welding AR500

crazyal · Feb 20, 2016

So we had another thread not long ago about welding gun targets but it really didn't tough much on how to weld it while doing as little damage to the hardening as possible. Here's what I would like to do. I have a couple 10" gong style targets made out of 1/2" AR500. They are fun to shoot at openhanded at 100 yards but offer no challenge to a scoped rifle. What I would like to do is cut a 2" out of one and 3" circle out of the other in the center. I've seen targets that have a smaller piece of steel in the center (see picture below). What I would like to do it make the center piece of steel fall back and disappear and another target show up below the main target. Cutting the hole would be easy with my plasma cutter but I would either have to weld some sort of bracket to the back of the target or possibly drill holes and use grade 8 bolts to mount what ever design I come up with. I'm wondering if I preheat the steel and make short beads, say 1/2" long, allowing the metal to cool between each weld if that would be still too much.

I have thought about putting the center target on a rest of some sort so when it's hit it would fall off the rest. If I use long chains once knocked off the rest it would then hang below the main target. Another option would be to make something out of mild steel that bolted to the back of the target using the two holes already in the target for the chain. It would be more complicated but the AR500 plate would be in front of it to protect it. It might be kind of neat if I made some sort of mouse trap design where a spring loaded target pop out on each side after hitting the center target. I'm not sure what will happen if I make the target too heavy though.

Rustyiron · Feb 20, 2016

Is AR (abrasion resistant) the same as hardened? I'd like to know how to identify it. Like by spark color or something.

aarolar · Feb 20, 2016

Yes welds just the same as carbon just got done welding a pile of it at work recently. Only downside is the HAZ (heat affected zone) is permanently annealed so the trick is to make smaller quicker welds and use a multipass technique with plenty of cooling time between passes.

RitchElbe · Mar 6, 2016

AR is for armor.... I've welded both AR500 in the MIL, for an armored car company and spent 2014 welding for a saw mill manafacture that made heavy duty debries fans for removing all kinds of trash. Every time...I ran ( per the recommend of the metal maker ) Mig .035 with a CO2 /Argon mix... perfect weld every time.. I recently made a splitter edge from half AR500 and not having a MIG handy.. first tired 6018 to see what would happen,,, BIG TIME fail it did not like that rod. so a went with a 7018 and doing slow nickles one pass every 4 mins ( 6 inch welds ) it did ok.. but I would trust that edge for bullet protection anymore. after a few splits pf gnurly stuff I could see it was wanting to twist at the base so I fired up the rosebud and re tempered it.. being do ok every since

dstig1 · Mar 10, 2016

Actually AR = Abrasion Resistant, not armor. It is hardened stuff...

patchnball · Mar 10, 2016

What do you propose to drill it with?

aarolar · Mar 11, 2016

patchnball said:
What do you propose to drill it with?

Carbide

Ed of all trades · Mar 11, 2016

As a blacksmith I have to ask is it hardened or is it a steel that can be hardened. Most steel is shipped soft so you can work on it and is hardened by the user. If you know the formula and have the equipment you could harden it after welding. Ed

aarolar · Mar 11, 2016

Ed of all trades said:
As a blacksmith I have to ask is it hardened or is it a steel that can be hardened. Most steel is shipped soft so you can work on it and is hardened by the user. If you know the formula and have the equipment you could harden it after welding. Ed

It comes hard it's not a tool steel this comes in big sheets up to 20'x40'

dragoneggs · Mar 16, 2016

dstig1 said:
Actually AR = Abrasion Resistant, not armor. It is hardened stuff...

Correct... and the 500 is the hardness rating (Brinell). Very hard stuff. I believe originally developed for the mining industry, mainly the ore chute liners. Makes good but heavy armor too. Not as fun to weld to weld from what I understand, at least this is what my customers tell me.