Craftsmanship > Gun Building and Repair
Barrel material??
melsdad:
What type of steel are most barrels made out of? I think I remember reading that 4140 alloy was a common steel for barrels.
Thanks
Captchee:
yes today most are made from 4140 or 12L14
but there is really more to it then that .
some comapanies extrude the metal . others do not ??/ the other name also used today exscapes me right now . its 10 deg here and no heat in my shop . my brain is about frozen . maybe one of the others fellas can refresh my memory alittle
but basicly its not the metal as much as the way the stresses are relieved within the metal . did i say it was cold here
melsdad:
Thanks Charles, I guess I should have added that I was wondering what the material was so I can practice doing some engraving. I have a pretty good supply of 4140 material at work. I wanted to work on material that was the same as the barrel material would be.
Do you happen know what the hardness of an average barrel is on the Rockwell C scale?
FG1:
I think GM uses 1137 for theirs.
Captchee:
I couldn’t tell you the hardness but I can tell you this .
CVA barrels will eat your gravers up . Literally you will spend a lot of time sharpening . In fact just about every inch you will need to touch up the angles .
This is what I find so odd about all the roomers about those barrels being soft . Even cobalt tips just disappear. They last just as long as M42 or high speed steal in what ever Jukar is using and cost 3 X as much .
GM barrels cut very nicely and the ones from rice and Getz gut even nicer .
I find that plain old cold roll is the best to start on if your going to work on barrels .
Yes its a lot softer but you will learn to keep you angles while at the same time be able to feel when the your point is getting dull .
The thing that I have learned is that the harder the steel is , you need to change the geometry of the point , kinda like a wood chisel . Just as each wood is different so is each metal.
With soft woods you want a shallower heal . This keeps the chisel from diving on you . But when you go to harder woods a steep heal will help hold the chisel in the material and keep it from jumping out
Same with gravers . When the metal is hard , a shallow heal must be watched or it will want to jump out and you will get over runs .
Go to Steve Lindsey web sight . Read all you can . While he mostly about Pneumatic hammer gravers , it’s the same process as chase graving or push graving .
There is a wealth of knowledge there with folks from Remington , colt all the big names . These guys are the very people who in this country do work that demand 10 to 100’s of thousands of dollars just for their engraving or charge thousands just for a 1 to 2 day class
BUT I have found All of them are willing to help you out with questions . Pointers , information no mater which of the 3 different tools you chose to use ..
These folks know the full scoop . don’t be afraid to ask the most basic of question .
Steves forum , is very much like ours here . There is less traffic but they will answer you
http://www.engravingforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2
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