cutting through melonite??

A

alinwa

oft dis'd member
Years ago I tried re-crowning a melonited barrel and was left with the impression that melonite is H A R D !!! Like "wreck toolbits" hard.

I haven't tried machine melonited steel since (altho I have touched a file to some, it was hard) and have posted re my experience as if I knew what I was talking about. Others have also posted about melonite "acting like the old case-hardened receivers"

Well I done me a BUNCHA' them old dudes..... P14's, M1917's, 03A3's, 98's, 93's etc etc..... and hated them. Had all sorts of wing-ding jigs and grinders and spade drills and chemicals and always wondered "how is this worth it??" But they were hard...



SOOOOO,


I wanted to drill and tap another 1/2X28 hole thru the receiver ring on a melonited Neuvo and was all geared up for a fight.....had out the carbide mills, dremel burrs, carbide taps etc, but decided to "mark it" with an old HSS drill......"plump"....liddle silver divot.

hmmmmm

"Pzzzzt"....tidy liddle pilot hole.


"bzoooop".... all done.....the thing drilled and tapped like BUTTAH'! It drilled like any other BAT! Didn't even FEEL the meloniting....


So, all's I can say is, not ALL melonited receivers are wikkid hah'd!

And I'll quit talking about how "it's hard to work on melonited stuff".... at least until I've gone and cut up some more gas nitrided items, or done some better "before and after" comparisons
 
alinwa said:
Years ago I tried re-crowning a melonited barrel and was left with the impression that melonite is H A R D !!! Like "wreck toolbits" hard.

I haven't tried machine melonited steel since (altho I have touched a file to some, it was hard) and have posted re my experience as if I knew what I was talking about. Others have also posted about melonite "acting like the old case-hardened receivers"

Well I done me a BUNCHA' them old dudes..... P14's, M1917's, 03A3's, 98's, 93's etc etc..... and hated them. Had all sorts of wing-ding jigs and grinders and spade drills and chemicals and always wondered "how is this worth it??" But they were hard...



SOOOOO,




I wanted to drill and tap another 1/2X28 hole thru the receiver ring on a melonited Neuvo and was all geared up for a fight.....had out the carbide mills, dremel burrs, carbide taps etc, but decided to "mark it" with an old HSS drill......"plump"....liddle silver divot.

hmmmmm

"Pzzzzt"....tidy liddle pilot hole.


"bzoooop".... all done.....the thing drilled and tapped like BUTTAH'! It drilled like any other BAT! Didn't even FEEL the meloniting....


So, all's I can say is, not ALL melonited receivers are wikkid hah'd!



And I'll quit talking about how "it's hard to work on melonited stuff".... at least until I've gone and cut up some more gas nitrided items, or done some better "before and after" comparisons
Click to expand...

Al, I don’t think that whatever Bat is putting on these actions is hard at all.

It does make then slick, though. And it’s pretty.
 
jackie schmidt said:
Al, I don’t think that whatever Bat is putting on these actions is hard at all.

It does make then slick, though. And it’s pretty.
Click to expand...

Well that would explain it :)

And yes, it's the slickest SS action I've ever felt, whether that's the fat-bolt design or the coating, I do like it.

We'll see how it wears in.
 
The melonite on a Bat seems to run about .002" deep. I do notice the hardness, but with carbide its not an issue. I am surprised hss went through on yours.
 
Melonite is just a case harden, probably no more than .0005"
I have a setup that holds a Dremel on the toolpost with a very thin cut off blade. I just touch the muzzle and then saw the end off. Indicate and crown.
 
The meloniting that I've seen is hard as hell. I wouldn't even consider putting a reamer in it and after one barrel, I will only grind a crown on a melonited barrel. Carbide will cut it but finish is a whole nuther story.
 
Mike, just get below the case hardening and cut with any lathe tool. Melonite is a very thin case".0005 max" . No, I would not try to rechamber, just a recrown.
 
Butch Lambert said:
Mike, just get below the case hardening and cut with any lathe tool. Melonite is a very thin case".0005 max" . No, I would not try to rechamber, just a recrown.
Click to expand...

But the bore is hard too. I couldn't get a clean cut at the very edge of the bore by cutting. Grinding works great, though.
 
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