Anyone know what the actual Barrel material (Steel grade or Spec) is on the M102? I know wierd question....... but i have a 1" thick section of one coming and was thinking of possibly having it forged into a Knife.......

Matt, I did a search and came up empty. The closest thing I could find was the number of the TM which is TM 9-1015-234-12. I don't know if that would include the material spec for the barrel or not, but you might get lucky.

Maybe Gino can find the TM somewhere, or has some contacts. I'd guess most barrels are made of the same material and it's some sort of high strength steel so it can handle the pressure of the explosion when the propellent goes off.

Tom

Looked in the TM and it doesn't have anything on the type or hardness of the steel. As Tom stated, it has to be very high strength/ dense steel to withstand the pressure and stress of constant firing. I'm sure it would be strong enough for a knife blade.

I had something on the Leopard 1 once... i'll have to bet it's something close........

The reciever of my m1919a4 is 4130 or 4120

That would make sense. According to my trusty SAE Handbook, a 4130 is a heat treated hardened alloy steel and is probably the right kind of material for something like a barrel. Since the SAE is mostly concerned with automotive and not weapons uses, there isn't anything which directly says that this is the kind of material used in manufacturing barrels but it seems to fit the requirements.

( I found reference to 4118 and 4130, but didn't find a 4120 mentioned. It may be an older material.)

Tom

According to my "bible" (the Machinery's Handbook) the SAE 41XX series is used Primarily in Gears, shafts and Aircrft forgings.... So it could make sense... It's a Hardenable Nickel-Chromoly Steel...........................