My gunsmith is probably going to build me a custom rifle in 577 t.rex. He will do the action himself(mag Mauser design). I asked for some specs and was told that core hardness is C 32 (Rockwell) with surface hardness of more than 100.
Will this action be safe ?
I know the Enfield actions that A-Square uses, has a hardness in the 44-49 range.
What do you say JBelk, RGB + others

Ulrik---

There's no such thing as Rc 100 steel and no way I know of to get a 32 Rc core with a case hardened action.

There's no way I could pass judgment on an action that somebody else is considering making.....especially with figures like you give that really don't make sense.

Chrome moly alloy actions are usually 32 to 35 Rc all the way through. (bolts 5 points harder).

Case hardened mild steel actions are usually 5 to 10 Rc in the core and 60 Rc on the skin.....but the design has to be right first.

The steel isn't nearly as important as the design.......poor design will wreck the best steel. The finest made action in the world can be easily be ruined in heat-treat.

The safest way to go is to machine pre-hardened chrome-moly. You might check with Allen-Fry steel in Los Angeles, CA. They used to sell pre-treated alloys in rounds, hex, flats and squares. For safety sake I'd buy more than what's needed and TEST a piece before investing a lot of time in it.

JBelk,

Could you post the contact info for the specialty steel company you mentioned?

I ran a variety of searches without finding them.

This is the latest I have. The catalog is great reference material.

Fry Steel CO
Po Box 4048, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
(562) 802-2721

Ulrik,

Hardness does not equal strength. However, it is one component. I'm a Civil Engineer so I don't dabble where I lack expertiece, but I do remember a little bit from my Metalurgy class. If steel is too hard it will become brittle and will shatter.

SSK Industries ( http://www.sskindustries.com/ ) here in Ohio is known for making some serious cannons when it comes to firearms. The guy that owns the place (J.D. Jones) can be a little blunt. If you have a reputable gunsmith you should be OK. One question I would be asking is, "Has he ever made this type of firearm before?" If not, I might look elsewhere.