[jundeleon]

I read somewhere that heat treated gun metal parts are supposed to be harder.

Would you guys know if a little DIY heat treatment on say, a CZ75 slide stop, would make it harder and more durable?

By DIY heat treatment, I am referring to heating the part using a butane powered blow torch.

What would be a more scientific way of heat treatment on metal gun parts?

[mikol]

hi jun,

sorry i dont have any idea about your topic my friend, but i sent you a pm for price inquiry. hope you can help me. btw i am a new meber of BOG and i want to purchase a 1911 pistol in .45 cal. or 9mm just for home depense purpose and maybe later for comp. pag dina ako babalik dito sa Saudi.

[casmot]

Originally posted by jundeleon
I read somewhere that heat treated gun metal parts are supposed to be harder.

Would you guys know if a little DIY heat treatment on say, a CZ75 slide stop, would make it harder and more durable?

By DIY heat treatment, I am referring to heating the part using a butane powered blow torch.

What would be a more scientific way of heat treatment on metal gun parts?

Unless you can accurately control the temperature of your heat source, I would not advise it. Furthermore, unless you know what temperature you should reach, you could do 2 things to the metal, soften it or make it brittle.

[horge]

Generally if you heat steel sufficiently then let it cool slowly, you may actually be softening it. If on the other hand you heat then quench without calculation, the steel may harden so much it fractures immediately.

There is also case-hardening, which I used to do for pauldrons, plastrons and carapaces. You heat the metal to cherry red then pour prussiate of potash over it. Repeat until you pas out. This forms an obscenely hard (if obscenely-discolored) surface. I was younger then, and reckless. A modern DIY case-hardening compound is Kasenit, but I dunno if this is available locally.

Trust me on this, as I've BTDT...
This is something you want to leave to pro's.

The sheet-metal items I case hardened could stand minor deformation in the course of heating repeatedly. Something as finely machined as a slide, I would never touch. I'd risk deformation, and then I'd have to machine the whole piece again, except it's now hard as a dwarf's nuts!

Just have it hard-chromed
Probably the safest route to a quick (if minor) surface-hardening.