1) I have bent about thirty 98 Mauser bolts, and one 96.
2) I have had one Brownell's bought cast bolt TIG welded on a 98.
3) I have had one 98 and six 91/30 get an extension TIG welded on.
This has cost me $15 in the past, but now will cost me $40 in the future.
Because of me reading this forum, I got around to trying the TIG weld process for 98s.
I am now convinced that I like the longer bolt handles I can get from welding.
I could buy my own TIG welder for $2k, but I would need to do 40 bolts to break even, and I only need about 25 done in the near future. I could re do some old bent bolts to be longer.