Question about 1903 springfield Rockwell

[cplstevennorton]

I'm sort of quoting off the study the Marines did of this in 1938. So honestly my knowledge is mostly only what I'm reading.

But the Marines report on the Rockwell hardness test states this. That both low and high number receivers were failing the rockwell test. If they were too soft, they were not as much of a risk as if they were too hard. If soft, the receivers could be used, but they would eventually stretch until finally the rifle lost headspace and would be unserviceable. If too hard, they were prone to shattering when you had a rupture. The hard receivers were the ones the Marines were concerned about. And they did have both Low and high number receivers that were too soft or too hard.

The Marines do state they have the ability to fix too hard receivers in what they called a "Drawback Process." They would heat the receiver to a certain temperature for a specified amount of time, that would draw the metal back the desired amount of points, and then they would let it air cool at room temperature. This brought back elasticity and toughness to the metal.

The Marines state the safe range for the rockwell hardness test is between 20 and 45 Rockwell "C" Hardness.

I hopet his helps you some in your search.