Are there any accurate electronic gauges available on the market that measure the surface hardness of rifle actions? Seems to be quite a bit of varying quality on both military and commercial Mauser actions. Specifically, I have a dandy as new Centurion action I am considering for a project in a medium caliber. What say you?

The only way I know to measure hardness is with the Rockwell ball system. Anyway, surface hardness does not tell the whole story; a modern made rifle made from alloy steel like CM will register soft, but will be much stronger than an old rifle with a very hard surface, made from low carbon steel. AND, it is hard (impossible) to measure receiver hardness where it counts; at the locking lug recesses. Outside hardness is not important.

WWII Military Mauser actions are measured differently than their commercial counterparts because their critical areas, the lug seats, were case hardened which produced hard surfaces and soft cores. In comparison, today's modern alloy actions read more accurately than do the Mausers because they are hardened uniformly throughout. A diamond indentor and Rockwell "C" scale is used to measure the hardness of receivers.

Normally, a large, heavy and cumbersome machine was used to measure hardness, but today there are small, digital, more portable units capable of producing precision results such as this http://www.portable-hardnesstesters.com/pht-met.html

To find out more, talk with the folks at Blanchards http://www.bmproc.com/ about their hardness measuring processes. They heat treat various actions.

$500 and you pick up and it is yours.

Thanks Butch. $500 seems like a good deal.I suppose it's better for me to check on the action by maker or model and leave it at that. Somehow, I envisioned a $100 tester was available. No harm in learning which actions are acceptable. I do like learning about Mausers. Thanks to all. Keep 'em coming. CB

I had a heat treating oven at one time and needed something to check hardness. After getting an electricity bill(all electric oven) I decided it would be much cheaper to have an expert check the hardness. The guy that bought the oven didn't know how lucky he was when it fell out of his truck on the way to his shop. He uses a heat treating shop also now.

Anyone driving from TX to CO? I'd love add that to my oven.
Steve

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:
I had a heat treating oven at one time and needed something to check hardness. After getting an electricity bill(all electric oven) I decided it would be much cheaper to have an expert check the hardness. The guy that bought the oven didn't know how lucky he was when it fell out of his truck on the way to his shop. He uses a heat treating shop also now.

Wise choice. Skip the learning curve and just get it done.

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
Anyone driving from TX to CO? I'd love add that to my oven.
Steve

Seems like a steal at this price. Good luck.

Butch, if you still have that tester, let me know and I'll make a road trip...

I spent a lot of time in a met lab testing hardness. Unless you know how and what type of heat treat was used, surface hardness is just that. It may not give you any idea of strength. I now use special files to check for surface hardness. Not accurate, but effective for most situations. $500 for butch's Wilson tester is a steal, hell, I might drive to Texas for it........Tom