I have heard numerous times that the 1917 Eddystones are not good for customs since they are too brittle and cannot handle high pressures. Does heat treating make a difference? I have heard of people sending off early 1903's to have them re-heattreated before using them. Will this work for an Eddystone, and for that matter, is it a good idea to begin with? I have passed on 03's before that were reheated because I thought maybe it wasn't the best way to start out a custom gun.

Red

The early '03s were "burnt" and the metal was ruined. They eye-balled the amount of heat applied. The amount of ambient light would effect how the degree of redness appeared to the guy doing the heat treating. So, a cloudy day resulted in a softer receiver than a sunny day. Pyrometers were used on the later receivers and the problem was solved. On the early ones some receivers were made too hot and the structure of the steel was destroyed. They are like a sintered metal product and have little strength. The molecules of the steel are not attached to each other. re-heat treating will not help.

Eddystone M-17s are really hard on the outside, particurarly Eddystones. I have used carbide drills and worried the taps through. The receiver, aft of the ring, can be heated with a torch to soften it a bit. That will not cause any problems with locking strength and make machineing of the back half possible. I have done several P-14s and no heat was necessary. I just milled away. I had one M-17 that was nasty, I heated the back half with a torch and did my thing after. I am not sure there is anything to be gained by re-heat treating. I would try to find a Winchester or Remington and avoid the issue. Other more experienced guys may have more to add.

I have read and heard from people more experienced than myself about the problem with the cracking of Eddystone receivers. It's one of those well-known "facts." It has also been pointed out that the cause of the cracking does not necessarily relate to the heat-treatment at all, except in a tangential way due to the way such hard metal refuses to twist under stress.

Apparently, in 1917 those barrels were screwed onto the receivers with a huge weighted flywheel that delivered an unbelievable amount of torque. Those barrels were screwed so tightly into the receiver that it was almost like they had been welded together. The cracking problem only arose when modern-day gunsmiths and tinkerers tried to remove those barrel the conventional way: with a barrel vise and brute strength.

Try to imagine if the barrel and receiver had in fact been welded together and the receiver was made of glass-hard metal. What would happen if you simply tried to torque them apart? The odds are that something in the receiver ring would crack.

So it was with '17 receivers. Eddystones are noted for cracking, but Remingtons and Winchesters have cracked, too, from this kind of brutal treatment.

A few decades ago, someone found the answer and largely solved the cracking problem. The easiest and most stress-free way to remove the original barrel from the receiver is to spin the whole unit in a lathe and make a tiny relief cut in the shoulder of the barrel shank where it is torqued up against the face of the receiver. After this is done, you should literally be able to unscrew the barrel by hand.

My gunsmith has followed this procedure on a number of '17s and '14s, including several Eddystones, and all have worked 100 percent.