Where to find damascus bar?

[mr fixit]

I'm not a knife maker, but it seems knife makers are the ones to ask about Damascus.

I am working on customizing a Mauser bolt action rifle for my youngest son. I will be replacing the bolt handle with a "butter knife" style, and wanted to try to make one of Damascus if possible.

I would like to find stainless Damascus in a 5/8" or so bar about 3 inches long. I will weld it onto the bolt, and shape it myself. I am interested in stainless since the bolt will be rust blued and i want the pattern to show. I don't care about what the pattern is, random is as good as any other.


Anyone have a supply they could part with, or can you point me to a supply house?


Thanks in advance for any help.

Mr Fixit

[Robert Mayo]

Ask and you shall recieve here is the link to check out.
http://www.devinthomas.com/

Bob

[Ed Caffrey]

Just some info concerning using damascus in the manner you spoke about.....

You mentioned "welding" damascus onto the bolt. Most bolts are made of 4140 steel, and about the only successful way to weld damascus to 4140 (so it will not break off later) is to TIG weld it, then it would be necessary to anneal the assembly, then re-harden and temper it. If you try to MIG or "stick" weld two dissimilar materials without the annealing and re-heat treating, chances are very good that the weld will break.

Putting a damascus handle on a bolt action would seem like an easy thing to do, but it's a lot of work and effort to make it work.

[mr fixit]

Originally Posted by Ed Caffrey

Just some info concerning using damascus in the manner you spoke about.....

You mentioned "welding" damascus onto the bolt. Most bolts are made of 4140 steel, and about the only successful way to weld damascus to 4140 (so it will not break off later) is to TIG weld it, then it would be necessary to anneal the assembly, then re-harden and temper it. If you try to MIG or "stick" weld two dissimilar materials without the annealing and re-heat treating, chances are very good that the weld will break.

Putting a damascus handle on a bolt action would seem like an easy thing to do, but it's a lot of work and effort to make it work.

I have a TIG welder, and used to be a full time welder, Tig welding stainless steel sheet and bar all day every day. I'm not as good as I used to be, but still know how.

The bolt in question is not going to be 4140, it's not a modern made firearm. It is a Mauser and was made with low carbon steel which was then case hardened.

What I have done in the past is cut the old handle off, and TIG weld a new one on. I use various ways to keep the heat from migrating to the lugs so as not to need re hardening.

I wanted stainless Damascus for 2 reasons, one so that when the rest of the bolt was rust blued the pattern would show without being either blued over or taking the chance of rusting. The other reason was so that I could use stainless filler rod which is easier to use and not have the weld joint as noticeable (as compared to a stainless weld joint and two pieces of blued steel).

I've not run into the problem of needing to anneal the bolt before. Would that be an issue due to using Damascus?

[mr fixit]

Originally Posted by Robert Mayo

Ask and you shall recieve here is the link to check out.
http://www.devinthomas.com/

Bob

Thanks for the lead, but I didn't find a size large enough there. I would need about
5/8"x5/8"x3"

Mr Fixit

[Ed Caffrey]

Sounds like you have it well in hand.
So often on the forums you never know the experience levels of the folks your talking to, and some just think that they can weld something together and that's it.

If you could get your hands on a billet of stainless damascus that is non-ferric (meaning that it doesn't have hardening characteristics) they the task is simple....TIG it and post heat, and your done. With any steel that hardens, the area near the weld site with harden, and very likely "crystallize" for lack of a better term, which is gona make it very brittle and prone to breakage. If the damascus has any hardenable material in it, you'd have to go the full anneal route to ensure success. There is another option, although it's somewhat "iffy".....if the material has hardening qualities, you could weld it, post heat it, then once it's cool, heatsink the part of the bolt that you don't want to get hot, and then use a propane torch on the rest of the bolt to relieve the stresses.....that would entail lightly shining the bolt up, and then heat it with the propane torch until you achieve a light blue color. Not the most exacting method, but is could work for your scenario.

[Robert Mayo]

Originally Posted by mr fixit

Thanks for the lead, but I didn't find a size large enough there. I would need about
5/8"x5/8"x3"

Mr Fixit

Chances are you will not find one that size readily available you will have to get it custom made.
Shoot him an email!

Bob