Sprinfield Armory Slide, Hard as a Woodpeckers Lips

[Boz330]

I was trying to install a dovetailed front sight on a SA slide last Friday and this thing took the edge off of a HSS cutter like it was made of diamond. I haven't done a lot of this kind of work, and I have run into hard slides before but nothing like this thing. I trashed to end 1/4"mills trying to cut the the initial slot.
Is it possible to spot anneal a slide and would a standard LP torch do it?
Thanks for any help.

Bob

[Char-Gar]

Try a Norinco slide..make the Springer look soft.

[danski26]

I used a solid carbide end mill to cut cocking serations on a Colt and it cut well with an ok finish. I used a higher tool speed than i normaly do with HSS at about the same feed rate.

[MtGun44]

Softening starts around 700-800F, continues on up to 1600F (near white hot) which will
fully anneal the steel, NOT what you want. Try heating the area you want to mill with the
propane on max power, covering everything else with a wet rag covered by a sheet steel
flame deflector and you might succeed. Just short of red will make it prety soft. If you have
a shiny bare spot, take it up past the "heat blue" stage a bit and try again.

Understand that with a relatively poor heat source like a propane torch, you will take time
and tend to give the heat time to spread. If you can find an oxy-acetylene torch, this will
raise the temp far faster, which will keep the heat more localized. Much better.

Bill

[3006guns]

There's an old trick for spot annealing rifle receivers prior to drilling for scope mounts, might be applicable here. I've never done this myself, just read about it in one of my old gunsmithing books.

Use a 12 volt car battery and some HEAVY STEEL wire on each post. Put one wire on the underside where you want to anneal and touch the other to the top side. It'll spark, yes, but it will also produce a red hot spot where the wire is, softening the steel in that area.

[Stonewall]

Brownells gunsmithing kinks used the carbon from a d cell pointed in a drill press.
Wrap the end in the chuck with paper to insulate .

This works for scope mounting holes.

Glenn