JB Weld to fix a messed up chamber?

[coosbaycreep]

Long story short: I bought a gun, it wouldn't feed worth a crap. The round would always hang up right above the chamber. I tried 8 kinds of ammo with no luck. The mag was functioning properly, and there was no way to adjust anything on the mag to fix the feed angle. I read on a forum dedicated to these kinds of guns that the early ones had feeding problems when used with newer mags (which I think mine has), and that you have to polish the feed ramp if you want to fix it.

So, I got out the dremel and got to work. Turns out that I ground too much out of there though. The gun doesn't have any problems chambering a round anymore, but the cases are bulging because there's not enough support and it's really not safe to shoot.

I only bought the gun because it looks cool and because I thought it was a good deal, so even if I could find a cheap replacement barrel for it, I probably wouldn't buy it anyway.

I bought some jb weld earlier because it says it can be filed, grinded, etc. My plan is to try and fill in a little more of the big crater I made until it seals up good enough not to let any more gas back in my face, but still feed half way reliably.

Does anyone know if jb weld is strong enough for this? Is there something else I should try instead? The way I see it, I can't really screw it up any worse than I already have, and I had a bunch of powder spray my face pretty bad yesterday while shooting it, and didn't particularly care for that. (Thankfully I was wearing safety glasses though).

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[Rix]

I seriously doubt using JB weld in the chamber would hold.
Is the thing just not worth the price of a new barrel?

 

[coosbaycreep]

Not to me it isn't, since a new barrel is probably going to have the same problem.

I haven't seen any barrels for sale for them either.

 

[PhysicsGuy]

In short, I wouldn't trust my hand to JB Weld, would you?

Either buy a new barrel, and polish by hand, or sell the gun for parts without the barrel. And not to be a jerk or anything, but this is why its always suggested to never use a dremel for gunsmithing.

 

[itgoesboom]

Um, what kind of pistol is it?

 

[toobigtofail]

Sounds like a Hi-Point. I have one at the factory now, for this same problem.

 

[coosbaycreep]

it's a calico .22

 

[Yankeefan]

I bought some jb weld earlier because it says it can be filed, grinded, etc. My plan is to try and fill in a little more of the big crater I made until it seals up good enough not to let any more gas back in my face, but still feed half way reliably.

Probably a very bad idea. If it's not worth buying a new barrel then why not just sell it as a part gun, take the loss as a lesson learned.

 

[biggie24420]

What if you take it to a shop or something and get someone to build up a "pool" of weld to fill in the spot, and you can maybe grind it to where you want it? I never welded a firearm but i just thought it might be something that could work.

 

[OcelotZ3]

The JB Weld won't hold.

 

[TonsOfOregonBrass]

Please do not JB Weld a gun. Especially the barrel / chamber. One JB Weld will shatter, it will not handle the heat, and that is just asking to get hurt. If this is being just done as a Because i want to see what will happen. Then please shoot it in a vice and a string to pull the trigger and some kind of shield for when the pieces fly.

 

[MountainBear]

Agreed, I think the JB Weld would probably be too brittle. Being that it's a .22, it might be possible to have someone TIG weld a spot on the feed ramp and then either you can try it again, or you can take it to a gunsmith and have the feedramp rebuilt. Do not try other welding methods, as the excess heat would blow the heat treat on the barrel. But you might be able to get a TIG spot onto the area without causing issues...

 

[Father of four]

Either buy a new barrel, and polish by hand,.

That is a question I keep forgetting to ask. How do you polish a gun by hand. i purchased a 30-30 and the reciever was polished by someone before the previous owner. How do you go about doing that? Thanks, Howard

 

[MountainBear]

Sandpaper of various grits and sanding blocks of various shapes and sizes...

It's an art. And it's generally not possible to add metal back once its gone. Honestly, most people have no business trying it themselves. I have had to clean up some horrific botched kitchen table polish jobs. Lettering gets blurred, screw holes get dished, logos and rollmarks get polished off. Its just a crap-shoot. For that matter, I've had to fix so called "pro" gunsmith jobs also. Polishing and bluing is one thing that you really need to see a guy's work before you let him work on yours...

As for polishing a chamber or feed-ramp by hand, it would generally amount to very fine sandpaper (at least 400 if not 600) and some sort of round sanding block (I prefer either a piece of dowel or a piece of rubber tube).

 

[Father of four]

But there are no sanding scratches. Maybe a wire buffing wheel? Some kind of polish?

 

[Father of four]

Thanks for the information Mountainbear.

 

[Father of four]

Sorry for the thread hi-jack coosbaycreep!

 

[MountainBear]

It's possible he used some sort of chemical to strip the blue. I won't mention what they are, but there are some household chemicals that will strip the bluing off without leaving much behind in the way of evidence. DO NOT TRY THIS!!!

By the way, FOF, you're welcome ...

 

[wichaka]

That is a question I keep forgetting to ask. How do you polish a gun by hand. i purchased a 30-30 and the reciever was polished by someone before the previous owner. How do you go about doing that? Thanks, Howard

I use emery cloth, and attach it to a shape that matches the ramp, or whatever you're wanting to polish.

Most guns these days, especially pistols, come already polished. Also, most guns are a controlled feed, and require some resistance to maintain that controlled feed. So if over polished, one has just messed up the balance of things in that gun.

 

[Father of four]

Its a 1972 Winchester Model 94 30-30. The "receiver" was polished except for the little flap where you put the bullets in. And the barrels are still blue. I thought about bluing the receiver or just polishing the flap thingy. Suggestions? Thanks wichaka