Barrel Steel?

[Bob Roller]

In fact, you can make a barrel out of brass!

Mike

Bill Large made a few out of brass and they were 32's an 7/8 ATF with a steel breech plug, I trust the opinions of metallurgists
over those who say 12L14 is safe.Maybe on a small bore rat killer but nothing much bigger like a 15/16 50 caliber.
Changing the subject,we have had a winter storm here in our part of WVa and very cold.Ice over the snow and I had to stomp/walk
to my shop for a good broom.More predicted for tonight.
Bob Roller

[okawbow]

Anyone that doesn’t think their 12L14 steel barrel is safe, can send them to me. PM for details.

[t.caster]

Getz, Rice and at one time Colrain all used 12L14. The pressure is not there with black powder. I have no idea about the substitute stuff. I only shoot black powder. Don Getz RIP once told me they did a test. Breached both ends of a 8" 12L14 barrel and drilled an 1/8 hole for a cannon fuse. Filled it with powder lit it and ran like $#*!! It did not rupture and all came out that 1/8 hole. I would rather a barrel stretch and bulge than be brittle and fragment.

Back in 2011 one of my customers had an accident on the line with a Getz barrel. He apparently loaded his normal charge and was distracted by all the talking around him, dropped another load of powder and short started another ball. He mut have got distracted again and stepped to the line and fired it. The barrel fractured and bulged when the first charge hit the obstruction (ball) 5" from the muzzle! No one was hurt but nerves were totally frazzled !





I got with Don (RIP) and John and they were astounded because they had tried everything they could think of to blow one up, and couldn't. They asked me to send it back for a free replacement, which I did. However, this was a light weight .54 x 38" barrel and Don refused to make another one that size (thin) after that, so he replaced it with a .50 cal barrel that is still in use today. Yes, I was able to make a nice repair to the shattered stock. I don't recall what steel he was using at that time. Whatever it was, it didn't fragment, only split and bulged.
I still shoot Getz barrels today and will continue to. Of the 50+ guns I have built with Getz barrels over 45 years, that was the only incident!

Tom C

[Pukka Bundook]

Tom,
If we want a barrel to bulge or split, that's how to do it no matter what the iron or steel is.

[Daryl]

Taylor and I bulged out TC barrels by firing a short started ball, back in the 70's. TC mailed us new barrels.

[hudson]

When working in a stainless steel mill as a mill right and later machinist in maintenance. I had occasion to talk to the gentleman running the lab concerning lead in products, thinking free machining. In short lead had been pretty much replaced with sulfur. Steel made with sulfur is not as good as with steal. More to it I am sure and allot has probably changed in the years since I retired. One thing I know for sure it is no fun working on a bridge gear box on an overhead crane when they through sulfur in a nearby furnace of molten steel.

[Jim Kibler]

Leaded steel is still very common and available.

[Roger B]

If I remember correctly, the alleged problem with the Douglas barrels was that they were "drawn" to octagonal shape. This was said to have created a great degree of stress in the metal that could lead to fracture.

[oldtravler61]

  Back in the day I was a QA inspector. We would Magna flux a certain percentage of our steel bar stock. You'd be surprised at what looked very good on the outside would show stress fractures. If we found it we scrapped the lot and sent it back for replacement.
  I've never had an issue with any b.p. barrels period. But I pay attention when I'm loading and shooting. Black, white an grey motto an never load more than double what the caliber is.

[Bob Roller]

My preference is for steels certified for gun barrels or OTHER functions that generate high internal pressures.Barrel maker Jim McLemore told me he had no worries about light weight thin walled barrels erupting because he bought CERTIFIED"for gun barrels steel bars.The often mentioned  Douglas failure on a light barrel was due to a non certified material and that business was saved by a liability insurance policy.How many of the current barrel shops have such a policy??This is a reality nobody seems to address.I mentioned in a recent post about Douglas and the fact he was pilling out of black powder barrels because of the "Gotta be CHEAP"attitudes of almost everyone involved with it.I remember the name now,it was Fred Depoy,now deceased that told me and he was a Douglas employee during that sad event.
Bob Roller

[P.W.Berkuta]

Wasn't Jerry Cunningham's company Orion Rifle Barrels?

Yes, it was. I purchased many of his barrels when you could not get anything else easily or quickly. I was purchasing them from Dixons and later from Jerry directly. I found that Jerry's barrels shot quite well, and I could order tapered barrels of the caliber and taper that I wanted. He did not make any swamped barrels that I know of. I don't remember when he was making barrels or when he stopped.

[tpr-tru]

I have the booklet Jerry Cunningham put out on his barrels and testing. Have to pull it out.  Montana Rifle Barrel Company was the company associated with his name and the many dealings I had with him.   My purchases were 1980's to1990.

[BOB HILL]

Jerry was in business as Orion after Montana  closed. I used a lot of his barrels in the 90’s They were good barrels.
Bob

[Hungry Horse]

 Jerry Cunningham bought out Montana barrels. I built guns with both and never had a problems. In fact one of the barrels I bought from Jerry was a second he sold me after the business closed.

Hungry Horse

[Dphariss]

I know this has been discussed in the past but I can't find my notes.
What steel are the current barrel makers using? My hack saw and files tell me they are not all the same.

Depends GM are 1137 GB quality. Rayl was using 8620 at one time at least I was so told,  he sent me a piece of it to build a breech from and I cut off a piece as a test and it through hardened. Dunno what it was but it was not 8620.
Many use leaded screw stock. 12L14 mill run. Meant to make low grades screws in automatic screw machines.  Its easy to get and being heavily loaded with lubricant metals its cuts really smooth. But the sulfur, lead and phosphorus form flaws in the bars.
The problem with Gun Barrel quality, from the small volume makers standpoint. Is that it and the other higher grade steels have to be ordered in furnace melt lots so they would have to pool orders or by a couple of semi-load's. And the furnace has to be clean to assure they can make the impurities level for the grade being made when its inspected. So it costs more, Gun Barrel quality is not the top grade steels. There are higher grades, Aircraft and Nuclear. Nuclear is used for reactors  and refinery according to a friend who was working in a refinery as a welder.
Mill run stuff is whatever comes out of the furnace that matches the grade they are making. Flaws and inclusions in the bar are to be found by the end user.
Wolfgang, when I was working at Shiloh would get GB 1137 in as a truck load. This was the standard barrels steel used. But the high pressure rounds for the Texas Ranger guns (60000+) had 4140/4150. Since I told Wolf that 1137 was not good enough. I dunno where he got it but he knew people in the firearms industry and got a small lot from someone. Roy really whined as it was a lot harder to turn and thread cleanly compared to 1137. I think that they use on of the chromoly alloys now.