Bauska Barrels, what steel were they made of?

29 June 2010, 03:42

Lar45

Hi everybody. I was at the Linebaugh Big Bore Seminar in Cody a couple weeks ago and was talking with someone there who said that Bauska was useing 12L14 steel for there rifle barrels. He said they had a few law suits from people being injured and that's why they went out of business.
Does anyone know any more details, or if their barrels are safe to use?
I have .510 and .550 blanks still sitting on a shelf that I never got around to useing.
I also have a .475 in a gun. I'm wondering if I should pull it and replace?
When I ordered them, they said they were 4140.

29 June 2010, 03:51

vapodog

quote:
was talking with someone there who said that Bauska was useing 12L14 steel for there rifle barrels.

Believe it or not.....Heritage arms used it in their .22 rimfire handgun barrels.....I was amazed that anyone would use such a steel for a gun barrel.

There is lots od BS floating around so be careful... frankly it's inconceivable that anyone would use 12L14 for a high pressured centerfire rifle barrel.....

You should be able to tell using a simple Rc test.....12L14 will probably not even register to "0" on the Rc scale where 4140 steel (even as annealed) will probably read somewhere around 30!

If your reading is around "0"....pull the barrel and replace it!.....it'll wearout quickly anyway even if it does not bulge on you.

29 June 2010, 04:42

mete

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.n...dex.php/t-15119.html
A number of comments about 12L14 steel here for rifle barrels , positive and negative.
Perhaps low pressure rounds but not for me ! Note comments on rusting. I would also expect quality , inclusions etc ,not to be the best ,not for high pressure.
BTW 41L40 was used in WWII for rifle barrels .We,[ Timkin Co ] had some barrel stock of this in the '60s I remember.

29 June 2010, 04:49

jeffeosso

not saying what bauska barrels are made from - i have no clue
4140 annealled can go as low as 18, generally 20-21

Les Bauska went out of business for a couple reasons
1: Les's Health
2: Inability to control workforce (of 1) and deliver product within A YEAR of order
3: customers demanding money back vs lost time

I lost about $1K in tooling and reamers went it happened.

The end ... Wish Les All the best, and a law suit had NOTHING to do with it

29 June 2010, 05:04

J Wisner

He used to by his steel from Pacific Machinery and Tool Steel in Portland OR.

I KNOW he used LaSalle 1144 steel in the late 80's thru the 90's, as I was in Portland quite often to pick my steel up, and there would be a bundle every so often of 1144 with Bauska's name on it.

NOW this is the same Steel that got Remington nailed with the lawsuit over the shotgun barrels in the 90's

James Wisner
Custom Metalsmith

29 June 2010, 05:26

buckbrush

1144= Stress Proof.

29 June 2010, 05:39

gunmaker

quote:
Originally posted by J Wisner:
He used to by his steel from Pacific Machinery and Tool Steel in Portland OR.

I KNOW he used LaSalle 1144 steel in the late 80's thru the 90's, as I was in Portland quite often to pick my steel up, and there would be a bundle every so often of 1144 with Bauska's name on it.

NOW this is the same Steel that got Remington nailed with the lawsuit over the shotgun barrels in the 90's

James Wisner
Custom Metalsmith

I heard the same stressproof story from Kiff a year or so ago when I was fighting an ultra. mega super over tight Bauska bore on a 9.3 I just rechambered to X64. Case head expanded .005" on a normal load. Because of this, I won't work on a rifle/pistol with a Bauska barrel ever again. Not worth the liability nightmare for a few $ worth of work.

29 June 2010, 19:29

kcstott

quote:
Originally posted by vapodog:
quote:
was talking with someone there who said that Bauska was useing 12L14 steel for there rifle barrels.

Believe it or not.....Heritage arms used it in their .22 rimfire handgun barrels.....I was amazed that anyone would use such a steel for a gun barrel.

There is lots od BS floating around so be careful... frankly it's inconceivable that anyone would use 12L14 for a high pressured centerfire rifle barrel.....

You should be able to tell using a simple Rc test.....12L14 will probably not even register to "0" on the Rc scale where 4140 steel (even as annealed) will probably read somewhere around 30!

If your reading is around "0"....pull the barrel and replace it!.....it'll wearout quickly anyway even if it does not bulge on you.

That's not how steel works and is sure not how a Rockwell test will register. As posted by Jeff Annealed 4140 will go as low as about 18 points. but so will cold rolled steel 1018.

All steels will test at a minimum of about 15 points Rc 12L14 is a free machining steel as compared to cold rolled it is just as hard but due to having lead in the alloy it machines considerably easier then cold rolled or 4140 for that matter. But it will still register a Rc reading and it won't be zero.

As for using 12L14 in a gun barrel. It would be fine for a rim fire but it should be a felony to use it in any center fire gun barrel

29 June 2010, 21:10

vapodog

quote:
All steels will test at a minimum of about 15 points Rc 12L14

I've personally tested 12L14 several times on a Rc scale and the needle often failed to even return to zero!

29 June 2010, 23:08

mete

Technically the HRc scale stops at 20 .For softer metals you switch to the HRb scale.
LaSalle's 'stress=proof' steel has be stress relieved.

30 June 2010, 00:06

clowdis

Bauska did make some muzzle loading barrels years ago, I remember using one an a Ferguson, and he may have used 12L14 on those. That was a pretty common steel for making muzzle loader barrels with. I wouldn't think he'd use the same stuff for the higher pressure smokeless powder barrels though.

30 June 2010, 02:22

vapodog

quote:
As for using 12L14 in a gun barrel. It would be fine for a rim fire but it should be a felony to use it in any center fire gun barrel

I think most all of us can agree on this!

30 June 2010, 05:15

kcstott

quote:
Originally posted by vapodog:
quote:
All steels will test at a minimum of about 15 points Rc 12L14

I've personally tested 12L14 several times on a Rc scale and the needle often failed to even return to zero!

I'm not going to argue your results, but you must be getting some damn soft steel then. I've checked our stock too and nothing we have reads that low or is off scale. I mean it at least reads a wee bit off the bottom of 15 points
It is soft but I didn't think it would bottom out the C scale