I am trying to drill and tap a Mouser receiver for scope mounts to no avail. I have drilled and taped the back of the receiver however I am having trouble drilling the front of the receiver. I haven't even been able to start the hole in the front of the receiver. Dose any one have any ideas on drilling the harden steel?
Thank you for your help.

Has this action been sent to a heat treater to be hardened?

Describe the ring hardness.....can you file it with a mill file?

It's very unusual to have a M-98 mauser that can't be drilled.....eddystones...maybe...but not Mausers

use a 3mm endmill, turn it slow, and use wd40 ...

and center punch the first hole.. then drag a file over it.

shouldn't be more than 31c, which cuts pretty easy,,, you aren't turning over 800rpm, are you?
j

A solid carbide spotting drill will cut through the outer layer of just about any Case Hardened receiver. Once you get through the outer layer a regular drill bit will work just fine.

Another handy-dandy little trick (if you have one) is to use an electro-etch chemical/electrical engraving tool. You just make a small dot on the template paper and etch as you normally would. It will cut right through the case hardening and also leave you with a perfect starting hole for your drill bit.

Another way to get it started is to use a high-speed grinder (like Dremel or Foredom) with a very small stone and carefully grind a very small spot to get you through the case hardening.

Last time I drilled a mouser it wasn't livley enough to bother screwing the antlers in.

Oh! you ment a Mauser.
Diamond coated burs in a dremel are just the ticket for cutting through the case hardened skin.
The carbide c'drill works very well but if you have a less than ridgid set up they are fairly fragile.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty Marlin:
Last time I drilled a mouser it wasn't livley enough to bother screwing the antlers in.

Oh! you ment a Mauser.
Diamond coated burs in a dremel are just the ticket for cutting through the case hardened skin.
The carbide c'drill works very well but if you have a less than ridgid set up they are fairly fragile.

Rusty,

I don’t know about you, but I would never attempt to drill into a rifle receiver (using anything) if my set up was not ridgid.

Well if a guy has to ask "how", you can't asume he has a mill or a high end drill press.
Carbide drills do not like being run on home-shop grade drill presses unless there are extra steps taken to ensure setup rigidity. Home grade drill presses are plenty ridgid enough for drilling and tapping a reciever, just not with carbide tools.

That's all I was trying to say.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick 0311:

Rusty,

I don’t know about you, but I would never attempt to drill into a rifle receiver (using anything) if my set up was not ridgid.

Rick, you are talking about rifles now aren't you?

quote:

Originally posted by Toomany Tools:

quote:

Originally posted by Rick 0311:

Rusty,

I don’t know about you, but I would never attempt to drill into a rifle receiver (using anything) if my set up was not ridgid.

Rick, you are talking about rifles now aren't you?

God, I hope so!