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Thread: Why not permanently attach a Flash Hider w/ +1,100 degree silver solder?

  1. #1
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    Why not permanently attach a Flash Hider w/ +1,100 degree silver solder?

    Have any of you guys permanently attached a flash hider with +1,100 degree silver solder? Here are a few products from Brownells that look like they would get the job done.

    http://www.brownells.com/1/1/8733-st...ze-fusion.html

    http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1..._CONTROL_PASTE

    I like the idea of being able to do it myself and being able to change a FH without destroying it. I just wonder why I do not hear about more folks doing it. Cutting off a Phantom would not be too expensive but a Battle Comp or an AAC mount/FH is kinda expensive to be throwing away. The solder looks easier and like it would look better. Do people pin because it is easier to visually inspect the perm job? Is there risk of damaging the rifling?
    "Real men have always needed to know what time it is so they are at the airfield on time, pumping rounds into savages at the right time, etc. Being able to see such in the dark while light weights were comfy in bed without using a light required luminous material." -Originally Posted by ramairthree

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    I too would like to know more about this. I don't know any shops that offer this service, all I have seen is pin and weld. This could be for liability reasons.

    What I have read is that you apply 1100 degree silver solder paste to both sets of threads. Aplly heat stop on the exposed (non threaded) part of the barrel and any kind of chalk on the last 1/8 inch before the end of the barrel. The chalk prevents the silver solder from adhering to the barrel and the heat stop is supposed to protect the barrel as well. Once the prep is done you attach your flash hider like you normally would and make sure it's timed the way you want it. Once it's set you heat the flash hider only to 1100 degrees which requires getting the flash hider to a deep blood red look and wait for the solder to start running out. From there it's just a matter of letting it cool naturally (ie not quenching in water). Test once cool to see if the flash hider will come off.

    With that being said sounds easy enough to and I am surprised more shops/people don't do it this way.

  3. #3
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    Reasons:

    It looks like shit.

    It has the possibility to screw up the heat treatment of parts.

    It makes you a wannabe.

    It ruins the value of your gun.

    Buy a 16" barrel or SBR instead.
    Last edited by scottryan; 09-21-10 at 13:26.
    "Not every thing on Earth requires an aftermarket upgrade." demigod/markm

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    So guys that buy this gun :http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-M...gers-s/151.htm are wannabes?

  5. #5
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    Rush,

    Those are the same instructions I read.

    Scotty,

    Not sure about the wanna be? I have an SBR and I am three months into the wait for the approval of my second SBR tax stamp.

    I have a 14.5" middy and had an AAC flash hider pinned. I think it would have looked alot better soldered.

    If the finish is messed up because of the high heat that would be a good reason to steer clear? Have you used the heat stop and chaulk method? If it does not work well then looks like pinning is the way to go.

    I don't see the point in spending $200 for a 14.5" bbl. I would want to go shorter for an SBR especially with the perm FH as an option. I wanted at least one non SBR to make travel easier.

    How would it ruin the value of your gun? If the heat stop and chaulk work then I would think it would make the gun easier to sell.
    "Real men have always needed to know what time it is so they are at the airfield on time, pumping rounds into savages at the right time, etc. Being able to see such in the dark while light weights were comfy in bed without using a light required luminous material." -Originally Posted by ramairthree

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    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    Reasons:

    It looks like shit.
    Seriously?

    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    It has the possibility to screw up the heat treatment of parts.
    There's one valid point for debate.

    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    It makes you a wannabe.
    Seriously?

    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    It ruins the value of your gun.
    If you are a collector who doesn't shoot your guns, then this might be a concern to you.

    Quote Originally Posted by scottryan View Post
    Buy a 16" barrel or SBR instead.
    Many of us can't own SBR's due to state restrictions. A 14.5" barrel with a perm flash hider is the shortest overall length carbine folks who are restricted from owning SBR's are legally allowed to own. There is a noticeable difference when getting in & out of a vehicle and negotiating tight hallways/doorways with a 14.5"+perm flash hider vs. a 16" with a muzzle device attached.

    That fact that it doesn't serve YOU any practical purpose, doesn't make those shooters that it is practical for "posers".

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    It's very rare to see someone good enough to weld it so that you will not require a lot of finish work to make it look "factory". If you found that person, they would be so inundated with work of various types to be too busy to do a $60 weld job for flash suppressors.

    If you did it yourself without the proper knowledge, you get whatever you get. It might be permanent, but it might also be permanently ugly as hell. It could also change the strength or hardness of a pretty key piece of your barrel.

    I suggest you proceed with caution unless you are a knowledgeable welder, machinist, gunsmith, or other metalworker.

    As to the wannabe comments, they need to get knocked right the hell off.
    "I'm not saying I invented the turtleneck. But I was the first person to realize its potential as a tactical garment. The tactical turtleneck! The... tactleneck! - Sterling Archer"
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important
    than one's fear. The timid presume it is lack of fear that allows the brave to act when the timid do not."

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    Shivan

    Thank you. That is the info I was looking for. It sounded so easy and I could not find any one doing it. Now I know why.

    You guys can mark me as a wanna be. I wanna beable to afford that EAG carbine but it is too much for my budget. The only thing I would change would be the sling. Awesome looking set up.

    Nick

    I found an old post of yours ref pretty much the same question. I tried to PM you but the system kept crashing. Did you get set up to do the perm jobs yourself?
    "Real men have always needed to know what time it is so they are at the airfield on time, pumping rounds into savages at the right time, etc. Being able to see such in the dark while light weights were comfy in bed without using a light required luminous material." -Originally Posted by ramairthree

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    I've seen some fantastic silver soldering on custom knives so I don't think "looks" is an issue. You almost have to get a magnifying gless out to see the solder.

    We have a lot of chrome-moly HP steam pipe at work and when it was installed the welds are "stress relieved" at around 900-1000 degrees, if I remember correctly. So, screwing up the "heat treating" would probably be my 1st guess why it isn't widely practiced.

    Plus if someone did a good soldering job, it would be hard to do a visual inspection to tell if the FH was removable. I'm sure some gungho BATF guy that did not see a pin or weld would confiscate and ask questions later?? Maybe the law requires some visual positive proof the FH can't be removed??

    .

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    Quote Originally Posted by SHIVAN View Post
    It's very rare to see someone good enough to weld it so that you will not require a lot of finish work to make it look "factory".
    If you found that person, they would be so inundated with work of various types to be too busy to do a $60 weld job for flash suppressors.
    Well said.

    My biggest complaint about silver solder jobs as typically done on AR barrels is that they don't pass BATFE's "common hand tools" test.
    The way I saw it explained is that if you can remove a muzzle device with common handtools and non damage the barrel beyond use in the act of that, then the Batfe would not consider the job to have been permanent.
    I have removed many silver soldered muzzle devices with a 3/4" combination wrench.
    That's a pretty "common" hand tool in my book.

    Here is an example of one such barrel that had been re-parkerized after the silver solder job:

    Last edited by AR15barrels; 09-21-10 at 15:15.
    Randall Rausch
    AR15 Barrel Guru

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