Pinning/welding is clearly the more popular method. I am mechanically inclined, and can drill/tap/setscrew the brake in place, but have no access to welder to top it off.

 

Has anyone silver soldered / brazed their brake on? Wondering if this is easy enough to do at home, with an Oxy/MAPP torch. Ive seen some photos of discolored barrels. Anyone have any experience?

 

thanks

If you get the hole drilled and the pin driven in, I can TIG weld the hole for you for free. You will be responsible for final cleaning + cold blueing. Location will be Plainfield

wow, thanks for the offer. that sounds great. im in basking ridge, plainfield is certainly close enough also.

guess i have a path forward now to start ordering parts! i'll reach out to you by email/pm when i'm ready.

thanks again.

Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. But I am of the opinion that a blind pin is sufficient unless you have a barrel that is shorter than 16". As to the question of silver solder or braze, I was under the impression that they are the same. (with the understanding that we are not talking about electronic silver solder which is different)

The diffrence is in the alloy for what is being welded.. They are infact the same.

Will the metal discolor with the heat?

The metal will have a blue heat mark, any finish will have to be redone..

 

minimum heat will be 450 deg, you braze at 450-550 deg.

 

If you want to go a little colder thread it and solder it with 50/50.

Will need 1100 for NFA. I could twist off 500, no?

Will need 1100 for NFA. I could twist off 500, no?

 

you lost me..

 

Do you mean twist off the brazed muzzle?

Muzzle brake, Yes

You would get the least amount of heat /heat discoloring with the TIG weld since you dont have to heat soak the part

Muzzle brake, Yes

 

No,not without major damage, maybe if you reheated it and unscrewed it with plyers while maintaining the heat 550 deg adding flux..

 

Tig would be best..

so everything i've read says there are 3 federally accepted methods of PERMANENT FIXATION of muzzle devices:

- braze with silver solder with a melting point of at least 1100 deg F

- blind pin and weld

- tack weld directly to the barrel with 4 equally spaced spot welds, or a weld of at least 50% of the barrel circumference

 

i would imagine that these apply for NJ AWB as well to comply with the "...threaded barrel capable of accepting a flash hider..." part

 

so i'm not sure that pinning and loctite, or 500 deg SS would cut the mustard if push came to shove, right?

I believe the fed req's you quote are for barrels below 16". I believe that a blind pin is a fed accepted method of permanantly attaching a muzzle brake on a barrel over 16". For under, the concern is not the muzzle brake, its barrel length and what constitutes being considered part of the barrel. But Icretainly recomend you everify any info and do what makes you comfortable. A blind pin with a little tig if you felt the need for a weld would likely be the least asthetically offensive.

I see it as those 3 methods are the only defined legal means to permanently modify a barrel, for whatever the criteria are including length. For NJ, to permanently modify a barrel such that the threads were out of question (in the same way one would want the length out of question) these 3 methods still apply, and are the only defined acceptable methods. Any other method would be in the hands of the court, and i'm not sure it's worth the effort to find out what they think.

 

As you said, the pin with TIG is the least offensive, and most popular.

Gotta love NJ. The 3 methods are the federally accepted methods for making a barrel shorter than 16 legal. In really it has little correlation with NJ as making a barrel longer is not the goal. We are making a muzzle brake permanantly attached so it cant be swapped with a flash hider. I have not ever been able to find any methodology or description anywhere in NJ statute as to what constitutes permanant. So even using the fedral methods outlined, whats the guaruntee NJ will follow this standard?

Actually, only two methods are federally accepted for NFA barrels; 1) 1100 degrees silver solder and 2) four equal welds or half the circumference welded.

 

Most AR manufacturers pin and weld over on 16"+ barrels.

 

ETA: My link

"Permanent methods of attachment include full-fusion gas or electric steel-seam welding, high-temperature (1100°F) silver soldering, or blind pinning with the pin head welded over."

 

bottom of first page... from ATF website

http://www.atf.gov/publications/download/p/atf-p-5320-8/atf-p-5320-8-chapter-2.pdf

 

the weld and silver solder are only accepted for a true barrel extension. see page 21

Correct.

 

 

My point is that we are not (usually) talking about barrels shorter than 16". When your talking about an NFA barrel, your talking about what it takes for the ATF to consider it to be one piece, one barrel, a barrel they will now consider to no longer be threaded. Has anyone found anything anywhere from the state that indicated that NJ accepts the ATF methodology and definition of permanantly attached?

Has anyone found anything anywhere from the state that indicated that NJ accepts the ATF methodology and definition of permanantly attached?

 

I've looked and have not found. I'm with you on this, assuming that the BATFE specs are sufficient is just that as far as I can tell. Has anyone even found court precedent for accepting them?

 

Personally I feel they are a pretty arguable set of criteria, but NJ is NJ, we all operate at the peril of the government trying to fix anything it perceives as broken.