Walt Melander of NEI Died

Ron Wood · 10-07-2002, 12:58 AM

I have a neat memory of Walt Melander. It must have been more than 20 years ago, I took a parts Luger to Walt, then located in northeast El Paso, to do some TIG welding. I had cut down the frame to make a "baby", and Walt gave it a go. I hadn't made up a jig to hold the pieces together, so Walt used my old junk magazine to align the parts. He did a wonderful job of welding and I took it home to finish the job. Well, the penetration of the weld on the front grip frame included the magazine! Took me quite a while to free up the magazine (in pieces) and hog out the "stuck" parts from the front grip strap. I still haven't finished that baby (it is a long frame and I haven't gotten around to getting a barrel made) but I have fun remembering the event every time I look at it. I am saddened by his passing.

10-07-2002, 12:58 AM	#1
Ron Wood Moderator 2010 LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Santa Teresa New Mexico just outside of the West Texas town of El Paso Posts: 7,040 Thanks: 1,106 Thanked 5,256 Times in 1,724 Posts	I have a neat memory of Walt Melander. It must have been more than 20 years ago, I took a parts Luger to Walt, then located in northeast El Paso, to do some TIG welding. I had cut down the frame to make a "baby", and Walt gave it a go. I hadn't made up a jig to hold the pieces together, so Walt used my old junk magazine to align the parts. He did a wonderful job of welding and I took it home to finish the job. Well, the penetration of the weld on the front grip frame included the magazine! Took me quite a while to free up the magazine (in pieces) and hog out the "stuck" parts from the front grip strap. I still haven't finished that baby (it is a long frame and I haven't gotten around to getting a barrel made) but I have fun remembering the event every time I look at it. I am saddened by his passing. __________________ If it's made after 1918...it's a reproduction