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My Decarbonized Steel verbiage
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?p=155187#post155187

From �Fire-Arms Manufacture� 1880 U.S. Department of Interior, Census Office:
�The earliest use of decarbonized steel or gun-barrels is generally credited to the Remingtons, who made steel barrels for North & Savage, of Middletown, Connecticut, and for the Ames Manufacturing company, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, as early as 1846. It is also stated that some time about 1848 Thomas Warner, a the Whitneyville works, incurred so much loss in the skelp-welding of iron barrels that he voluntarily substituted steel drilled barrels in his contract, making them of decarbonized steel, which was believed by him to be a novel expedient. The use of soft cast-steel was begun at Harper's Ferry about 1849. After 1873, all small-arms barrels turned out at the national armory at Springfield were made of decarbonized steel (a barrel of which will endure twice as heavy a charge as a wrought-iron barrel), Bessemer steel being used until 1878, and afterward Siemens-Martin steel.�

Bessemer/Decarbonized steel tensile strength is about 63,000 psi, similar to AISI 1018 Low Carbon (Mild) Steel. For comparison, the average tensile strength in my study for crolle Damascus was 54,500 psi.

It is assumed the �Remington Steel� used on the K Grade (Model 1900) Hammerless and (1894) Hammerless Grade �F.E.� Trap Gun (introduced in 1906) is similar to Marlin �Special Rolled Steel� and Winchester �(Cold) Rolled (Bessemer) Steel� with a tensile strength of about 66,000 psi..

Remington introduced Ordnance Steel for the (Model 1894) Hammerless Double in 1897. The 1902 catalog stated the Remington Ordnance Steel tensile strength was 110,000 lbs per sq. inch with an elastic limit of 60,000 psi

The Remington (hammer) Model of 1889 No. 1 with Decarbonized Steel was offered until 1908.



Crescent introduced the Model 6 sidelock hammerless double in 1904 with Decarbonized "Armory Steel". This ad from 1926 for a Crescent tradename gun still lists Decarbonized Steel barrels

I have a Savage-Utica 1933 era 20 gauge Sterly-no Belgium markings to be seen-assume the Savage gruppen used the same analysis for that field grade Fox as did the lads in Philly prior to 1929.

While we are on the subject of the steel used in forging the action of turn-of-the-century doubles, does anyone have published statements regarding the specific steel used by other U.S. makers; Baker, Parker, Fox, Remington, Ithaca? The SAE standards were not developed until 1912.
Possibly in The Parker Story or Semmer's Remington Double Shotguns ??
Thanks!!

Not to hijack my own thread, but what steel are used in modern doubles? 8620 for actions, 4140 barrels?

Savage had contract to make barrels during war and made some of the barrels for the later Utica Foxes. Bobby

I guess that Wernher von Braun fella was correct; �One test result is worth one thousand expert opinions.�

�Decarbonized Armory Steel� had been listed since introduction of the Crescent Model 0 Hammer Double in 1897.
The Club Hammerless was in the 1900 Sears catalog (Crescent Model 1896 side lever �Bored For Nitro Powder� with �blued decarbonized steel barrel�. In 1902 it was listed with �rolled steel blued barrel...the best grade of Wilson�s steel�.
The 1902 Sears catalog also listed the 16 gauge �Automatic Ejector Single Gun�, a Crescent No. 8 �Bored For Nitro Powder� with �Decarbonized Armory Steel Barrel�.
In 1904 Crescent resumed the manufacture of hammerless doubles with the introduction of the Model 6 sidelock hammerless double, initially only with Armory Steel barrels; but Damascus No. 8 and Twist No. 7 models were quickly added. It appears that the bulk of the Twist and Damascus barrel shotguns were sold through Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogs.
�The Berkshire Hammerless� No. 6 with �Armory Steel blued barrels� was listed in the 1912 Sears catalog for $11.90
https://archive.org/stream/catalogno12400sear#page/892/mode/2up

The �Empire Hammerless� listing in the 1925 Union Hardware & Metal Co. catalog specified �Decarbonized Blued Steel Barrels�.

Composition analysis by Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) of a c. 1925 Crescent Fire Arms �Genuine Armory Steel� barrel with the �LLH� mark showed it to be Rephosphorized AISI 1040 Carbon Steel with a measured Tensile Strength of 104,000 psi. This is similar to modern AISI 4140 gun barrel steel.

H & D Folsom Arms Co. Catalogue No. 35 (1930-31) listing for the New �Empire� (Crescent No. 9) states the barrels are �Fine Decarbonized �High Pressure� Steel � Proof Testing with loads considerably heavier than standard loaded shells�.

This MIGHT reflect the strength and composition of the post-1920s LLH Fluid Steel tubes used by many of the U.S. makers.

RevDocDrew,
you never cease to amaze me.
104K looks good.

Any idea what modern barrels and actions are?

Modern? Like after 1920?

Remington was using AISI 1140 Manganese Sulfide Modified Carbon Steel for barrels until the Garza Settlement, at which time I believe U.S. makers went to 4140.
http://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/supreme-court/1990/68367-7.html

Garza Class Action
http://www.gunsmoke.com/guns/rem_lawsuit_intro.html

Settlement Announcement
http://www.gunsmoke.com/guns/rem_shotgun_lawsuit.html

Still collecting homeless chunks of Hunter Arms Royal, London, Crown, Nitro and whatever else is underneath our benches that can be definitively identified

"The plaintiff's expert witness, Dr. David Levinson, a professor of metallurgy at the University of Illinois, Chicago campus, believed that the Loitz gun barrel exploded because of a fatigue failure in response to a normal-pressure shell. In Dr. Levinson's opinion, AISI 1140 modified steel is not a suitable material for use in shotgun barrels. Dr. Levinson stated that the inclusions created by the relatively high sulfur content of that type of steel permit the formation of fatigue cracks, which may eventually cause the barrel to fail under normal pressure loads.

AISI 1140 is better steel than the steel used in most if not all of the older doubles, correct?

Treb,
About 15years ago, we were making some parts for a customer out of 316 stainless. They had 2ea oring seal grooves that required a 32 finish. We polished the oring grooves and kept seeing these inclusions that wouldn't polish out. You could see them without magnification. With magnification, they looked like 1/8" to 3/16" long cracks. We sent them to the lab and the problem was sulfur content. When we looked at the certs, yep, sulfur was high. They were called sulfur stringers and I sure wouldn't want them in a barrel!

We paid hell getting compensated from the material supplier for the parts, but in the end it came out ok.