A36 Steel Question???

[cheyenne]

Gents,

     Found a site listing hot rolled steel, says it's "A36"....would this be suitable for triggers and trigger plates?

[halfstock]

cheyenne: I would much rather have A7 than A36 for a controled item, A36 was a only discovered by accident in the first place, it is not easily controlled and is used mainly as steel in a structural usage so be @!*% carefull what and how you use it. Just a personal prefference mind you, I only worked in the steel and construction industry for 40 years so I might not see things the way others do.
Halfstock

[msblacksmith]

a36 will forge fine for your trigger gaurd ,just dont quench it when you are done let it cool natural.a36 is a mild steel made of scrap.it is rare you will have a problem forging it.

[jmforge]

Hi.......new guy here.  I have yet to build any type of ML'er, but i figured for my first post, I could actually talk about something I have some experience with.  As a custom knifemaker, I avoid using A36 for fittings like the plague!!!  The running joke among some of us metal pounders is that A36 means "Any combination of 36 types of recycled junk"  One smith I know made a guard out of the stuff and when it etched it, he could see the outline of a machine screw that didn't totally melt down.  Spend the extra money and use 1018.

[Dphariss]

Gents,

     Found a site listing hot rolled steel, says it's "A36"....would this be suitable for triggers and trigger plates?

Use 1018.
MSC has it in a wide variety of thicknesses and widths. No downsides.
MSCdirect.com. Everyone should have a catalog.
Dan