Tikka Nitriding

[Nine Banger]

Keep us posted with your experience. I have a blued T3x and T1x that i'm strongly considering sending in to H&M as a "batch" vs the serialized package.

Its Back.

4/3-4/28 door to door.



I have a Tracker LR on the way. My goal is to do something with it by Sunday.

 

[Nine Banger]

I recall a post way back in this thread about a Friday afternoon job because it was gritty.

My first insertion was gritty.

I pulled it back out and saw some funk in the bolt face.

I went at it with a toothpick and then just decided to give all the parts a rinse in hot tap water.

It's fine now.

 

[rharbaugh]

Its Back.

4/3-4/28 door to door.

View attachment 872825

I have a Tracker LR on the way. My goal is to do something with it by Sunday.

that's great turn around time. i combined your before and after pics, and the action came back slightly darker and looks really good. remind me, that action was blued correct? did you have that sandblasted prior to nitriding? (doesn't appear so)

 

[AZ_Hunter]

How does it feel cycling the bolt now? More smooth than before the nitride, or just the same?

 

[Nine Banger]

that's great turn around time. i combined your before and after pics, and the action came back slightly darker and looks really good. remind me, that action was blued correct? did you have that sandblasted prior to nitriding? (doesn't appear so)

View attachment 872834

The barrel was "bead blasted" or whatever they do at PVA.

The Tikka parts were stock.

Thanks for sending photos like that...I realized my bolt stop was absent and I found it in the packaging.

 

[Nine Banger]

How does it feel cycling the bolt now? More smooth than before the nitride, or just the same?

I'll reply with an opinion when I get it assembled. All I did so far is shove it into the action and then wash it. It drops right thru now though.

 

[ACHILLES]

Is that pitting on the bolt face or is just discolored there?

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Same with mine. They definitely aren’t nitrided. I was pretty disappointed when I pulled the scope and saw this from one hunt’s use.

That looks like the factory oil that comes on them rusting? No?

They need to be cleaned with brake clean and wiped clean and dry before oil based paint pen is applied (you may have done this).

 

[Nine Banger]

Is that pitting on the bolt face or is just discolored there?

It's crap left over from the process.

It appears to be some kind of salt.

It came off with a toothpick and then I rinsed all the parts to be safe.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

That looks like the factory oil that comes on them rusting? No?

They need to be cleaned with brake clean and wiped clean and dry before oil based paint pen is applied (you may have done this).

No it’s rust. I cleaned the bolts with acetone and assembled with blue locktite, you can see some at the bottom of the threads. The orange is 100% rust.

UM sent me new bolts, didn’t answer my question when I asked if the bolts are really nitrided. They didn’t say anything other than confirming they will send out another set.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

No it’s rust. I cleaned the bolts with acetone and assembled with blue locktite, you can see some at the bottom of the threads. The orange is 100% rust.

UM sent me new bolts, didn’t answer my question when I asked if the bolts are really nitrided. They didn’t say anything other than confirming they will send out another set.

10-4. Thank you!

 

[Nine Banger]

How does it feel cycling the bolt now? More smooth than before the nitride, or just the same?

It's hard to get it to bind. You have to use a lot of force and it has to be lateral. Theres really only one spot it will bind consistently and thats when its fully out and I'm pushing laterally with force in a manner that would never happen shooting.

The same force will bind my factory stainless bolt/action in every direction I apply it.

 

[Sundodger]

Plasma nitriding

Surface hardening via Nitriding THEN laying down a PVD coating, so overkill I love it!

 

[Schmo]

@wind gypsy, @Marbles, @Nine Banger

Hey guys,
Just curious if anyone caught this from one of the last S2H podcasts. They were talking about action nitriding, and they referenced the fact that they send out their nitriding work to someone else? I wonder who this is. Maybe more guys would use UM’s service if it was a really reputable company doing it? Anyone know any more about this?

 

[Marbles]

@wind gypsy, @Marbles, @Nine Banger

Hey guys,
Just curious if anyone caught this from one of the last S2H podcasts. They were talking about action nitriding, and they referenced the fact that they send out their nitriding work to someone else? I wonder who this is. Maybe more guys would use UM’s service if it was a really reputable company doing it? Anyone know any more about this?

It is H&M Black Nitride. You can send stuff to H&M yourself, a while back they quoted me around $300 for an entire rifle, but you have to disassemble it and do the prep work yourself.

 

[Schmo]

So if someone just needs an action done, it’s a whole lot cheaper to have it done through UM since an action and bolt are only $150

 

[Marbles]

So if someone just needs an action done, it’s a whole lot cheaper to have it done through UM since an action and bolt are only $150

Probably, in part because they will send it in with other things to be done. There is a batch cost, then adding things to the batch gets cheaper.

 

[Schmo]

Probably, in part because they will send it in with other things to be done. There is a batch cost, then adding things to the batch gets cheaper.

Correct! My point was just that some guys have been concerned with UM nitriding actions and not really knowing what they’re doing. But it’s not UM who does it, it’s H&M, who is the go to company anyway. Some guys were acting like UM was doing it on their own without knowledge of how it should be done. This is obviously not the case.

 

[BBob]

FWIW You can get about 8 actions (including bolts and small parts) done in a single batch at HM.

 

[Nine Banger]

I put the nitrided action in a stock.

I had some trouble.

I was not able to chamber a round.

I was thinking the chamber was short at first but then thought back to the crud and went to look for crud in the chamber. It turned out it was the ejector not going all the way in. It was more of that crud that was still behind the spring.

When I was messing with the ejector hole before assembly I was using a wooden skewer and hot tap water thinking it was water soluble.

The second time I used a drill bit to clean the ejector hole.

This might save someone some trouble down the road.