Pac Met no longer processes rifle receivers. I just talked to them.

Blanchard does; $100 for the first receiver or bolt. $25 after that. You must specify how hard you want them.

In my limited experience, Blanchard does a great job.

I have looked at their list of Heat Treatments offered and some of them I just can't decipher. Do they do case hardening if you know?

Yes, they call it gas carburizing. Same thing using modern terminology due to the type of equipment they use (controlled atmosphere furnaces).

These guys have the gear to heat treat most anything large or small.

Jeremy

quote:

Originally posted by Woodhits:
In my limited experience, Blanchard does a great job.

+1

Yes, case hardening is the same thing as gas carburizing; using a gas (usually carbon monoxide) to impart carbon into the steel instead of the old ways of a solid carbon containing material, like leather or charcoal.

The mere fact that their clientele includes some of the giants in aviation/aerospace would indicate to me that they have their act together. Looking at their capabilities is a definite confirmation.

quote:

Originally posted by farbedo:
Yes, they call it gas carburizing. Same thing using modern terminology due to the type of equipment they use (controlled atmosphere furnaces).

These guys have the gear to heat treat most anything large or small.

Jeremy

Thanks. I knew what pack carburizing was but I didn't know if it did the same thing.

On another note, I would imagine it would be necessary to know the hardness of the material to be re-hardened before you sent it.

Has anyone used one of the Poldi portable hardness testers or one of the older Detroit type to check hardness on a receiver?

A long time ago I had my M98 reheat treated by IIRC Pac Met. M98s were just a plain carbon steel like 1018 and carburized .I can't remember the questions but to me a metallurgist the were satisfactory .Mine had spotty hardness so the process would be to recarburize and reharden. So it made no difference in original hardness because it would be rehardened. Remember the original carbon 'case ' was thin.
Anyway it has worked all these years !!
Did they say why they were giving up that process ?

First thing they do is completely anneal it; so it doesn't matter what it is now, it will be dead soft low carbon steel. Then they add carbon to the surface, and quench it; then draw it back to whatever hardness you specify. Normally RC35-40 or so And the case will be relatively thin, still leaving the core soft so the receiver won't crack or shatter.
Personally, I never have receivers heat treated. I test them and don't put magnums on those that are softer, like some 1909s, etc. Or use only vz24s which are always good.

I have done some gas carburizing using my own M. Mouse technique. I placed the parts in a crucible and fed acetylene into it while cooking it at 1700 degrees for four hours. Seemed to work out well. I got a nice deep case. This was not a receiver, by the way. I liked pack carburizing better but some others in the shop were bugged by the smell of cooking bone meal. Regards, Bill