat weld.
To stop the weld just remove the "earth" from the work piece.
I recomend you try this set up first on some scrap, a piece of angle iron is best, laying the electrode in the Vee.

 

[Wozzaaah]

^ That all sounds a bit long winded for such a simple job.
Look at pic 2 again, no problems getting a rod in there normally.

 

[Seano]

Deffo Stick...

 

[tab]

Right i think i'm going to have to have a go at some stick welding then! Got a few bits of scrap lying about so i'll try on them first, shall keep you all updated with the results.

Tom

 

[koby01]

i would just stick weld it mate, tig would probably work if you turn your gas up and block the ends but stick would be the best option i think.