Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Steel / pot metal rotor in early 1899's

Since pretty much all short carriers are interchangeable who among us knows what combinations might be out there.

I've posted pictures before, some time ago, but I have one that appears to be a bronze rotor. Not sure where the photos are at these days but if I run across it, I will post it.

Here's another one. This is in my 1899C .303, SN 15.978



Definitely not magnetic, not brass.
yooper

Thanks for the photo and data point, every one helps.

Pretty sure I've checked all my early ones in the past, need to do it again tho.

Hi - this is my first post on this site. I am the guy who brought the SRC to Savage Fest. You have the pictures posted of the gun. I took the gun home, and tried the magnet to the rotor and it is not magnetic. The serial number is 24.9xx. One other feature of the rotor that was not discussed, was the fact that the cartridge numbers were not stamped on it.
Perhaps someone else has seen the same thing on this type of rotor or any normal type rotor.
Thanks to everyone who helped answer my questions. That was so helpful. I hope to attend another show when it's in the state again. You guys have some fantastic guns and it's a treat seeing them all in one place!

Glad you checked in here! I've not seen one in a gun without numbers on it.

Welcome to the 'Fire!

Definitely welcome!

I didn't even to think of looking at the numbers until I was driving home. Try reaching in and turning the rotor by hand and see if you see any numbers come into the window. It might be it's just misaligned (we at least need to rule it out).

Thanks for bringing that rifle in!

This is the one I have asked about before. Appears to be like Lighfoot's. #23.XXX

I am currently working on an old 1899 serial #23.6XX that has Aluminum or Pot Metal carrier. The carrier spindle shaft is cast into the spindle head and there is a steel hub cast into the rear of the carrier that is machined to fit into the spindle support inside the receiver.The only thing magnetic is the steel hub that is cast in. The very back of the long fin broke off of mine, looks like that is what was brazed in the earlier photo. Spring adjustment is just a slot in the end of the spindle head.

I've had 3 steel case hardened rotors to date. All three were in 99EG's from the mid 50's. Two in 300 Savage and one in 250 Savage.
Honestly never thought they were all that rare.

I have a .303 sav.---ser.#173xx --- that had a broken rotor when i bought it(knowningly). when i took it apart i found a " pot metal" rotor. replaced it with brass and works fine.I thought the other one was a replacement, but I was probably wrong,again.

Cant say Iv ever seen an early one with the pot metal, have an early "B" that someone drilled the # 0 out maybe a blind shooter, LBK filled the hole for me works fine, just no 0 there!

Welcome to the campfire, pomsct! Nice to get info on more of these.

That rotor looks to definably have been brazed. So what do you guys think the composition of these rotors is. Pot metal {die-cast zinc}. Copper-Nickel Alloy. Or what?

My guess would be cast aluminum. Cast zinc would be very fragile. Just a guess though, without one to examine. If anyone has a broken one, the way to tell would be the crystalline grain structure seen on the broken edge. Die-cast would have big unevenly sized "crystally" looking grains. The grain structure of aluminum is much much smaller and more even in nature.

I wonder if the engineers at Savage were arguing among themselves 100+ years ago over the best material to use for the rotors. I'm glad brass won out.

Those rotors must have been tricky buggers to cast. Obviously done via the lost wax method of casting, as sand castings would be a bugger to get nice and smooth/shiny over all the surfaces.

That would have been very early for aluminum, but with Arthur as the engineer I wouldn't rule it out.

I have some breaks in mine, I'll post some close up photos tonight

I seem to remember hearing about a cold weld process used long ago (or chemical weld ?),do you think there could have been a cold (or chemical) braze process? Also to correct an earlier observation of mine concerning the lack of numbers on the rotor,
my son took the rotor out and looked real close at it and said he saw faint numbers on it,so nothing unusual there.

Here's a few pics of the broken end

Yeah, looks like pot metal.