How can you tell if your Rifle parts are really SS?

[Tedward]

Starting this topic because I have noticed different types do SS have magnetism properties and others don't. How can I tell if something is actually SS or not?

My SS Barrels and Compensators attract magnets so how do I make sure when buying a black phosphate barrel that it is SS when advertised that way? Any rule of thumb???

 

[Spiff]

Well, you could cut the end off with a hacksaw and send it to a lab, but I feel like that's not what you're going for. Why are you concerned that a barrel advertised as SS is not? Moreover, if it is finished and doesn't rust, and shoots well, does it matter?

 

[Tedward]

Well, you could cut the end off with a hacksaw and send it to a lab, but I feel like that's not what you're going for. Why are you concerned that a barrel advertised as SS is not? Moreover, if it is finished and doesn't rust, and shoots well, does it matter?

The reason I was wondering is i have a Black Flutted barrel and thought it was SS. I had a guy put on a dowel spinner and he romoved the black finish to make it a shinny silver SS barrel with black flute's. Looks awesome. After he did this for me, he put a magnet up to it and said, well that wasn't SS, it is steel and you need to protect it and I can seal it for Xtra$$. I was so pissed I left and didn't pay him for some work he did or the spinning. I said you should have checked it before removing the finish. SO I took it home and used my Clear DuraCoat and it looks great.

So thinking after the fact I held a magnet to my 7mm Bolt Rifle Barrel and the magnet suck, so I tested everything in the safe. All of my SS holds a magnet so SS does have magnetic properties, not like knife blades and other things I work with that are SS.

Now it just made me wonder for future reference if there is an EASY way to test a black part to find out if it's SS or not. Something more practical than cutting off the barrel and sending to CSI for testing.

 

[dennishoddy]

Well, the guy was partially right. Even stainless needs protected. The alloys in the stainless can rust. Before I got a golden rod for my safe, I spotted rust on a ruger SS pistol, and a Browning Stainless Stalker rifle. Some OOOO steel wool removed it, and I keep it wiped with silicone spray now.

 

[Tedward]

Well, the guy was partially right. Even stainless needs protected. The alloys in the stainless can rust. Before I got a golden rod for my safe, I spotted rust on a ruger SS pistol, and a Browning Stainless Stalker rifle. Some OOOO steel wool removed it, and I keep it wiped with silicone spray now.

Well poo, I know SS wears better, heat tolerant and more reliable than Steel so the real question is there a way to tell other than cutting a chunk off and send to CSI at 90210???

I guess it's staring to seem like there is no real identifying way unless engraved or stamped. So I guess it might be just better to buy from a reliable source and no second hand stuff unless from a reliable friend.

 

[Scott Hearn]

For the record....YES some stainless steels are magnetic, some are only slightly magnetic, while yet others aren't in the slightest.

 

[Wormydog1724]

Funny story, I have a Battle Comp 1.0. its SS. I went to boresight my rifle with one of those Leupold magnetic-stick-on-the-end-of-your-barrel-bore-sighter-thingys and it wouldn't stick at all to the BC. It did stick to my WOA SS barrel, (If I remember correctly, I think it did anyways). So a couple years later I got a Battle Comp 2.0 and whattya know, its magnetic but is still listed as SS on their website. Not sure if they changed the SS properties, or if I got a special edition uber-ATAS BC 1.0. That's my story.

If I were you, I'd go pay the guy that did your work.

 

[dennishoddy]

Ok, here is a little tutorial video I just made.
Tired and hungry from today's match, but here it is.
Just click on it anywhere to start it.

View attachment 5055

 

[Wormydog1724]

All I see is a pic of some silly guns.
Oh and a flying saucer, that isn't flying.

 

[Corey]

Mya SS Rolling Thunder Comp, SS Ruger GP100 & SS S&W 610 are all magnetic
I have one home made comp that is nonmagnetic

 

[dennishoddy]

All I see is a pic of some silly guns. Oh and a flying saucer, that isn't flying.


I was using my phone. I'll load it to photobucket and get it fixed.

 

[yousa]

the greater the % of chrome and vanadium in the SS, the less magnetic it's going to be, I'd think? High grade stainless, I know for a fact, is very hard to machine. It wears down even tungsten carbide cutters, very quickly indeed. So a lot of gun parts are made of fairly low grade SS.

 

[Spiff]

It's unrelated to the percentages (well, in the way you're thinking). It's related to grain structure. There's no such thing as low grade or high grade stainless. Each alloy is tailored for a set of applications. That might be low cost, high strength, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, high hardness, high machinability, good low temp performance, good high temp performance, good response to heat treating, or any combination thereof. There's no stainless alloy that does it all.

 

[dennishoddy]

Exactly.

 

[nikatkimber]

It's unrelated to the percentages (well, in the way you're thinking). It's related to grain structure. There's no such thing as low grade or high grade stainless. Each alloy is tailored for a set of applications. That might be low cost, high strength, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, high hardness, high machinability, good low temp performance, good high temp performance, good response to heat treating, or any combination thereof. There's no MATERIAL that does it all.

Fixed it for you.

Still, what he said. The short story is that some desired properties result in magnetic SS, some don't.