Savage bolt handle metal?

A friend of mine has just finished machining a new bolt knob for me. The original handle came off of a 116 Weather Warrior. It's a "stainless" handle or more than likely a silver lacquered pot metal. I'm curious to know if all bolt handles are made in the same manner with the same metal? He wants to make more "custom" handles but had issues welding the new knob on the handle. If you've ever welded or brazed pot metal you know it can be tough. The "stainless" handle did seem lighter than the regular or big ball handles.

They are carbon steel or stainless steel, but they are cast, not machined from a billet. I would imagine that's why they are harder to weld. Just a guess though.

The stainless are 416 and I cannot remember the CS nomenclature. I had the NDT guy at work nuke them to see what they were. I had just been screwing knobs on but I tig welded one for an axis with no problem.

They are indeed cast SS or CS respectively. Cast is harder to weld, but TIG normally gives the best results. I am a machinist by trade, not a welder so on all of my handle mods I have almost always elected to thread the factory handle and screw on my new knobs. This too allows me to change them out if I come up with a new design, without having to butcher another factory handle.

Thanks for the info. Most going forward will NOT be the stainless cast material but a standard handle. Will also be threaded as the jig for turning the odd shaped handle is working quite nicely.

They are all investment cast, unless you have one from 1958. The stainless are cast from 420 and the CM from 8620