Heat treating a rifle receiver

[cdparker]

O.K. I've run into a situation that I have not dealt with before. I am working on a 1909 Argentine Mauser that many years ago was barreled for a .460 Van Horn. The barrel and bolt face were done but I was charged with making the magazine work and cutting away enough of the receiver to make it feed and eject etc. I got that done and noticed that the action cut like butter. A buddy says that those actions were on the soft side and need to be reheat treated. Does any of you have any experience with the 1909 Mauser and does it need to get heat treated? Who is in the business of doing this work? I really need some guidance on this project.

 

[shortgrass]

Blanchard Metal Processing in Utah, I believe. There's another, but I can't recall their business name at the moment. The barrel threads may need 'chasing' after re-carburizing the receiver.

 

[swd]

Neat project. I have a 500 Van Horn Express also on an 09' that I need to get finished up one of these days. Gil did the inletting and the barreling was done by the shop that did most of his barreling in the 80's and 90's. Gil even supplied me with his trigger guard and floor plate castings a few years back. He's still alive and building rifles down in the desert. I'll need to get mine hardened when the time comes also. Not that you would have known but I have the original press and magazine forms that he and Ryan Breeding used.

 

[butchlambert]

Blanchards is good as well as Pac Met.

 

[cdparker]

Hey thanks folks. I scrounged around and we had to put a regular '98 Mauser ejector housing on it so that with the receiver cuts, the original one wouldn't have a knob on it to open it. Jon said that he wants the Argentine crest polished off and .460 Van Horn engraved on it. The extractor is cut so it will snap over a cartridge in the pipe. I used a Wyatt .375 H&H follower and cut it so that a case will sit flat in the bottom of the magazine and I can put the second one in and pass the bolt over it to run the third shell into the chamber. Will set the barrel band and front sight band tomorrow. This is kind of an interesting project.

 

[Changeling]

Very interesting project.
I also have a 1909 action that has been completely redone, even with a Winchester type safety that was the most expensive part. I had the extractor modified also but it snapped off the end tip (guy didn't know what he was doing) , I just found a new one and received it yesterday, but haven't made up my mind yet whether to have someone do the extractor again.

Caliber is 280 AI, with 27" SS varmint taper barrel, 1 -9 twist.

 

[bohemR13]

The receivers are cased and not really thru-hardened because of the steel used. The easiest thing I've seen for treating an old Mauser receiver is to get it salt-bath nitrided. This goes by a few names but most will recognize "black nitride" or "melonite". It's not a coating, it's a heat treating process.

In thru-hardened rifle receivers it isn't really a good idea because the process will draw back the core material and alter the overall certification of the material in the receiver. In an old Mauser action it takes the FNC treatment extremely well and the case hardening effect is great. Plus when you're done the receiver has a nice, uniform black finish.

 

[clowdis]

I have used Pacific Metallurigical (sp) before and was pleased with the results. Have this done after you have done all the cutting and rough polishing. You will need to polish again after heat treating.