Hardened parts?
- Thread starter ckc123
- Start date
Don't quote me on this, because I'm also just thinking out loud, but I don't think it would make sense to harden the barrel or chamber. Wouldn't it cause them to become more brittle and more susceptible to cracking and shattering?
It would make sense to harden the firing mechanism: trigger assembly, firing pin, hammer, etc, but I'm not so sure about the chamber and barrel.
I'm sure they are tempered to a degree, but hardening them too much would cause problems, I think.
I'd be interested in hearing from someone who actually KNOWS, though, and what the reasoning behind it is.
It would make sense to harden the firing mechanism: trigger assembly, firing pin, hammer, etc, but I'm not so sure about the chamber and barrel.
I'm sure they are tempered to a degree, but hardening them too much would cause problems, I think.
I'd be interested in hearing from someone who actually KNOWS, though, and what the reasoning behind it is.
The correct amount of heat treatment and hardening yields the right balance between hardness and strength. Look at a file for instance. Very hard as it leaves the factory. Along with the hardness, it is brittle. When you bend it it yields but doesn't take a set. It instead shatters when you exceed the point of elasticity. The receiver is heat treated to reach the correct degree of hardness specified by the engineers. If it was unhardened, it would be soft and prone to wear and deformation. Its all about the correct balance between the properties.
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I guess case hardening would be a good option, mind you. That way the outer layer of the steel would be hardened and made into a high-carbon alloy, and be scratch/wear resistant. Meanwhile, the core would remain relatively soft and strong and flexible enough to withstand repeated explosions.
I'd like to know more too. It would be really interesting to get a tour of a factory and see how they manufacture and heat treat all the components. I do know that errors have been made and receivers and barrels have failed owing to improper heat treating. My understanding is that its part science part art.
If you visit the websites of barrel makers, you will see references to the barrel steel and or barrels being stress relieved. Some makers stress relieve twice, once in the bar, again after the barrel is made. The way the barrel is manufactured will affect the need for stress relief. Usually bars are stress relieved at least once, prior to drilling. Stress relieved bars are not going to be hardened, to any appreciable degree, the process involves heating followed by slow cooling, and sometimes deep freezing. Different alloys are used in barrel manufacture, ranging from leaded free machining steels like 12L14 for rimfire barrels, 1137 for low pressure centrefire and muzzleloading barrels, 4140 types for higher pressure centrefires, and the stainless alloys. Barrel steels are also selected on the basis of uniformity and freedom from imperfections.
A wide variety of steels are used in manufacture, and heat treatment will vary according to the alloy and the use to which it will be put.
A wide variety of steels are used in manufacture, and heat treatment will vary according to the alloy and the use to which it will be put.
Barrels don't get hardened, but may get a heat treatment. They are soft. If they were not, they would be a right stone b**ch to thread and chamber so they would fit on an action. Since the making of a barrel requires, at the least, that one be able to drill and ream a clean accurate, straight hole, for a very long distance, machineability is a very high priority, when selecting a material.
Heat treating, may include hardening and tempering, or it may be for releiving the stresses built up in the barrel stock while it was manufactured, or machined to profile.
It's a LARGE subject. Different materials, and different alloys of the same materials, behave very differently to applications of heat treatment, and a through knowlege of both the material, and the required results, are a requirement.
Case hardening, or carbuerizing, full through hardening, and induction heating for selective hardening of small areas may be used, depending on the application. Then you have powder metallurgy, and a few other little twists to deal with along the way...
Cheers
Trev
Heat treating, may include hardening and tempering, or it may be for releiving the stresses built up in the barrel stock while it was manufactured, or machined to profile.
It's a LARGE subject. Different materials, and different alloys of the same materials, behave very differently to applications of heat treatment, and a through knowlege of both the material, and the required results, are a requirement.
Case hardening, or carbuerizing, full through hardening, and induction heating for selective hardening of small areas may be used, depending on the application. Then you have powder metallurgy, and a few other little twists to deal with along the way...
Cheers
Trev
Darn machine here won't let me edit.
Hardened parts. Sears and hammers, the firing pin, springs, some screws, sometimes the receiver or action itself (case hardening).
Almost all the metal parts will receive some form of heat treatment, whether it is to harden the material, or to make it soft and stable. Some heat treatmet will make the material tougher, and more able to withstand shock loads and bending.
Cheers
Trev
Hardened parts. Sears and hammers, the firing pin, springs, some screws, sometimes the receiver or action itself (case hardening).
Almost all the metal parts will receive some form of heat treatment, whether it is to harden the material, or to make it soft and stable. Some heat treatmet will make the material tougher, and more able to withstand shock loads and bending.
Cheers
Trev
