On my 1/16 M4A1…I know the weld marks from the 2 halves of the turret varied…some were more rough than others…after putting down paint…it looks to me the the seam is to neat…what do you guys think?
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Possible. If a human did it, the goal is a “stack o’ dimes.” Welders pride themselves on it. Without researching it, as Im’sure someone will, my memroy is that many of these are more linear
Russian welds are usually ugly because they used immersive welding techniques.
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Welds are like fingerprints some fine some not. I’ve seen examples of old Sherman tanks were one side of the turret was a stack of dimes and the other a mix of dimes and nickels.. two welders on turret.. and those Russian vodka fueled welds are gross but they worked..
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Those turrets were not welded - they were cast as a single piece using a two-part sand mould. What we see as a “weld” is actually a bit of the metal oozing out where the mould halves are joined. After casting, the seem was ground down by hand (with angle grinders) with a variety of effort. As a result, some of the foundries turned out smooth turrets while others had noticeable flat spots and other scars along that join line. Most models have the turret as two pieces that meet at that same line…
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Ok…thanks…great info.
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I have worked in a foundry (aluminum but essentially the same as a steel foundry). I concur with barkingdigger, those are mold lines from the casting process, possibly with gating or sinks to make sure the part was fully formed when the metal was poured. How neatly the cleanup was done depended on who was doing the work, there was no specific standard, just clean it up and get it out the door.
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