How hard is it to properly pin a compensator?

[Ice_Pick]

My new 14.5" BCM upper is on it’s way (thanks Grant!!) along with a BCM COMP Mod-1 to make me legal.

I’ve never needed to look for an actual gunsmith in my area yet, and my first batch of google searches didn’t give me much hope. (I’ll try my LGS’s for recommendations later this week)

I have absolutely NO welding experience, so I’m not going to try to do this myself, but it got me to thinking… would most local metal-fab / welding shops be qualified to spot weld the pin? It sure sounds like it shouldn’t be too bad… but I have a very LOW tolerance for a screw-up.

Can I get a little help for this newbie?

[polymorpheous]

It would just be a quick zap from a wire feed welder, (MIG).
I’ve done it at work.
A little blending with a Dyna-file and hit it with some Cold Blue.
Easy.

ETA: This is assuming you already have the barrel dimpled for the pin.

[ABNAK]

I like BCM’s A2X myself. It’s an extended A2 which at a quick glance looks exactly like a regular FH. Comes pre-drilled with a pin too! All you have to do is dimple the barrel and zap it with a welder as stated above.

[underwoodbitsandspur]

I used my local machine shop before, only charged me $20 to drill and spot weld. Tell them to use a tig welder and it will be a very clean spot weld.

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Where do you live at? Its very easy to do.

[GH41]

KEY WORDS… “but I have a very LOW tolerance for a screw-up” Take or send it to someone who does this everyday! GH

[Ryno12]

I’m gonna TIG mine this weekend. If I had to take it somewhere to get welded, it’d be a fab shop before a gunsmith.

Sent from my Motorola DynaTAC 8000X using Tapatalk 2

[AKDoug3]

I’d also tig. I happen to know how to do mig and tig and it’s much easier to get a nice spot with a tig. A machine shop is where I’d head. Should be an easy job for them.

[Crazy_Chuckster]

I would also vote for a quick shot with a Tig welder. Any fab or machine shop in your area should be able to do it cheap and quick.

[Serial_killer]

Any GOOD welder would be able to do the job as well with a MIG as with a TIG and in a few seconds compared to much longer setup/weld time with the TIG. If your going to a reputable shop there’s no reason to walk away because they plan to (or are only able to) MIG it. I fill holes all the time with MIG, I even used my MIG to fill in extra bolt holes (non- threw) on the barrel/receiver of several guns I’ve built, gasless MIG no but MIG with C25/ other acceptable gas yes…

FWIW one of my buddies dropped his shotgun and banged the crap out of the barrel, it left an nice gouge that I filled in with my MIG, we refinished over it and it was perfectly smooth. Moral of the story MIG is a perfectly acceptable welding method for the job at hand.

[underwoodbitsandspur]

I don’t think anybody said using a MIG was bad, but a TIG welder makes a cleaner spot weld. With a TIG you can spot weld with just heat, no rod and no material added. The pin fills the hole on the compensator, no need to add material. I own a Miller TIG welder, it only takes a few seconds to setup. I select the amps and push a foot pedal. If a machine shop has a MIG only, have them use it. If they have a TIG, request that instead. Either way it will look great.

@Serial_killer

Any GOOD welder would be able to do the job as well with a MIG as with a TIG and in a few seconds compared to much longer setup/weld time with the TIG. If your going to a reputable shop there’s no reason to walk away because they plan to (or are only able to) MIG it. I fill holes all the time with MIG, I even used my MIG to fill in extra bolt holes (non- threw) on the barrel/receiver of several guns I’ve built, gasless MIG no but MIG with C25/ other acceptable gas yes…

FWIW one of my buddies dropped his shotgun and banged the crap out of the barrel, it left an nice gouge that I filled in with my MIG, we refinished over it and it was perfectly smooth. Moral of the story MIG is a perfectly acceptable welding method for the job at hand.

[Ice_Pick]

@ICANHITHIMMAN

Where do you live at? Its very easy to do.

Big Island of Hawaii, So if I can’t find someone local, it’s gonna have to get shipped away again.

That’s why I started thinking about a welder, instead of a gunsmith… I figure there has to be a few more of them around here.

[Ryno12]

@Ice_Pick

Big Island of Hawaii, So if I can’t find someone local, it’s gonna have to get shipped away again.

That’s why I started thinking about a welder, instead of a gunsmith… I figure there has to be a few more of them around here.

If you fly me out there, I’ll do it for free.

Sent from my Motorola DynaTAC 8000X using Tapatalk 2

[steyrman13]

What material do most people use for the pin? How deep is the dimple in the barrel usually? Just a regular metal drill bit? I had a friend get his pinned and the dimple wasn’t deep enough? Or maybe the shape of the dimple being a dish shape from a drill bit? And it allowed the flash hider to be rotated with a large wrench. He has to have it re-done.

[markm]

@steyrman13

What material do most people use for the pin? How deep is the dimple in the barrel usually? Just a regular metal drill bit? I had a friend get his pinned and the dimple wasn’t deep enough? Or maybe the shape of the dimple being a dish shape from a drill bit? And it allowed the flash hider to be rotated with a large wrench. He has to have it re-done.

Why would RayJay be trying to torque it with a wrench to even find this out?

Not sure where “dimple” came into the dialogue here, but it’s anything BUT a dimple. It’s a hole about half way to the bore… or if your an ARFcom idiot… you drill all the way into the bore. (no joke… I saw that posted)

[steyrman13]

@markm

Why would RayJay be trying to torque it with a wrench to even find this out?

Not sure where “dimple” came into the dialogue here, but it’s anything BUT a dimple. It’s a hole about half way to the bore… or if your an ARFcom idiot… you drill all the way into the bore. (no joke… I saw that posted)

I guess he wanted to double check his legality if an agent decided to make sure it was welded in place? Haha. I say dimple because of the confusion you state above that some think a hole which can be misconstrued to be to the bore. I guess his welder didn’t drill the dimple/hole deep enough to get a good stop for the pin to fall into…

[markm]

Dragging that pin across the remaining threads is giving me the heebee Geebees.

[steyrman13]

@markm

Dragging that pin across the remaining threads is giving me the heebee Geebees.

Luckily he stopped turning as soon as it moved so he didn’t mess up but a very short spot in the threads (bot really messed up enough to matter) and it is near the very rear so he is still ok.

[aleaddict]

@underwoodbitsandspur

I don’t think anybody said using a MIG was bad, but a TIG welder makes a cleaner spot weld. With a TIG you can spot weld with just heat, no rod and no material added. The pin fills the hole on the compensator, no need to add material. I own a Miller TIG welder, it only takes a few seconds to setup. I select the amps and push a foot pedal. If a machine shop has a MIG only, have them use it. If they have a TIG, request that instead. Either way it will look great.

I TIG welded a BCM Mod 1 on a DD M4 14.5" bbl a couple weeks ago. Came out great. Like underwood said, no need for filler rod. It’s so easy to control the heat using TIG, even a caveman like me can do it.

[Ice_Pick]

So… After waiting what seems like forever… It arrived, and I found a machine shop to pin it for me. They did a decent job. But left me with another newbie question.

The weld spot is nice and shiny, the rest isn’t… Do I need to treat the weld point with anything to make it last forever? or would that be purely cosmetic? What’s the best sauce for this?