heat treating the ejector claws...?

quinnbrian

quinnbrian

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Hello guys, I bought a Norico lever action shotgun a while back , off the EE. Gun is as new condition...very happy , with the purchase, and with the person that I did the transaction with...it was a good deal...so not blaming or pointing fingers at anyone.
The problem I'm having is that the one ejector claw on the left side looks like its starting to bend... a little. I tried the file on it...not hard at all. My question to all is ...is it alright to heat treat it (or re heat treat it)or will I take a chance of braking it off after, I put a couple of rounds down the pipe.
Thanks for looking .
Cheers
Brian
 
Sometimes manufacturers use a left side "guide" which may look like an extractor but only helps keep the hull on the bolt face until it hits the ejector on extraction.
 
cosmic said:
Steel needs to have a threshold carbon content before it will heat treat. Hence the term mild steel...
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So your saying it can’t be heat treated....it an ejector claw.. you would think it would be of a high enough carbon % to be heat treatable. I would consider it to be a high wear piece, wouldn’t you..
 
First, is it a part you can make a replacement for? If so, go that way. Easier to copy an intact sample eh?
Make the copy from a known material.

Try hardening the part you have. I would start with oil as a quench, peanut or olive oil would be fine. Smearing the part in pure soap can prevent scale, and wrapping the part in fine iron wire, plus the soap is even better. Red heat. Plonk it into e quench. Oil quenches slower than water, so worst case is the part does not get as hard. Test with a file. If it skates off, into an oven at 400-425 deg F, for a spell.
Try something like Casenit (sp?) if the quench does not even harden it a bit. Red heat, dip in the powder, red heat, back into the powder, red heat, quench. That should harden the outer surface anyway.

If you can get replacement parts, it'll likely be easier and cheaper than buying stuff you don't already have. I have replaced the odd Norinco part with factory parts from the gun that was cloned, so keep that in mind as an option too.
 
The gun is functioning correctly and you are trying to fix something that is not broken?? Maybe leave it alone and continue to use it...

Extractors are what extract the cartridge from the chamber. When there are two only one actually extracts. It has a 'sharp claw', the other only holds the other side of the cartridge and allows the cartridge to pivot when being ejected.

The ejector is what causes the shell to be ejected from the open breech.
 
guntech said:
The gun is functioning correctly and you are trying to fix something that is not broken?? Maybe leave it alone and continue to use it...

Extractors are what extract the cartridge from the chamber. When there are two only one actually extracts. It has a 'sharp claw', the other only holds the other side of the cartridge and allows the cartridge to pivot when being ejected.

The ejector is what causes the shell to be ejected from the open breech.
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Yep I hear ya... it became a problem , the other day , when I post in gunsmithing... extractor is catching on the inside of the chamber as you’re close and then have to push it back in place with a wooden toothpick , So I know it’s bent and was thinking of straightening it and just re-Hardening or… Hardening for the first time.

I also thought about manufacturing two brand new ones out of a known metal ....maybe more robust...not cast... as these look.
 
trevj said:
First, is it a part you can make a replacement for? If so, go that way. Easier to copy an intact sample eh?
Make the copy from a known material.

Try hardening the part you have. I would start with oil as a quench, peanut or olive oil would be fine. Smearing the part in pure soap can prevent scale, and wrapping the part in fine iron wire, plus the soap is even better. Red heat. Plonk it into e quench. Oil quenches slower than water, so worst case is the part does not get as hard. Test with a file. If it skates off, into an oven at 400-425 deg F, for a spell.
Try something like Casenit (sp?) if the quench does not even harden it a bit. Red heat, dip in the powder, red heat, back into the powder, red heat, quench. That should harden the outer surface anyway.

If you can get replacement parts, it'll likely be easier and cheaper than buying stuff you don't already have. I have replaced the odd Norinco part with factory parts from the gun that was cloned, so keep that in mind as an option too.
Click to expand...

Making a new part might be the way to go, the stock one don’t look that well made. As far as hardening off parts I’ve only ever used , used motor oil... from a diesel truck/ transport, something with a lot of carbon in the oil... maybe too much/hard..?
 
quinnbrian said:
Making a new part might be the way to go, the stock one don’t look that well made. As far as hardening off parts I’ve only ever used , used motor oil... from a diesel truck/ transport, something with a lot of carbon in the oil... maybe too much/hard..?
Click to expand...
Do some reading on heat treating. You won't find anyone but rank hobby dudes, and likely they learned from someone that knew less than they let on, that would recomend using dirty crappy engine oil.

You need to know what your steel alloy is first and foremost. There are air, water, and oil hardening steels, as well as precipitation hardening (they get baked, which makes them grow crystal structure which makes them harder) steels. There are steels that will not harden without infusing them with carbon on the surface, which generally requires prolonged high temperatures in direct contact with the carbon source. It won't pick up the carbon needed whilst being quenched in dirty oil.

Using clean quench fluid is a reduction in the amount of random crap to clean off the part, as well as a straight reduction in the amount of potentially toxic crap to breathe or have otherwise settling around the shop. Y'know, in the event at you were not wearing breathing apparatus, etc. Some dudes seem to just enjoy scrubbing crap off their projects, though, too.

Most places that deal in tools can sell you known steels for cheap enough that dicking about with random stuff isn't really worth it. Look at the KBC tools website, ferinstance. Flat or round stock, in a bunch of alloys, each with different heat treatment needs, to reach a predictable end result.

In some cases, the damage from quenching the part in the wrong fluid is pretty benign, like it doesn't get fully hardened, in other cases, the part can fall apart from the stresses. Which makes for a bunch of wasted time.

If you know what you are starting with, it will save you a bunch of extra work and rework.

The instructions of making something hot, then plonking it into oil or water, are really a very basic skim over what is a science in its own right. For some things, that works fine, but the failure rate can be pretty high too. Best to skew the odds in your favor as much as possible.
 
trevj said:
You need to know what your steel alloy is first and foremost. There are air, water, and oil hardening steels.
Click to expand...

This is the most important part of heat treating...knowing what steel to use.

The steel you want to make the part from is preferably an oil hardening steel.

The next thing you need to know is the quenching temperature required by the steel manufacturer... that is how hot do you take it before quenching in oil? What oil do you use?

After heat treating it will be almost as brittle as glass... you need to polish the part... and then draw the temper to what color?

In the end you will either have it break, or bend, or if you followed the steel manufacturers specifications a strong part that will flex like it should.
 
Thanks guys for all the great replies ��. Will do some more reading on heat treat and different metals , I have no problem making new pieces, just would like to , do it right ... the first or second time.
The shotgun , is new condition, but I bought it for a project, I want to rebarrel it as a 12 gauge , with a fully rifled barrel...just a rebarrel... fun project... but need to get the lever working as it should before I do a rebarrel.
I enjoy learning and alway look forward to everyone’s point of view and all the experience , that CGNer’s have.✌️And are willing to take the time to help and answer questions. No matter how “stupid “ or a “head shacker “ the question might be.
Thanks a lot guy and gals.
Cheers
Brian
 
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