- Location
- The Orion Arm
Thoughts?
Hardest BCG.....gimmick? Worth it?
- Thread starter Melnibonean
- Start date
mebiuspower
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Morontario
BCG don't usually break... so not sure why you need a stronger one.
Gimmick.
I'm not a metallurgical expert but I did cut metal for a living. This is a case of fancy wording or specs to impress the uneducated. It's in the same realm as "space age" or "aircraft grade aluminum". It sounds special, but it really isn't or is unnecessary material over kill.
Another example is anything made of titanium for consumer use. It is highly unnecessary but the word "titanium" is associated with fancy and amazing. 6061 aluminum is more than capable for 99% of the titanium parts that are out there for consumer or firearms use.
I'm not a metallurgical expert but I did cut metal for a living. This is a case of fancy wording or specs to impress the uneducated. It's in the same realm as "space age" or "aircraft grade aluminum". It sounds special, but it really isn't or is unnecessary material over kill.
Another example is anything made of titanium for consumer use. It is highly unnecessary but the word "titanium" is associated with fancy and amazing. 6061 aluminum is more than capable for 99% of the titanium parts that are out there for consumer or firearms use.
I'll take 7075 over 6061 seven days a week, and 6/4 titanium - weighing approximately half what steel does at the same size - instead of steel. Why? Because I want the best. The only justifiable reason to use "good enough" materials it to keep the cost down by compromising instead of using the best materials available.
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mebiuspower
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Morontario
Throttle_monkey1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Lol! So they stopped threading the 7075 for a helicoil and just threaded it for the fastener instead?
Anyways 6061 is more than suitable for an AR upper or lower. Armedsask is absolutely correct.
The Diamond like coating is gimmicky for sure (It's either a diamond substrate, a CBN sort of coating, or it's nothing like diamond). Buyt making the whole bolt out of tool steel vs 4140 is good? Maybe? Though the whole bolt probably doesn't need to be tool steel.
They determined that the tensile strength of the 7075 was high enough that they didn't need steel thread inserts, that just cutting the threads into the aluminum would be sufficiently strong. What's funny...?
They determined that the tensile strength of the 7075 was high enough that they didn't need steel thread inserts, that just cutting the threads into the aluminum would be sufficiently strong. What's funny...?
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Throttle_monkey1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
They said they stopped using helicoil inserts. Helicoils are installed by drilling a hole to a certain size and then tapping it. Then the helicoil is threaded into it and the fastener threaded into the helicoil. Unless they're using keenserts or other types of inserts, I see it as a weird claim. Helicoils are generally used for low torque thread repairs and are usually bottom of the barrel as far as inserts go. If 7075 is strong enough to thread for a helicoil, it is also strong enough for a fastener.
I could see using an insert to stop galvanic corrosion but most people just use dielectric lubricant for that.
...A helicoil is better than straight threads in something like 6061. A keensert type insert might work better, but that's irrelevant?
Lol and thank you for explaining how a helicoil works. I've already more or less figured it out in my last 13 years as a machinist, but I guess you couldn't have known that.
I'm assuming they meant insert but used helicoil as a generic term that people would recognize. If I bought anything gun related that had a "Helicoil" in it, I'd send it back.
60 series aluminum (6061 etc) is plenty strong for most stuff I would think. A lot of commercial structural components are built with 40 and 50 series aluminum. Boats are all 50 series (5356)
The t6 hardening can be preformed on any aluminum.
60 series aluminum (6061 etc) is plenty strong for most stuff I would think. A lot of commercial structural components are built with 40 and 50 series aluminum. Boats are all 50 series (5356)
The t6 hardening can be preformed on any aluminum.
Hardening of different grades of aluminum are not the same at all. If I had the choice between 6061 and 7075 in an application that doesn't require corrosion resistance I'd go 7075 always. It's a quite large increase in strength. Should 6061 be fine for most things? Absolutely. But why not have the strength gain for not much price increase.
Now as far as the OP goes. It probably would work fine. Is it necessary or better? I'd need more info. As long as it's not too brittle it could be "better" but I doubt it's actually anything more than extra hype over something that won't actually matter. Kinda like the above point. If you deem it worth the price.. why not? In the BCG case I'd probably find it cost prohibitive.
Throttle_monkey1
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Wasn't trying to be a ####, but if you want to start throwing out education and trades that's cool too. Guess I'm just sick of all the hype & gimmicks in the gun world. In the mechanical world guns are extremely low tech. If people want to throw their money away on gadgets made of exotic materials that's their prerogative, but like Armedsask says it's not necessary. A bolt carrier made of S7 instead of 8620? What for? 8620 is the go to for quality tapered roller bearing manufacturers. As for the bolt itself being made of S7 that's kind of neat but they still didn't radius the lugs like the KAC E3 bolt, which is a real improvement.
