What is a "hammer forged" barrel?
Aftermath Fan
barrels are "hammer forged".
I am completely ignorant of metallurgy and was wondering what this
meant. I don't think they really have men in a factory with little
hammers working on pistol barrels...
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Frank
> ...
Easy to google up:
http://www.lasc.us/RangingShotBarrelMakingFeature.htm
May be better sites but this explains it simply.
Tom S.
# I was reading some manufacturer literature and they mentioned their
# barrels are "hammer forged".
#
# I am completely ignorant of metallurgy and was wondering what this
# meant. I don't think they really have men in a factory with little
# hammers working on pistol barrels...
#
Here's a starting place - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forge
and - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forging#Open-die_drop-hammer_forging
Now, realize that modern barrels are using something more akin to a pneumatic
hammer, possibly computer controlled.
Thomas Reynolds
"Aftermath Fan" <survi...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:h7bk3d$hmh$1...@news.albasani.net...
#I was reading some manufacturer literature and they mentioned their
# barrels are "hammer forged".
#
# I am completely ignorant of metallurgy and was wondering what this
# meant. I don't think they really have men in a factory with little
# hammers working on pistol barrels...
It is done by forging the barrel over a mandrel containing a reverse image
of the rifling, and often the chamber as well
John Kepler
> ...
Hammer forging was developed in Germany in 1939. Here a drilled
barrel, rather than being reamed, is honed to give it a very fine
interior finish. Then it is placed on a tungsten carbide mandrel that
has the entire rifling pattern ground in relief into its surface. The
barrel/mandrel combo is then placed between two opposing power hammers
and rotated. The hammers literally beat the barrel into the mandrel�s
pattern. I�m told a barrel will actually grow around a third of its
length during this process. It usually takes around three minutes for
the rifling process to be completed. As you would think, this method
produces tremendous stresses in the barrel that have to be relieved
through heat treating.
The advantages of hammer forging is the fact that the interior finish
is very good, and the bore surface becomes work hardened in the
beating process. The result is a very durable, long lasting barrel.
Modern hammer forging has progressed to the point that even the
chamber can be included in the mandrel pattern. These machines are
very large, complex, and expensive however.
It's also a very cheap process once you get the mandrels and forge-
hammer system set-up. It makes a cheap, decent high-volume production
barrel....not an outstanding barrel (you WILL NOT find a hammer-forged
barrel shooting in any serious competition), but a decent
one....better than other high-volume production methods.
George
like the inside of a barrel. The blank and mandrel are placed inside of a
hammer forge machine that hammers the blank onto the mandrel giving it's
interior the form of the mandrel. the mandrel may already have a chamber so
you will only have to perform basic fitting to install the barrel on the
rifle.
Originally the only ones commonly doing it were Styer and their barrels had
a pattern on the exterior from the process. In recent years the process has
become common and from what I unferstand Ruger makes all of their barrels
this way.Doing a web search on the topic there are probably several
manufacturers offering hammer forged barrel now.
The reason cited for the process not being common in the past was the high
initial cost of the machinery.
Doing a web search on the topic turns up more product offerings than
technical info. I did find this:
http://www.lasc.us/RangingShotBarrelMakingFeature.htm which has an entry
about half way down the page.
George in Las Vegas
J.Nielsen
<survi...@gmail.com> wrote:
#I was reading some manufacturer literature and they mentioned their
#barrels are "hammer forged".
#
#I am completely ignorant of metallurgy and was wondering what this
#meant. I don't think they really have men in a factory with little
#hammers working on pistol barrels...
Here's a good explanation:
http://technology.calumet.purdue.edu/met/higley/NotesOnHammerForgedBarrels.pdf
DockScience
# barrels are "hammer forged".
#
# I am completely ignorant of metallurgy and was wondering what this
# meant. I don't think they really have men in a factory with little
# hammers working on pistol barrels...
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/training/firearms-training/module04/fir_m04_t06_07.htm
George
# hammer system set-up. It makes a cheap, decent high-volume production
# barrel....not an outstanding barrel (you WILL NOT find a hammer-forged
# barrel shooting in any serious competition), but a decent
# one....better than other high-volume production methods.
I don't know about competition but my SSG would put five under a quarter @
100 yards.
George in Las Vegas
Dick R.
Not sure if this applies, but last year we were in Williamsburg, VA
and visited the gun maker in the historical district. Looked a little
like a blacksmith shop, but there were some interesting devices in the
shop including one for reaming a rifle barrel. I asked what he used
to drill the "hole" through the barrel, he said they didn't and he showed
us how barrels were formed and rolled out of flat steel, then reamed.
I didn't know that.
He had some beautiful guns that he had built using the "old fashioned 1700s"
method.
FWIW
Dick
DockScience
"Dick R." <di...@visi.com> wrote in message
news:h7cd4o$mg0$1...@news.albasani.net...
# Hi all,
# Not sure if this applies, but last year we were in Williamsburg, VA
# and visited the gun maker in the historical district. Looked a little
# like a blacksmith shop, but there were some interesting devices in the
# shop including one for reaming a rifle barrel. I asked what he used
# to drill the "hole" through the barrel, he said they didn't and he showed
# us how barrels were formed and rolled out of flat steel, then reamed.
# I didn't know that.
# He had some beautiful guns that he had built using the "old fashioned
# 1700s"
# method.
# FWIW
# Dick
Yes... the gun shop in Williamsburg is a wonderful place to go and watch a
master artisan in action.
Anthony W
# I don't know about competition but my SSG would put five under a quarter @
# 100 yards.
# George in Las Vegas
I bought a NATO surplus .308 Win hammer forged FN barrel many years ago.
My main reason for getting it at the time was it was only 30 bucks and
I was rather broke but it has been a fantastic barrel. I had it put on
my 09 Argentine Mauser to make one of the most accurate hunting rifles
I've ever had the pleasure to shoot. It's always printed well on paper
too but that's not as much fun...
I was out with a few friends shooting old bowling pins so I set some up
a 125 yards. The rifle was sighed in for 200 yards and with a dead
center aim, I was putting the bullets right through the center of the
neck of the pins. Not that it's helped me bring home more game but I'm
not a very good hunter and my life doesn't depend on me bring home a deer.
Tony
E30 Rocketman
"It makes a cheap, decent high-volume production barrel....not an
outstanding barrel (you WILL NOT find a hammer-forged barrel shooting
in any serious competition), but a decent one.."
Firstly, I doubt you have been to every serious competition/match in
this country or elsewhere to support that statement and secondly I
have two Howa rifles from 1987 marketed by S&W and Mossberg...both
with hammer forged barrels...both shoot sub-sub MOA (if there is such
a designation) and have won many benchrest matches with them...they
are .223 Rem and .308 Win caliber...sit in Richards Microfit thumbhole
stocks which have been hand inletted and glass bedded by me and thats
all that has been done as far as "customization".
Third...since just about all the big name makers in Europe use the
hammer forge process I'm sure they would be surprised to learn they
shouldn't be useing their rifles and pistols in serious
competition!!!!
Just my opinion :o)
Bob Holtzman
# George said:
#
# "It makes a cheap, decent high-volume production barrel....not an
# outstanding barrel (you WILL NOT find a hammer-forged barrel shooting
# in any serious competition), but a decent one.."
#
# Firstly, I doubt you have been to every serious competition/match in
# this country or elsewhere to support that statement and secondly I
# have two Howa rifles from 1987 marketed by S&W and Mossberg...both
# with hammer forged barrels...both shoot sub-sub MOA (if there is such
# a designation) and have won many benchrest matches with them...they
# are .223 Rem and .308 Win caliber...sit in Richards Microfit thumbhole
# stocks which have been hand inletted and glass bedded by me and thats
# all that has been done as far as "customization".
First, "sub-sub MOA" won't be competitive in many benchrest matches that
I'm aware of. What matches have you won with them?
Second, I shot benchrest for a number of years and still keep up with
what goes on in the activity. Precision Shooting magazine publishes
breakdowns of equipment used by the top 10 or 20 shooters in the big
matches and I have yet to see a hammer forged barrel appear in those
lists. Believe me, if hammer forged barrels were competitive there would
be headlines in that magazine.
# Third...since just about all the big name makers in Europe use the
# hammer forge process I'm sure they would be surprised to learn they
# shouldn't be useing their rifles and pistols in serious
# competition!!!!
Third, I don't recall anyone saying the factories shouldn't use them.
They just aren't good enough *yet* to be used in benchrest competition.
--
Bob Holtzman
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