Cherry Red Hammer

[Trigger_Finger]

Will heating the Marauder hammer to Cherry Red make it soft enough to drill holes to lighten it? Has this been done before? Or it has been tried with no success?

[Dairyboy]

Ive never done it but I say go for it! Worst case it doesn't work and you just buy an MDS hammer to replace it. I have received a stock drilled hammer before that had holes everywhere but I never did use it just came with a used gun I bought

[Trigger_Finger]

Dillon, that's a good plan. I'm waiting for delivery of the TSS.i ran out of patience to collect parts for the DIY SSG.

[KnifeMaker]

Well, it can work IF you have a way to let it cool slowly. Very slowly. It's called annealing.

I use carbide endmills to drill the hammers at high speed on the mill. cuts like butter this way.

Knife

[Trigger_Finger]

Knife, how do you suggest letting it cool slowly?  Like in an oven slowly lowering the temp? I read also about dry sand/gravel? It might pop like popcorn.

[KnifeMaker]

Knife, how do you suggest letting it cool slowly?  Like in an oven slowly lowering the temp? I read also about dry sand/gravel? It might pop like popcorn.

Best is an ash bead.  Or cover is with ash and coals, and let it cool over night. I use my heat treating oven lowering 200 det every hour.

This air hardening steel technique. If the hammer is oil hardening, simply heat to cherry as you say, (Apx. 1475 deg. ) and instantly put into a stove, (Oven at 500F and let it soak for an hour, and then turn off the oven, but do not remove until room temp is reached.

You can heat to cherry and simply let it air cool, but this can cause internal stress that end up causing a crack in use.   (Hammers do take a lot of abuse over a long time. 

Knife

[bandg]

If this is done, would you need to heat and quench it after drilling to keep it from being too soft and possibly deforming?

[mann]

Take the striker out and just heat the hammer . I have done this to the disco hammer

[rsterne]

Disco hammers are case hardened.... I don't know how successful annealing is with case hardening?....

Bob

[mann]

I couldn't drill the hammer until heated it and let it cool slowly which I heated cooled 2 times then I could drill it . I guess I didn't realize they were different as far as how they were hardened

[FuzzyGrub]

Post back with your results.  I may be doing the same to a 103g bulldog hammer, which doesn't have a striker, just a built in nose.

[pecor]

Disco hammers are case hardened.... I don't know how successful annealing is with case hardening?....

Bob

                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                         Very well I heated mine up with mapp gas let it cool on it's own just sitting,  And drilled it just fine. wasn't much case depth their. 

[KnifeMaker]

Yep, case hardening is annealed exactly the same as any other heat treated steel. Just takes a lot less time, and as it is only a very thin layer, no need for prolonged slow cooling. 

Knife

[rsterne]

Thanks, Knife, didn't know that but it makes sense....

Bob

[Trigger_Finger]

Well guys, I was able to make some holes using a single cheap Harbor Freight drill bit after heating the marauder hammer using a blow torch for about 60-90 seconds max (each hole )and not able to make it cherry red though. I then polished it. The striker got loose(thread lock melted). I reapplied blue lock tite but I might order the vibra tite from amazon. If the hammer shatters, it will be replaced by a MDS hammer. I don't know if it made a significant weight change but at least I know its very doable with a cheap drill bit and a drill press and blow torch.

[triggertreat]

Good to know!  I hope though that your spring coils don't hang up in those holes and cause ES woes.  Looks possible.

[Trigger_Finger]

Good to know!  I hope though that your spring coils don't hang up in those holes and cause ES woes.  Looks possible.

Excellent thing to watch out for Keith, I will have to polish those exit drill holes. Now I have to open that rifle again for the 2nd time. Im already forecasting that this rifle will be opened and closed 20-50 times. Is that an average number for a tinkerer?

[triggertreat]

Good to know!  I hope though that your spring coils don't hang up in those holes and cause ES woes.  Looks possible.

Excellent thing to watch out for Keith, I will have to polish those exit drill holes. Now I have to open that rifle again for the 2nd time. Im already forecasting that this rifle will be opened and closed 20-50 times. Is that an average number for a tinkerer?

That's a good starting range.  I lost count on how many times I have opened mine up, but I have tried out many different mods and tricks which runs the numbers up.  In fact, it's back on the bench now.

[Trigger_Finger]

Keith, what a way to pass the time.  I just finished opening up the Benjamin Disco. 22 for the first time replacing O rings (transfer port, gauge port, valve.Polished the hammer and tube with 2000 grit as well as the trigger contact points.

[triggertreat]

I have two guns now so it's more relaxing and enjoyable to take one of them down and tinker on it at my leisure while the other still stands at the ready.