There is an excellent person in Midwest City. Don't say "cutting and welding Mauser bolts" to him. He might get surly. He forges existing bolt handles to the correct configuration and does any necessary reshaping of the handle cross section and ball. He tells me this is far stronger than cutting and welding. Uses some heat sink compound that completely protects the bolt itself from detempering.
Watch for a PM. I am reluctant to post his info on a public forum. CB
And what if the handle is already gone, due to a wanna be smith backing out after he had cut it off? Thanks for that by the way if you ever read this! Do you know if he will still do the project or do I even bother with wasting his time by calling?