Repairing old Win. 22 semiauto rifle: Can a hacksaw be bent?

[mini14jac]

I've got a Winchester .22 semiauto rifle that is about 30 years old.
There is a part in the receiver that acts as a recoil stop, or bolt stop.
It was originally a small "L shaped" piece of hardened spring steel.
The original part is broken.

I ordered some replacements from the Winchester-recommended supplier, (Winchester doesn't make parts anymore... ), but the replacement parts are not hardened steel. The gun works, but the soft metal under the recoil stop is getting mushroomed.

So, here is my question:
Can a piece of hacksaw blade be heated with a propane torch and bent into a 90 deg. angle?
That should be an excellent substitute. Springy, and hard.

Any other suggestions appreciated.

 

[critter]

MAY not be so springy and hard after heating!

 

[Traveler]

There are a couple of options. First, you could harden the part after fitting it. Second, the saw blade can be used to make a new part, but it should be annealed and then retempered.

The saw will make a very good part provided you do the proper heat treating.

 

[mini14jac]

annealing and retempering ...

Is that something I could do?

I have read about a product that Brownell's sells that you apply to steel, then heat with a torch. This supposedly hardens the steel.
Since the original part was some kind of spring steel, I'm not sure if hardening the replacement parts would work.
I ordered several, so I could experiment.

 

[Traveler]

Yes. This is one of the better types of do-it-yourself projects to learn. A lot of simple parts can be made using hand tools and a basic torch for heating. You should get a book on basic metal working from your public library to show you what the different colors of heated steel actually mean. You can then see how to make either soft or hard tempered parts.

Dunlap's or Howe's gunsmithing books give good detailed instructions for this type of project.

Another good way to learn would be the American Gunsmithing Institute set of videos on making springs and parts. (I think there are 2-3). They are worth the money.

You can use the Brownells product (I'm pretty sure it's Kasinite) to put a surface hardness on the factory part. Just follow the directions. I have used the same can for over 15 years and made hundreds of parts.

The home made parts, using spring steel, should not require that type of treatment provided the steel is tempered after being worked.

Just in case you need some very basic vocabulary annealing is the process of "softening" the metal and tempering is the reverse.

 

[mini14jac]

Hey Traveler,
Thanks for some good advice.
I've been thinking about the gunsmithing videos for a while, anyway.

Get this:
I was talking about this to a coworker, and he said "How about that place that you drive by on the way home?"
I said "You mean Precison Flame Hardening?" and then I felt like saying "Doh!".
This place wouldn't be a 15 minute walk from my house, and I hadn't even thought of it.

So I called, and the guy said he would do a part for free, just to see if we could find the right hardness.

Well, I never was the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

[mete]

Annealing makes the steel soft .Hardening makes it hard but brittle. Tempering takes out thr brittleness. Case hardening is not a good way to make springs.