Chamber weld question

Throw a piece in water. Even 58 RC is hard, and that is standard before tempering. 1095 is saltwater quench if I remember correctly. Quenching media has a lot to do with it. 4140 will easily go to 57-58RC in quenching oil. If you have a torch, try a small piece. Gun parts are drawn back or they are too brittle.
 
You guys know more than me, but I did learn from those sites I linked that quenching only goes so deep. That makes it harder on the surface and softer in side.

Back in the early 80s I built a solar home and read about Trombe walls with thermal phase shift of hours.
Evidently the phase shift delay and averaging causes the interior of thick steel to not quench quickly, allowing the Carbon molecules to migrate out of and not get trapped in the Iron matrix.
 
Nobody is taking sides here,good to learn new stuff. I agree with the Russian weld jobs, I welded a piece in the bridge of one and changed the bolt handle. You probably should use some kind of heat sink around the receiver ring, but I doubt if it affected it anyway. I would be careful what type of material I am welding on, it really does make a difference. You should have been around for the '03 Springfield thread, that was fun.
 
Thank you all for your input, I really appreciate it. A lot of good information here. Given the information received here, I've decided it would be wiser to not purchase the rifle I was interested in ( a French Berthier, a rare m1916/m34 conversion). Maybe one day I will find another which hasn't been demilitarized. Thanks again to all for your help.
 
I think you made the right decision to pass on the rifle.

But, all of the quenching/hardening info aside, here's something else to consinder. This may be useful for anyone considering one of the many de-milled Springfields on the market here in the US, or any other welded gun for that matter.

Assuming everything else is correct and safe, i.e. no cut receiver ring etc., if actual weld material has made it into the chamber, it may not be a simple matter just to ream it out.

IF the filler metal is harder than the chamber walls, it will have a tendency to divert the reamer into the softer metal. This is the same principle we use when setting a cement kick-off plug to drill a horizontal segment of an oil well.

Without a STIFF setup, you could easily cut an off-center or out of round chamber. Often, taking the gun to a machine shop or gunsmith with capeable equipment will cost more than having just bout a usable specimen to start with.
 
Reaming out a welded chamber would be unpredictable and likely result in a sloppy chamber. The rifle in question would most likely be fine with a new barrel, but then there is the issue of cost to re-barrel against cost of a ready to shoot rifle.
 
I was looking at a rifle like the OP's at one time just because it was an action I had been wanting for quite awhile. Why it had the chamber welded with a DEWAT rod is beyond me because is was a HVA commercial small ring action. Sure it was marked on the barrel as 8X57 and the only thing I could think of is some European countries frown on any civilian owning a rifle chambered in a military cartridge.

If you do purchase this rifle realize it is a parts gun only or you will have to rebarrel the rifle. However if you rebarrel it would be a good idea to send the receiver off for a new heat treat at someplace like Pac-Met. That was what my gunsmith told me I would need to do if he worked on it. I was looking at $250 for the complete rifle and that just didn't make it worth the time or effort for me, by the time I added up all the extra costs.
 
During the 1968 mess with all the new laws, a lot of rifles were rendered inoperable so they could be sold. Could be a result of that or what you said.
 
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