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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
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Melonite Process
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<blockquote data-quote="Trickymissfit" data-source="post: 956750" data-attributes="member: 25383"><p>.</p><p>perhaps Flip will chime in as he way ahead of me in what goes on in a steel mill. I would like to think that generic 4150 pretreat steel is way over the top in the application of a rifle receiver. Yet on the otherhand I might want a bolt seating face somewhat harder than 30rc, and think a 45rc-47rc to be about right with a .015" case. The problem here is that I may not want the rest of the action to be that hard. A soft core is needed here. This is why I would use a dead soft grade of something like 4350, and machine it in two steps with the bolt seat being the hardest part at 47rc.</p><p> </p><p>Buying steel is not like going to Walmart. Every manufacturer of a pretreat steel has it's own process and alloy. I'd personally go with a certified lot from Baldwin Steel out of PA, or maybe con Timken into being a single source supplier for my steel needs (Timken is the best steel money can buy, and almost always comes in cheaper after machining processes are done). But I've always found the heat treat processes from Baldwin to be nearly perfection. About twenty percent more money, but you usually get what you paid for. For a rifle action, and some other critical items used elsewhere; I would spec a certified lot of steel. More money I know, but you know what you got from the first piece to the very last piece. Very important. Plus the real money is in the machining process, and never the materials. </p><p> </p><p>Hard turning is nothing really special once you learn the art. Some brands of steel will of course turn better, and other are crap (mostly Asian). If I had to make the part right from the get go, I always picked up the phone and ordered it from Baldwin. A typical five to seven step process of machining a part adds a serious amount of labor & machine time, so you don't want any surprises there. Yet the classic rifle action is a three step process at the max with the right equipment. </p><p> </p><p>Now as many of you already know, I'm not a fan of 416 Stainless steel. It's got more issues than benefits, but does machine well. Nobody in industrial aps would think of buying it! Perhaps 420 or 410, and even then there's better stuff out there. I'm a big fan of MAR-10 (a trade name from Baldwin), and it's nothing but a pretreat 17PH-4 stainless steel. Hard to get better than that! But machining </p><p>17PH-4 is a learning curve from the get go. MAR-10 is another learning curve, and expect to be educated as this stuff is tough and extremely strong. Also rather expensive, but you get what you ay for.</p><p>gary</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Trickymissfit, post: 956750, member: 25383"] . perhaps Flip will chime in as he way ahead of me in what goes on in a steel mill. I would like to think that generic 4150 pretreat steel is way over the top in the application of a rifle receiver. Yet on the otherhand I might want a bolt seating face somewhat harder than 30rc, and think a 45rc-47rc to be about right with a .015" case. The problem here is that I may not want the rest of the action to be that hard. A soft core is needed here. This is why I would use a dead soft grade of something like 4350, and machine it in two steps with the bolt seat being the hardest part at 47rc. Buying steel is not like going to Walmart. Every manufacturer of a pretreat steel has it's own process and alloy. I'd personally go with a certified lot from Baldwin Steel out of PA, or maybe con Timken into being a single source supplier for my steel needs (Timken is the best steel money can buy, and almost always comes in cheaper after machining processes are done). But I've always found the heat treat processes from Baldwin to be nearly perfection. About twenty percent more money, but you usually get what you paid for. For a rifle action, and some other critical items used elsewhere; I would spec a certified lot of steel. More money I know, but you know what you got from the first piece to the very last piece. Very important. Plus the real money is in the machining process, and never the materials. Hard turning is nothing really special once you learn the art. Some brands of steel will of course turn better, and other are crap (mostly Asian). If I had to make the part right from the get go, I always picked up the phone and ordered it from Baldwin. A typical five to seven step process of machining a part adds a serious amount of labor & machine time, so you don't want any surprises there. Yet the classic rifle action is a three step process at the max with the right equipment. Now as many of you already know, I'm not a fan of 416 Stainless steel. It's got more issues than benefits, but does machine well. Nobody in industrial aps would think of buying it! Perhaps 420 or 410, and even then there's better stuff out there. I'm a big fan of MAR-10 (a trade name from Baldwin), and it's nothing but a pretreat 17PH-4 stainless steel. Hard to get better than that! But machining 17PH-4 is a learning curve from the get go. MAR-10 is another learning curve, and expect to be educated as this stuff is tough and extremely strong. Also rather expensive, but you get what you ay for. gary [/QUOTE]
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