Maraging Steel - use in firearms
hedjazrail
so for which application ?
TIA
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John Kepler
# Does anyone know of Maraging steel being used in any firearms and if
# so for which application ?
These Ni-Co alloys have less hoop-strength than Cr-Mo alloys, so they are
rarely used in any significant firearms applications.
John
jadel
# Does anyone know of Maraging steel being used in any firearms and if
# so for which application ?
IIRC, the maraging alloys were used primarily in the aerospace
industry. They offer great strength even when rolled very thin for use
as the outer skin of rockets, etc.
According to Wikipedia, they are used to make firing pins for
automatic weapons.
J. Del Col
Asa
# Does anyone know of Maraging steel being used in any firearms and if
# so for which application ?
Remington and Hastings make shotgun chokes from it.
On Feb 11, 7:25 am, "John Kepler" <jekep...@amplex.net> wrote:
# These Ni-Co alloys have less hoop-strength than Cr-Mo alloys, so they are
# rarely used in any significant firearms applications.
NO.
http://www.key-to-steel.com/Articles/Art103.htm describes maraging
steels as "ultra-high strength" with "Superior fracture toughness
compared to quenched and tempered steel of similar strength level."
Hoop strength is tensile or yield strength along the annulus of a
cylinder. "Ultra high strength" = high yield strength. "Superior
fracture toughness" usually equates to tensile strength.
I suspect the biggest hurdles to widespread use of such steels in
firearms are cost and availability.
jadel
# Does anyone know of Maraging steel being used in any firearms and if
# so for which application ?
It's amazing what a brief Google session reveals.
Maraging steels contain essentially no carbon. They remain ductile
and malleable while retaining great strength. They cannot be hardened
like the steels typically used to make guns
They are used for firing pins in automatic weapons because they retain
their strength even after many cycles of heating and cooling. They
are also very stable dimensionally during those cycles.
Because maraging steels are very resistant to flex cracking, they are
used to make fencing foils. However, they cannot be used to make
knives or swords because they will not hold an edge at all.
Maraging alloys are also considerably more expensive than other
steels.
J. Del Col
Asa
# On Feb 11, 6:36 am, hedjazrail <hedjazr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
# # Does anyone know of Maraging steel being used in any firearms and if
# # so for which application ?
#
# It's amazing what a brief Google session reveals.
#
# Maraging steels contain essentially no carbon. They remain ductile
# and malleable while retaining great strength. They cannot be hardened
# like the steels typically used to make guns
#
# They are used for firing pins in automatic weapons because they retain
# their strength even after many cycles of heating and cooling. They
# are also very stable dimensionally during those cycles.
#
# Because maraging steels are very resistant to flex cracking, they are
# used to make fencing foils. However, they cannot be used to make
# knives or swords because they will not hold an edge at all.
What???!!!
#From the link I provided earlier:
"Maraging steels are carbonless Fe-Ni alloys additionally alloyed with
cobalt, molybdenum, titanium and some other elements. A typical
example is an iron alloy with 17-19% Ni, 7-9% Co, 4.5-5% Mo and
0.6-0.9% Ti. Alloys of this type are hardened to martensite and then
tempered at 480-500 C. The tempering results in strong precipitation
hardening owing to the precipitation of intermetallics from the
martensite, which is supersaturated with the alloying elements. By
analogy with the precipitation hardening in aluminum, copper and other
non-ferrous alloys, this process has been termed ageing, and since the
initial structure is martensite, the steels have been called
maraging."
Martensite is the steel phase found in most forms of cutlery. Carbon
is NOT required to form martensite.
17-4 PH Stainless steel can be classified as a maraging steel. In the
fully hardened and aged condition, the structure is martensite, with
finely dispersed precipitate particles in the matrix. The result is a
hard, and very tough material - one that resists mechanical wear and
shock loading very well. This alloy can be hardened to 44 Rc, which
isn't spectacular - but it means it will hold an edge, at least for a
while. In fact, if I wanted to build a superior blade and cost was no
expense, the body of the blade might well be 17-4, with a hardened
edge welded in. Don't pooh-pooh such methods either - many blades
were made in such a manner, including samurai swords.
In gun barrels, high hardness is not desired - but toughness is.
Hardness for a typical rifle barrel is between 25-35 Rc. Again, if it
wasn't for cost, maraging steels might be more prevalent for this
application. Note that Lothar-Walther's new barrel steel is
essentially vacuum arc remelted 17-4 PH.
jadel
# On Feb 12, 8:46 am, "jadel" <delco...@mail.ab.edu> wrote:
# # On Feb 11, 6:36 am, hedjazrail <hedjazr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
# # # Does anyone know of Maraging steel being used in any firearms and if
# # # so for which application ?
# #
# # It's amazing what a brief Google session reveals.
# #
# # Maraging steels contain essentially no carbon. They remain ductile
# # like the steels typically used to make guns
# #
# # They are used for firing pins in automatic weapons because they retain
# # are also very stable dimensionally during those cycles.
# #
# # Because maraging steels are very resistant to flex cracking, they are
# # knives or swords because they will not hold an edge at all.
#
# What???!!!
#
# #From the link I provided earlier:
#
# "Maraging steels are carbonless Fe-Ni alloys additionally alloyed with
# cobalt, molybdenum, titanium and some other elements. A typical
# example is an iron alloy with 17-19% Ni, 7-9% Co, 4.5-5% Mo and
# 0.6-0.9% Ti. Alloys of this type are hardened to martensite and then
# tempered at 480-500 C. The tempering results in strong precipitation
# hardening owing to the precipitation of intermetallics from the
# martensite, which is supersaturated with the alloying elements. By
# analogy with the precipitation hardening in aluminum, copper and other
# non-ferrous alloys, this process has been termed ageing, and since the
# initial structure is martensite, the steels have been called
# maraging."
#
# Martensite is the steel phase found in most forms of cutlery. Carbon
# is NOT required to form martensite.
I never said it was.
#
# 17-4 PH Stainless steel can be classified as a maraging steel. In the
# fully hardened and aged condition, the structure is martensite, with
# finely dispersed precipitate particles in the matrix. The result is a
# hard, and very tough material - one that resists mechanical wear and
# shock loading very well. This alloy can be hardened to 44 Rc, which
# isn't spectacular - but it means it will hold an edge, at least for a
# while. In fact, if I wanted to build a superior blade and cost was no
# expense, the body of the blade might well be 17-4, with a hardened
# edge welded in. Don't pooh-pooh such methods either - many blades
# were made in such a manner, including samurai swords.
#
Would the maraging alloy form the edge? No.
I'm familiar with laminate blades, I own one.
J. Del Col
Asa
# Would the maraging alloy form the edge? No.
In some cases, yes!
http://www.specialtyblades.com/materials/materials_options.pdf
"301 Stainless, 17-4 & 17-7 PH Stainless
These austenitic stainless steels provide more corrosion and shock
resistance than 400 series martensitic steels, but sacrifice some wear
resistance and hardness."