Mauser Help Needed for Buddy

[gtty]

A buddy of mine is having the following problem. Anyone have any suggestions?

"I got the barrel for the mauser trued up in the lathe and squared off the breech. I then decided to mount the sight bases to the receiver. I got everything aligned on the mill, got my best cobalt drill bit and nothin. The drill wouldn't so much as scratch the metal on the receiver. I tried using a dremel to get through the hard layer, still no luck. Short of annealing the metal, have you got any suggestions."

[holescreek]

I have had a little luck spot annealing with a regular iron nail. Cut the head off of a regular framing nail and put it in the drill chuck over the spot you want to drill. Set the spindle speed to a high rpm and bring the nail down onto the receiver and keep the pressure on until it turns red from heat. I learned this a very long time ago during my apprenticeship, and didn't try it out until a couple of decades later. It worked for me is all I can say about it. I had an old german master would tell me stuff that I thought couldn't possibly be true because it sounded crazy. Some of it probably was.

If you google "spot anneal mauser" you will get a lot of hits with tons of suggestions, none using a nail though!

[bladeworks123]

Just about has to carefully spot anneal it. Especially for when it comes to being able to tap the holes.

[holescreek]

Just so it wouldn't sound too crazy, I googled "spot anneal with a nail" and hit this:


I thought this might be worth a new thread so it didn't get buried in the old one.

Previously I had asked how to remove the hardness from some steel rails so I could drill and tap them. A couple of really good replies resulted. In my continuing quest, I found this on the web:

"Spot-Annealing Hack Saw Blades and Other Hardened Steel
© John A. Swensen 1996. All rights reserved.

The hardened steels used to make hack saw blades and other edge tools are very difficult to drill using ordinary drill bits. However, it is easy to soften the steel in the area of the hole by spot-annealing the metal. Note that this technique probably will not work with high-speed steels, which are designed to retain their hardness even at red-hot temperatures.

This technique was described by Alexander G. Weygers in his The Making of Tools , Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1973, ISBN 0 442 29360-7. This wonderful book is an introduction to blacksmithing and toolmaking in general, and is highly recommended.

Another of his books, equally good, is The Complete Modern Blacksmith , Ten Speed Press, 1997, ISBN 0 898 15896-6.

Spot-annealing requires a drill motor and a nail or other steel rod about the diameter of the desired hole. Cut off the nail head and smooth the end, then chuck the nail into the drill motor. At high speed, attempt to drill a hole in the hardened steel. The attempt will fail, but the resulting friction will heat the metal until the point of contact turns straw, then bronze, then peacock, and, finally, blue.

Stop the heating process and allow the steel to cool while you replace the nail with a drill bit of the desired size. At low speed, using a cooling/lubricating fluid, drill the hole through the softened steel. "

[gtty]

Thanks guys!! I knew someone would have a good fix for this :)

[bladeworks123]

A 5/32 HSS drill bit with a flat butt end turned upside down will heat a little larger area and not give out as fast as a nail. We do this on tempered tool steel knife blades for drilling the tangs or on hardened bolsters for rivets or screws.

[Global Gunsmithing]

or you can use a solid carbide bit, at less than 200rpm, then you have spot anneal the hole so it can be threaded

[bladeworks123]

Ken brings up a good point...you will have to anneal the hole for threading. Not sure how you do it Ken, but I have had pretty good luck with putting a trashed bit in the hole upside down and heating just the bit to bright red and then let it cool.

[Global Gunsmithing]

Ken brings up a good point...you will have to anneal the hole for threading. Not sure how you do it Ken, but I have had pretty good luck with putting a trashed bit in the hole upside down and heating just the bit to bright red and then let it cool.

I use the same method, except a blank drill rod, that fits the hole perfectly, i like your way better, its cheaper, never thought about the trashed drill bit,

[bladeworks123]

I trash enough drill bits that I have found a lot of useful purposes for them.... Taps too...

[gtty]

Thanks all for the info here. Here is my Buddies message to me:

"I also got the receiver drilled and tapped. The friction anealing trick worked perfectly. I set the mill for 2300 rpm and used a shank off an old drill bit. Never thought I'd need to use the higher rpm settings."