Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Heat treating actions

I have misplaced my reference to a company that can heat treat my VZ-24 action. Can someone give me a company(s) that can heat treat a action for me. Thx. Matt

Blanchards in Salt Lake

Bodycote Hinderliter Heat Treating ------- various sites around the country and have done many things for me. They are one of the largest in the country and one of the best.

http://www.bodycote.com/

Excuse me for my ignorance,but why would you want to heat treat the action,I can see stress relieving the barrel.

Mauser actions were made of what is essentially low carbon steel. The actions were case hardened, sometimes all over but always in the locking lug recesses, so the area where the locking lugs butt against the receiver wouldn't dent or "set back" from the pressure of firing.

The depth of the case hardening is rather iffy, particularly with wartime production. Also you remove part of the case hardening if you lap the lugs to the receiver.

Having the action "heat treated" or properly case hardened insures your investment in building a rifle particularly when using a cartridge that generates more pressure than the one the action was made for. A lot of times the original case hardening is fine but considering the bucks you're putting into it, "Do you feel lucky, punk?"

(sorry)

+1

MM

Thanks WTF and Blackbird.

Crittergetter - This action was made in 1938. The bolt is not the same bolt that came with the action, and therefore has to be lapped, reducing the surface metal. One could take a risk on older mauser actions and not heat treating them provided they do not need any lapping and blueprinting, the suface metal being stront enough. Possibly the actions made by Obendorf were properly heat treated. If the actions do not have proper heat treating there is the risk of seat set back. It is not very expensive to heat treat but very expensive to correct seat set back, so, why take the risk. About $100.00 considering shipping charges for heat treating. Prices vary though. I have a good gunsmith and prefer mauser actions which are not copies that have been changed. This is an old argument about prefered actions that I don't want to get into. We all know how opinions vary.

I Thank you for the info,I had no idea,I've never dealt with those type of actions.

Simpler to start with a commercial 98.

Strictly speaking heat treating and case hardening are not the same thing. Case hardening, which I have heard referred to as carburising(sp) results in a very thin "skin" of hardness being infused over the entire action surface. The very best in the high end custom rifle business use the outfit in SLC. Be sure to have all the work done prior having the case hardening done. Be prepared for a shock when you get it back because it will look pretty bad.

The heat treating on VZ 24 actions was quite good until the nazi's took over yhe plants and started making the workers into slave labor. There was reportedly a lot of sabatage after that.
The actions dated before 41 or 42 are much better.
The vz 24 is the best of the non german manufactued actions.

But not nearly as rewarding. Besides some of the commercial 98's are soft too. If one is building a true custom it's a small price to pay.

I know a lot of smiths use this place www.pacmet.com

Terry

Thanks everyone for all the comments and referrals.

Per Hatcher and Kuhnhausen the steel used in Mauser '98 actions is comparable to AISI 1035, variations in the assay among actions expected of course as they were made in many places under widely varying conditions. AISI 1035 is heat treatable but not a through hardening steel. With 35 points of carbon, more or less, it cannot be made into a high strength steel.

Case hardening or carburizing introduces carbon through the exposed surface of the part forming a layer of high carbon, high strength steel. Under heat the carbon penetrates the steel slowly and to a depth predictable over time. Khunhausen states that the optimal thickness of this layer is between 0.010 and 0.015 inch, noting that opinions vary. One famous custom 'smith stated that he aims for 0.030 - 0.040 inch.

Kunhausen wrote that the actions he tested varied greatly in depth of case, usually on the thin side, mostly ranging from 0.002 to 0.008 inch. Which is why it is good insurance to have a Mauser re-carburized, heat treated, whatever you wish to call it, particularly if you preform any machining operation on a critical surface. (Heat treatment of 1035 steel is a non-critical process and will happen as part of the carburizing process.)

Does anyone here know any direct sources that can melonite a barreled action?