Forged we know is great ... but what about CAST?

[Socrates]

Pine Tree Casting does the forging for Ruger, BFR, and Freedom Arms. Depends on what you are casting.
Don't know what steel ruger uses, but, BFR is 17-4 cylinder, 17-6 frame. Stronger and better made then Ruger.
Freedom Arms is all 17-4. Hard as heck to machine, but, strongest in the industry.

Perhaps what goes into the casting is VERY important....

 

[JohnKSa]

Stronger and better made then Ruger.

Pine Tree Castings IS Ruger...

http://www.engineeredspecialties.com/pinetree.htm
"Investment Casting Division of Ruger Advanced Materials Group"

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Casting/index.html
"Since 1963, Pine Tree Castings has been producing the finest quality investment castings for a wide range of industries and demanding customer applications.

From the earliest years, William B. Ruger saw the need for quality investment castings. Bill Ruger demanded processes that would allow him the freedom to design and produce firearms his way, and he demanded that every investment casting customer receive the same treatment. For over 45 years, Sturm, Ruger has maintained a reputation for providing quality investment castings for challenging applications.

Today, Pine Tree Castings provides investment castings for a wide range of industries, including commercial equipment, automotive, defense, firearms, sporting goods, hand and power tools, medical equipment and architectural hardware. Our customers count on quality investment castings that meet their specifications, their production schedules, and their budget.

When you choose Pine Tree Castings for your next investment casting application, you receive the benefit of experienced casting engineers who will work directly with you to solve the challenges your part presents. Each part is carefully evaluated to determine the best tooling, gating, fixturing, and finishing to meet your needs. Every process decision is carefully reviewed to ensure that you will receive castings in which you can have confidence."

 

[Socrates]

I know. Ruger Subsid....

 

[JohnKSa]

It is a division of Ruger, not a subsidiary.

 

[Socrates]

I stand corrected....What does Ruger use in their castings, for the blued guns????

 

[Hafoc]

I gots me some guns that are forged, some that are investment cast, and one with an aluminum frame that's made however the heck they make aluminum frames. I keep taking 'em out to the range and shooting boolits through 'em trying to get one or the other of 'em to break, but dagnappit, they just don't!

 

[JohnKSa]

What does Ruger use in their castings, for the blued guns????

You've got me there...

Here are some lists of the steels that Ruger says are some of the more common ones. The first list is "non-stainless".

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Casting/T-Steel.html
I would guess that one or more of the entries on that first list may be what they use for their blued guns but it's no more than a guess.

If you look down at the stainless lists you will find 17-4.

 

[LouPran]

WOW ... interesting pics Sturmgewehre.

You can definately see the drawback to cast parts when it comes to the slide.

I'd never have considered a firearm with a cast slide ... I'm just interested in the DWessons with cast frames which I don't think would have that type of problem but it was the mating to the slide failing that I'm concerned about.

 

[LouPran]

JohnKSa
Staff

Join Date: 2001-02-11
Posts: 9,764

Here's a thread from another forum that covers the topic pretty thoroughly.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=20673

Thanks for the link John ... that looks pretty concise. Lots of discussion on the pros and cons to go over. Guess I'm not the only one that's considered the ramifications of using cast parts in some of the more critical areas.

 

[Sturmgewehre]

From the STI FAQ page. I suppose Fusion and STI require no introduction.

 

[JohnKSa]

You can definately see the drawback to cast parts when it comes to the slide.

Only the FIRST picture in Sturmgewehre's post is of a cast slide. The other two pictures are of broken FORGED slides.

 

[brickeyee]

Is someone casting close to finish dimension and then forging now?

Hmm, unless they don't forge gun parts the way they forge wrenches and hammers then that's true only in a very far off sense.

Depending on how complicated the part is it may be cast and then forged to final shape.

For simple things like wrenches they can be forged from plate.

More complicated shapes may be cast oversize and then forged to final dimension.
The forging process will result in the steel structure being altered, and if done correctly (temp, number of steps, etc.) result in an increase in strength.

 

[dahermit]

Ruger investment casting.

...Today, Pine Tree Castings provides investment castings for a wide range of industries, including commercial equipment, automotive, defense, firearms, sporting goods, hand and power tools, medical equipment and architectural hardware. Our customers count on quality investment castings that meet their specifications, their production schedules, and their budget...

FYI: Ruger supplies investment cast parts for many of the prosthetic knees (legs), for several of the most famous Prosthetic limb makers in the Europe (including Iceland), and the U.S. (Mauck, Icercross, etc.).