Blaser barrel threading

[Carl S]

Afternoon gentlemen.customer phoned
asked for a M15x1 thread on his Blaser R93.ive done the job today and those
Barrels are hard as Bell metal.really hard
on carbide tips.not to bad once one has broken through outer coating.not the sort of thing I would want to do everyday.why on earth Blaser have to manufacture a barrel so hard is beyond me.anyone on here had any experience with them.Regards.CS

 

[SKWERLZ]

Hardened exterior layer from a hammer forged barrel possibly?

 

[Carl S]

I think they use a process called Melonite or that's the name of the hardened finish..
really makes your hair stand up when you touch on.i just can't see anything they gain from it really.not much for the design of the whole rifle but they do shoot well generally.i have friends who own them and have seen how well they shoot.

 

[shortgrass]

Melonite, Black Nitride. A surface hardening process that not only makes the outer surface 'harder', it makes the surface of the bore 'harder', also,,,,,, as it is done in a 'bath'. Infuses nitrogen into the surface and 'draws' carbon toward the surface. The benefits include more corrosion resistance and more erosion resistance to the bore and throat. Some have had great success having rifle barrels treated (including me), others not so much. I think much depends upon what company you have do the treating, what the condition of the interior of the barrel is before treating, and how the barrel is treated before being shot after treatment. It has been around for a long time , now. Used in many different industries in many applications. If you're a "gunsmith" I'm surprised you haven't heard of the process before........

 

[SKWERLZ]

I think they use a process called Melonite or that's the name of the hardened finish..
really makes your hair stand up when you touch on.i just can't see anything they gain from it really.not much for the design of the whole rifle but they do shoot well generally.i have friends who own them and have seen how well they shoot.

They are definitely hammer forged but I can’t find anything on them being QPQ, melonite or other case hardening.

I have a QPQ Ar barrel and it’s very clearly advertised as such.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

They probably use that hard as hades lothar walther steel

 

[The Viper]

The barrels are hammer forged. They guarantee you 10,000 accurate rounds. What more could you ask for a hunting rifle. They will sell you a pre chambered barrel for any of their rifles.

 

[AccelR8]

What more could you ask for a hunting rifle.

How about M15X1 threaded muzzle?

 

[Carl S]

Melonite, Black Nitride. A surface hardening process that not only makes the outer surface 'harder', it makes the surface of the bore 'harder', also,,,,,, as it is done in a 'bath'. Infuses nitrogen into the surface and 'draws' carbon toward the surface. The benefits include more corrosion resistance and more erosion resistance to the bore and throat. Some have had great success having rifle barrels treated (including me), others not so much. I think much depends upon what company you have do the treating, what the condition of the interior of the barrel is before treating, and how the barrel is treated before being shot after treatment. It has been around for a long time , now. Used in many different industries in many applications. If you're a "gunsmith" I'm surprised you haven't heard of the process before........

Yes I have heard of the different hardening processes before but didn't think it was as hard as it was on blaser barrels.ino some people won't touch them,I can see why now.regards.

 

[AccelR8]

I've never worked on a Blaser but having worked on other things...not gun stuff...that were case hardened I'd use a tool post grinder to get into it about 20 thousandths or so and then switch to conventional tooling.

 

[Carl S]

I've never worked on a Blaser but having worked on other things...not gun stuff...that were case hardened I'd use a tool post grinder to get into it about 20 thousandths or so and then switch to conventional tooling.

First one i have worked on.Yes that would be a better option.if one was doing batches of them.i am a toolmaker by trade,not a Gunsmith..Gunsmithing is a part time job.different hardening process,turning,milling,grinding,threading is familiar.regards.

 

[shortgrass]

The Black Nitride is only microns thick, but RC60+. After you're through that, Blaser barrels seem to cut like 4150PH, or the steel Lothar Walther uses for their barrels. Cuts reasonably easy with the proper grade of carbide, as long as you don't get greedy. I don't see the problem, myself. It's just another task.

 

[Carl S]

The Black Nitride is only microns thick, but RC60+. After you're through that, Blaser barrels seem to cut like 4150PH, or the steel Lothar Walther uses for their barrels. Cuts reasonably easy with the proper grade of carbide, as long as you don't get greedy. I don't see the problem, myself. It's just another task.

Yes I agree but 416r is easier and quicker.

 

[shortgrass]

Yes I agree but 416r is easier and quicker.

"Quicker and easier", ya' that seem to be the 'modern way'. But that's not what a "gunsmith" gets paid for. "Gunsmithing" isn't production, even though many want to treat it like that. I get paid for being able to 'deal' with ever changing tasks and circumstances, both as a gunsmith (gunsmith school grad) and a "job shop" machinist.

 

[Carl S]

"Quicker and easier", ya' that seem to be the 'modern way'. But that's not what a "gunsmith" gets paid for. "Gunsmithing" isn't production, even though many want to treat it like that. I get paid for being able to 'deal' with ever changing tasks and circumstances, both as a gunsmith (gunsmith school grad) and a "job shop" machinist.

Sir,I don't disagree with what you're saying
at all and with due respect to you and what you do for your living.im not a Gunsmith and never profess to be.im a toolmaker.i only work on firearms as a part time job.when ever I chamber,thread and fit a rifle barrel or pillar bed a stock or undertake any other job presented it is done properly 100%.no short cuts and the customer get a quality product which we all want and he or she is 100% satisfied.
416R is easier and quicker to machine that's all I was referring to.i respect what all Gunsmiths,engineers,machinists e.t.c do on this great forum...i never stop learning,even after 36 year's machining and engineering.regards CS.

 

[Will Henry]

Years ago, I was given a pair of Swiss barrels, chambered in 308 but unturned and unthreaded. Diameter was about 1.2" They were significantly more difficult to machine that the typical Shilen! My carbide barrel contouring bit needed touching up halfway through the contouring process and threading was interesting. The chambers on both barrels were beautifully forged and were what we all like to think our reamed chambers are, perfectly smooth concentric, and straight. In one of the barrels, however, there was a bit of distortion in the throat; just enough that it didn't look quite right. That barrel didn't shoot as well as the other one so I decided to setit back a quarter inch and rechamber, It was with some trepidation that I put my lovely Henriksen reamer into that barrel but it reamed beautifully; though I could tell the tool was working harder than usual. By the way, the set back turned that barrel from a 3/4 to a 3/8 moa shooter.
Another barrel I worked with, which was very tough, was a 22 caliber barrel from H-K. Polygon rifling and a tight bore, as I recall. WH