Sako Question
Hey Nick!
At Douglas barrels here is their mfg. process:
Bbl. steel is 4140, heat treated already to their specs and they are having very little scrap.
A piece is cut off the end and Rockwelled (it must be a certain C-scale for reasons to be given later).
It is cut off in lengths and lathed to their specs to fit the Pratt &Whitney deep drilling machine specs.
It is drilled and then reamed and gets the first "air gauge test."
Then, if o.k. it gets sent to the rifling area where the rifling is "ironed in" by a metal displacement button. The twist is controlled by the machine built be G.R. Douglas - a hydraulic cylinder that does the whole operation together with the button and gear driven chuck assy. that turnes the bbl as its rifled.
It is then air gauged again and sent to the "stress reliveing" oven where it is kept at about 500 to 600 degrees for hours, then left to cool.
It is then sent to Mr. Fred Depoy for visual straightness test by eye and air gauged again and the taper, if any (.0001-.0002) is marked by stencil on bbl.
If the stress relief has caused strains to be released in the blank then it is put in "scrap." (There is very little "scrap" at this time from the new steel vendor.)
Totally "straight barrels" are marked "premium" and put in stock, or contoured in a new high speed machine for customer. In my opinion they are the smoothest and best bbls. made!
Harry B.