Pistol frame heat treating?

I'm currently building a detachable-magazine C96 broomhandle Mauser pistol using an old Federal Ordnance frame, and I'm not sure if I need to be thinking about heat treating it.

A little background: The frame was sold as new old stock, presumably made sometime in the '70s or '80s. Based on the quality of the machining and amount of hand fitting I've had to do, I suspect that the frame is a factory second. Because of this, I suspect that if heat treating was part of Federal Ordnance's manufacturing process, this frame probably didn't get that far as the steel has been relatively easy to work (certainly much easier than some of the components in my donor C96.

I have two main areas of concern. First are the rails for the barrel extension, which need to be durable. Second is the lock frame stop recess, which holds the barrel and all the internals in the gun under recoil. I am concerned about this area because it appears as though the grip portion of the frame was made separately and welded on, and there was what looked to be a deposit left in the recess from the welding process.

Is heat treatment something I should be concerned about? If so, I would consider having it done professionally unless the costs were prohibitive.

Thanks for the help.

I would recommend heat treating. Wear surfaces need to be hardened for longevity and smooth operation. First thing any shop will ask is what steel it is. Not knowing that makes things more difficult. As I've not had that issue I do not know what their response will be.

I have used Blanchards, Metal Treaters and lately Armstrong Machine Company in Pocahontas, IA. VERY reasonable and good quality work on several pre 64 Model 70 receivers.
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Andre`

See if you can find someone with a XRF metal tester to analyze the steel. Maybe your local scrap dealer.

Do you need an FFL licensed heat treat shop for this?

Royldean said:

Do you need an FFL licensed heat treat shop for this?

Click to expand...

Yes you do.

RWO

Ted,
Since heat treating will be a problem unknown alloy needs to be done by FFL license holder. One way to see if it even needs it will be to compare it to an original, can you locate one, whether it is a worn out junker or a good one you could do a hardness test of file test in some out of the way spot.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Based on a copy of a Federal Ordnance catalog that I have, there's a good chance that the steel is either going to be 8640 or 8620 (but not guaranteed).

Using an automatic center punch I did a quick and dirty (and thoroughly unscientific) comparison of the original frame to the new one. The indents seem similarly sized, with the new frame maybe being a bit larger.

I guess I'll start reaching out to heat treaters to get quotes and see if this even makes financial sense.

8640 probably can be heat treated but 8620 will have to be case hardened. Now that is not automatically a bad thing as M1 rifles are 8620 and they last just fine.