Reciever material

[Aaron Beck]

I looked at 1892 PH the other day and had a question about the material used in the receiver. Notice the parallel lines on all sides, if I were to see something like that in my day to day I would assume it was likely wrought iron. I had assumed that the receivers were made of mild steel, even on the early guns but I just dont know.

[Dean Romig]

Those lines were a result of “Bulldozing” the hot forged ingot, but I don’t know if ingot is the correct word for the chunk of steel the frame was made from.

I have a couple of 0-frame GH’s that show those lines.


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[Garry L Gordon]

I'd wager those lines came long after the gun was made (assuming I'm looking at the lines you mention).

[Bruce P Bruner]

I'd wager those lines came long after the gun was made (assuming I'm looking at the lines you mention).
Nope, the lines were formed in the forging process. Early Winchester lever guns all have those lines.

[Dean Romig]

Picture added to my previous post.





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[Bruce P Bruner]

The lines are known as "striations".

[Aaron Beck]

Thanks Dean and Bruce. That makes sense but if they are only found on older guns then I might still think iron. Do you see that on guns after 1900 or so? You can see ghosting of forging process in both iron and steel but the two materials show it differently. Though forging temp can be a factor too.

[Aaron Beck]

Billet is probably the word.

[Garry L Gordon]

Nope, the lines were formed in the forging process. Early Winchester lever guns all have those lines.

Not the first wager I've lost.:)

[Dylan Rhodes]

Thanks Dean and Bruce. That makes sense but if they are only found on older guns then I might still think iron. Do you see that on guns after 1900 or so? You can see ghosting of forging process in both iron and steel but the two materials show it differently. Though forging temp can be a factor too.

If I’m not mistaken you can’t readily case harden iron due to the high carbon content. Case hardening works by putting high carbon material next to low carbon material at a high temp to encourage carbon migration. The bigger the carbon difference the better the result (and some other factors). As to why the striations disappeared after 1900 or so - i would chalk that up to process inovation. There is value to eliminating those striations therefore company’s producing parts would want to eliminate them.

From my engineering perspective, I would probably spec in a low to mid carbon steel (1018 or 1045 ish?)…Generally speaking the receiver sees minimal load if the action is tight. The hinge pin and closure mechanism take the brunt. The loading of the receiver is spread out across the surface area of the shell and absorbed well by the hardened layer. The highest point of stress is at the corner of the action, and it would be subject to fatigue failure so a steel without a fatigue knee defined would be ideal. I’ll have to see if I can find my old stress analysis simulations from college. It was interesting stuff.

[Aaron Beck]

Low to mid carbon steel would be ideal, and to my way of thinking the introduction of vulcan steel seems to be around the time you stop seeing the striations, which is why I was guessing 1900.
For the record, cast iron has a high carbon content while wrought iron has a relatively low almost nominal carbon content. Since iron is not completely homogenous and varied in composition from batch to batch, some iron had more carbon. For that matter, some iron would likely show striations and some might not, depending on how fine the quality was. Additionally, two billets from the same iron source (or steel for that matter) might show differently depending on say the forging temp so im with you on process innovation.
It is also possible that those receivers didnt show lines as clearly when they left production but as the case wore off some metal eroded and the lines showed. wire wheeling or naval jelly or similar could also do it.

[Brian Dudley]

The graining lines in the frame are very common or typical. It is usually more visible in older guns and ones with a lot of surface wear and light corrosion.