Problem- Rifle barrel heat treating C4140 Steel.

[Rodrigo]

Dear Sirs


I have been reading about making rifle barrels but I haven't found nothing about their heat treatment.

Lots of texts and sites talk about using C4140 steel for the barrel and the tools and operations required to produce them, but doesn't say if final heat treatment is necessary.

A C4140 steel rifle barrel needs to be heat treated ?

If it needs, what is the correct procedure ?

It is heat treated only at the chamber or is completely heat treated ?

Thank You Very Much in advance for any information you can provide about this subject.

[jalessi]

Rodrigo,

This is a good read.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/14467576/T...-Rifled-Barrel

Welcome to the Zone,

Jeff...

[Rodrigo]

Dear Mr. Jeff


I have read the document you pointed me to some months ago.

It is hosted at this address too: http://www.firearmsid.com/Feature%20Articles/RifledBarrelManuf/BarrelManufacture.htm

It is a very good reading about the subject, but doesn't say much about how to heat treat a barrel.

After having collected information from various places I think that one good choice of steel to make a rifle / pistol barrel, is steel C4140 with the following mechanical properties :

Hardness - 29 HRC

Approximate tensile strength - 136710 PSI

But from what I see in the steel vendors / suppliers catalogs, C4140 steel is not supplied in this hardness and tensile strength range, so, for making a barrel it must be heat treated.

I think if it was sold heat treated to that levels, machining it would be very difficult.

So...

How do we heat treat our barrel after it has been drilled, reamed and rifled ?

Without distortion, preferably


Please, keep sharing your knowledge and opinions.


Thank You Very Much.

Rodrigo