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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Reloading
Lee vs RCBS presses and equipment
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<blockquote data-quote="Kennibear" data-source="post: 932976" data-attributes="member: 51650"><p>Trickymissfit</p><p></p><p>Some of the information you have presented is somewhat askew.</p><p></p><p>Sidecarflip is correct in that rail steel contains Manganese. Molybdenum is very expensive and adds non-critical heat treating and toughness but not wear resistance to steel. The original FG42 had a Moly-steel receiver but the Germans came up with the Mk2 with a conventional steel receiver to save the precious Moly for critical material. The BAR had a Moly-steel receiver for toughness. Moly is not used in any cast iron alloys I am aware of. Manganese adds considerable wear resistance to steel and is really cheap. It is in the steel as a normal component from steel making. Anything over 3% is considered an alloy. Bucket teeth on earth moving equipment is Manganese Austinetic Steel because of its great wear resistance. It is <em>very</em> brittle until heat treated. More than 13% forms the earliest form of stainless steel originally patented in Germany. Not the steel for a press.</p><p></p><p>Cast iron and steel cross over at 1% carbon content. >1% is Iron, <1% is Steel (American Iron and Steel Institute). Mehenite is a patented heat treating process applied to plain cast iron to give it unique properties. Chrome is a waste on cast iron as there is so much carbon in iron (usually at least 5%) that it form chromium carbides at the grain boundaries and the alloy would be very brittle. Nickle added to iron forms <em>malleable</em> iron which is used in piston rings as it is tougher (flexible) than iron and has the excellent wear of cast iron. It is also used in cylinder sleeves.</p><p></p><p>Cast iron is used in heavy machinery because it has four characteristics: 1) Cheap as dirt. 2) Very stiff. 3) Since carbon absorbed in excess (>1%) in iron forms graphite naturally at the grain boundaries, cast iron is self-lubricating - up to a point. 4) The surface is porous and holds oil very well. Oil is in the iron but only on the steel. Cast iron frying pans properly seasoned don't rust because of the oil they have absorbed.</p><p></p><p>So good reloading presses are made of cast iron. Just like the steel valve stem riding in a cast iron valve guide the steel ram rides in the cast frame which retains the oil/grease and is self-lubricating so galling is all but eliminated. Cast iron is ridged so flex is eliminated. Iron is cheap so you can use enough of it to make a good press and not drive the cost through the roof. The new Summit press by RCBS looks to be all steel. It has a zerk fitting to grease it and costs a lot more, almost 2X as much as a iron press. </p><p></p><p></p><p>What knowledge I have of iron and steel is because our guns are made from it and I seek every ounce of knowledge I can find on them. When we start making guns out of unobtainium, I'll learn everything I can about it.</p><p></p><p>KB</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kennibear, post: 932976, member: 51650"] Trickymissfit Some of the information you have presented is somewhat askew. Sidecarflip is correct in that rail steel contains Manganese. Molybdenum is very expensive and adds non-critical heat treating and toughness but not wear resistance to steel. The original FG42 had a Moly-steel receiver but the Germans came up with the Mk2 with a conventional steel receiver to save the precious Moly for critical material. The BAR had a Moly-steel receiver for toughness. Moly is not used in any cast iron alloys I am aware of. Manganese adds considerable wear resistance to steel and is really cheap. It is in the steel as a normal component from steel making. Anything over 3% is considered an alloy. Bucket teeth on earth moving equipment is Manganese Austinetic Steel because of its great wear resistance. It is [I]very[/I] brittle until heat treated. More than 13% forms the earliest form of stainless steel originally patented in Germany. Not the steel for a press. Cast iron and steel cross over at 1% carbon content. >1% is Iron, <1% is Steel (American Iron and Steel Institute). Mehenite is a patented heat treating process applied to plain cast iron to give it unique properties. Chrome is a waste on cast iron as there is so much carbon in iron (usually at least 5%) that it form chromium carbides at the grain boundaries and the alloy would be very brittle. Nickle added to iron forms [I]malleable[/I] iron which is used in piston rings as it is tougher (flexible) than iron and has the excellent wear of cast iron. It is also used in cylinder sleeves. Cast iron is used in heavy machinery because it has four characteristics: 1) Cheap as dirt. 2) Very stiff. 3) Since carbon absorbed in excess (>1%) in iron forms graphite naturally at the grain boundaries, cast iron is self-lubricating - up to a point. 4) The surface is porous and holds oil very well. Oil is in the iron but only on the steel. Cast iron frying pans properly seasoned don't rust because of the oil they have absorbed. So good reloading presses are made of cast iron. Just like the steel valve stem riding in a cast iron valve guide the steel ram rides in the cast frame which retains the oil/grease and is self-lubricating so galling is all but eliminated. Cast iron is ridged so flex is eliminated. Iron is cheap so you can use enough of it to make a good press and not drive the cost through the roof. The new Summit press by RCBS looks to be all steel. It has a zerk fitting to grease it and costs a lot more, almost 2X as much as a iron press. What knowledge I have of iron and steel is because our guns are made from it and I seek every ounce of knowledge I can find on them. When we start making guns out of unobtainium, I'll learn everything I can about it. KB [/QUOTE]
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