CHAPTER VIII

MODERN FIREARM MANUFACTURING

Introduction:
This chapter primarily covers the fabrication of metal
components of firearms using common manufacturing
technologies. Wooden, plastic, or composite stocks and grips
are not discussed in this module.
Firearms manufacturing technologies are important
to the firearm examiner because this is where class and individual characteristics originate.
Knowledge of the manufacturing materials used provides practical information about the functional
characteristics and durability of the firearm.
The firearm component that started modern forensic identification is the rifled barrel. The
modern barrel starts as a solid bar of steel. Conventional chromium-molybdenum (chrome-moly)
steels have been the norm for over a century, but various alloys classed as “stainless steel” have
appeared in increasing numbers over the last thirty years. The difference in material has little bearing
on identification. For the manufacturer it is important because stainless steel machines differently
from chrome-moly steel and may require different tooling and processing.

Objectives:
 Describe traditional and current metal-forming processes, methods, and materials
 Describe the methods used for making barrels
 Define the rifling processes
 Describe the effect rifling has on bullets
 Define the contouring and crowning process

THE STEEL
The barrel of any firearm is a pressure vessel with the action serving to stop up the rear end.
The peak pressures involved during discharge are enormous, 50,000 pounds per square inch or more,
and special steels are required to safely withstand these stresses.
Two classes of steel are currently used in rifle barrels. Most barrels for use on hunting rifles
and in military firearms are made from a high alloy Chrome Molybdenum steel of the sort used in
high stress components such as truck axles, conrods and such. In the United States these steels are
designated as 4140, 4150 and 4340 types. In Britain these steels are better known as EN 19 or EN 24.
In target shooting stainless barrels have for the most part supplanted the use of Chrome Moly
barrels. The steel is not a true, fully austenitic stainless such as is found in cutlery. The 416-type
stainless steel used in barrels is one of a group of martensitic steels which can be hardened by heat
treating like regular Carbon steels. If stainless barrels are "shot in" using the prescribed procedure, the
barrel acquires a burnishing which almost eliminates fouling, so making stainless barrels very easy to
clean.

METAL FORMING OPERATIONS

Metal forming can be divided into two categories: gross forming and fine forming. Gross
forming reduces raw metal stock to a rough form that is intermediate to the required shape. Fine
forming renders the intermediate form to its final dimensions, apart from parts requiring hand fitting.
A. Casting
Sand molds have been a mainstay of foundries for centuries. Molten metal is poured into a
mold; the hollow interior is the negative of the desired part. The mold must be able to withstand the
heat of molten metal.
Casting Method:
 a. Sand Mold
 Traditionally, a master
wooden pattern is
created and packed in
sand in two halves of a
mold. The halves are
known as the cope and
the drag. The cope and
the drag are separated,
and the wooden pattern
removed. Molten metal
is poured into the cavity
through a sprue hole
and allowed to harden. The cope and drag are separated and the part are
removed for possible additional fine forming.

b. Lost (sacrificial) wax process

 does not require the removal of the wooden pattern. Instead, a sacrificial wax
pattern melts and runs out of the mold; the mold retains the shape of the part as a
cavity. Molten metal poured into the mold fills the cavity and cools to the same
shape.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t04.htm

Investment Casting
A modern version of lost wax casting has allowed the use of stronger steel alloys as well as
any cast-capable metal alloy. Investment casting (IC) has been a significant influence in firearms
manufacturing for nearly fifty years. Like the lost wax process, IC relies on sacrificial wax forms
from a master mold. Unlike its
predecessor, IC can produce precision
parts of high-strength alloys. This level
of precision allows a significant
reduction in postprocess machining
needed to produce a finished part.
Investment casting starts with precision
wax forms that are more detailed than
those used in sand casting.

https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t04_01.htm

Die Casting
Die casting uses a permanent mold (versus the expendable sacrificial mold) to produce parts
from low-strength, nonferrous alloys. The metals are typically low melting point alloys of zinc, such
as ZAMAK, a zinc-aluminum blend. The process has been used for years in the making of metal toys
and non-stressed hardware items. However, in the late 1960s, poor-quality handguns having major
components of zinc-based alloys appeared on the commercial market in large numbers. Many made
their way to the forensic firearms laboratories.
The advantages of die casting from zinc alloy are as follows:
 A single mold can produce usable parts over many years.
 The melting of zinc alloys requires less energy than for iron and aluminum alloys.
 The resulting parts are relatively easy to machine.

The disadvantages of die casting from zinc alloy are the following:
 It is difficult to produce precise tolerances.
 Voids or cracks can occur.
 The material strength is poor; wear occurs quickly.
 Untreated zinc alloys corrode easily, and the raw surface is unattractive.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t04_02.htm

B. Forging
 the hammering of a metal part into shape. It is among the oldest of the metalworking arts.
The classic blacksmith pounding a hot metal part on his anvil is hand forging.
 Glowing metal is easier to work with and less likely to break during shaping than cold
metal.
 Cold forging may be performed on smaller parts and is often called swaging.
 For labor savings and repeatability in mass production, machine forging is primarily
used today. Machine forging yields a product with consistent gross size and shape from
tooling attached to the surfaces that contact the metal.
 The tooling, called dies, carries the negative impression of the part to be produced, just as
a casting mold is the negative of the final product. Typically, two dies are used to shape
both sides of the part simultaneously.
 Hammer Forging
- one die is on the stationary anvil block and
the other on the ram or drop hammer.

Press Forging
- the force is applied slowly instead of one
or two sharp blows. Press forging, like closed die forging, allows excellent control
of the material.

C. Stamping
 stamping is used to form thinner firearms parts that are not load-bearing, such as
magazines and trigger guards.
 stampings have been successfully used to produce the lower and upper receiver units for
submachine guns and some battle rifles.

Fine-blanking
- can produce smaller parts like triggers, hammers, or the shell latches for repeating
shotguns to tolerances that rival machined parts.

D. Powdered Metal Technology

 Powdered metal technology (PMT) is used more frequently in firearms manufacture. It is
a form of casting that does not use molten metal.
 Finely powdered metal of the desired alloy is placed in a mold with a binder or flux and
then heated until the particle boundaries partially melt and the particles fuse together.
 The advantage is excellent precision.
 The downside is that PMT parts are not as strong as those made by investment casting or
forging.
 PMT tends to be used for the manufacture of low-load parts, such as sight components
and triggers.

E. Extrusion
 used to form parts of uniform cross section in long strips that are later cut to final
dimension. It is usually applied to nonferrous alloys to create low-load parts.
 Extrusion is commonly used to make aluminum bases for mounting telescopic sights.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t04.htm
FINE FORMING OPERATIONS
Fine forming starts with an intermediate part produced by casting, forging, or stamping. This
process prepares the firearms component for final surface finishing and assembly. Most of these
metalworking operations fall under the general subject of machining. Machining covers just about
every operation in which a moving tool removes metal to achieve final dimensions. In machining, a
sharpened metal tool or abrasive surface refines and reduces the intermediate part to the desired form
and dimension. The tool must be harder than the surface it shapes. Machining operations produce heat
that, if not controlled, will destroy expensive tooling, and potentially damage the intermediate part.
A. Drilling
 Drilling is among the simplest of machining
operations. Drilling by hand or machine power
produces a hole, which may be the final result
or the start of a subsequent operation.
 The drill bit is typically a rod with a sharp
working edge at one end. Any cutting process
produces residue. In machining, the residue is
called chips that must be cleared so the tool
will not bind. For metalworking drills, spiral
cuts running up the drill shaft act as ramps to
lift chips out of the hole so the drilling can
continue.
Close up of a drill beat

B. Turning
 the process of rotating an object about its axis
and bringing a cutting tool to bear. Turning is
used to produce parts of precise outside
diameter with a lathe.
 Almost any part that needs to be rounded
precisely can be turned, providing the part can
rotate in the lathe.
 Turning can also produce flat faces on the ends
of a rod or bar.
 The most commonly turned gun component is
the barrel.
Conventional lathe
 Many bolt faces are turned and the random
marks produced in the bolt face transfer to the
fired cartridge case as breechblock marks.

C. Grinding
 Grinding is the work of an abrasive material
against metal. A grinding wheel is a bound mass
of grit formed from materials harder than steel.
Rotated at high speed, grinding wheels remove
a significant amount of material in a short time.
 Depending on the size of the grit, the resulting
surface can be crude or refined.

Grinding wheel
D. Milling
 an advanced process that moves the part
against a stationary rotating cutting tool.
 Milling can be used to position multiple cuts
separated by some angle. For a six-shot
cylinder, the locking notches on the outside of
a revolver’s cylinders can be cut with one tool
by moving the part holder sixty degrees after
each cut.
 For a complex component like a firearms
receiver, milling provides the designer with Milled areas on a forged frame
flexibility. A raw forging passed through a
series of mills is reduced to a usable gun component. This can be repeated thousands of
times. Uniformity of parts is a key to successful firearms production.
 Without milling, the mass production of firearms and most other metal product cannot
exist. It replaces slow handwork operations with high-volume and precision.

The following is a partial list of key firearms components that are routinely milled and
can leave identifiable marks on a cartridge case:
 Breech faces
 Extractors
 Ejectors
 Ejection ports
 Noncircular firing pins (e.g., rimfire arms)
 Cartridge guides

E. Broaching
 Broaching uses multiple cutting surfaces
(cutters) mounted on the same axis to
progressively remove metal.
 It is used for critical operations where precise
angle or depth control must be maintained.
 After the first cutter, each successive cutter is
a few ten-thousandths larger than the one
before it. Each cutter shaves off a small
amount of metal, reducing the applied force.
 Most firearm examiners will recognize the Rifling broach
word broaching from its use in the
manufacture of rifled gun barrels.
 Broaching is one way to produce the spiral
grooves needed to spin-stabilize a bullet.

broached rifled barrel

  A rifling broach has circular working nodes, each with a reverse profile of the rifling
pattern. As the broach moves through the barrel, each node shaves off a little metal.
 The next node is slightly larger and rotated from the previous node to match the desired
rifling twist.
 Broached barrels made with quality tooling have very straight bores and are capable of
fine accuracy.

F. Computer Numeric Control Machining

 Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machining has revolutionized manufacturing in many
fields. CNC is a form of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) that combines many
processes (drilling, turning, milling, etc.) into one multifunction machine.

G. Hand Fitting
 Depending on the design of the firearm, some parts may need individual adjustment to
properly fit with other parts. Hand fitting is an extension of fine-forming operations and
usually requires filing, stoning (fine grinding with a hand tool), and pressure fitting the
parts.
 The firearm examiner may encounter hand-fit surfaces when examining breechface
markings produced by revolvers. After the manufacturer fits the cylinder to the revolver,
the gap between the cylinder and breechface may require adjustment by filing. Filing is
an operation that cannot be performed the same way twice. Chips in the file produce
random marks, and the file wears a little with every pass. This results in a distinctive
pattern of microscopic marks.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t05.htm

RIFLED BARRELS
The firearm component that started modern forensic identification is the rifled barrel. The
modern barrel starts as a solid bar of steel. Conventional chromium-molybdenum (chrome-moly)
steels have been the norm for over a century, but various alloys classed as “stainless steel” have
appeared in increasing numbers over the last thirty years. The difference in material has little bearing
on identification. For the manufacturer it is important because stainless steel machines differently
from chrome-moly steel and may require different tooling and processing.
Firearms manufacturers may own their barrel-making equipment or buy partially completed
barrel blanks. The old norm was to own all the equipment needed to make a firearm. Newer global
trends in manufacturing reflect that buying parts reduces the significant capital investment required to
produce in-house.

Barrel blanks

A. Deep Hole Drilling

 The drilling operation requires excellent support of all
tooling and the barrel stock to produce a straight hole.
Drilling speed is dictated by the diameter of the hole. A
 large diameter hole can be drilled faster than a small diameter hole because the
stiffness of the larger drill shaft resists warping.
 Drilling produces significant marks useful to the firearms examiner. Chips produced
by drilling often nick the surface before lubricants flush them from the hole, adding to
the randomness of the marks.
 Drilling marks run perpendicular to the axis of the bore, leaving little chance of carry-
over of marks from one barrel to the next.

B. Reaming
 Reaming reduces roughness inherent in drilled holes. Because the reamer is required
to remove very little metal, the working edges are finely honed. The surface of the
barrel hole is smooth, yet reaming can leave markings that may ultimately be passed
to a fired bullet.
 The next step is to ream this hole very
carefully to the exact bore diameter. This
reaming process leaves very circular
marks around the barrel, caused in part by
irregularities of the cutting edge of the
reamer and partly by little chips of steel
that get caught by the reamer and drag
around it.
 The reamer is mounted on the end of a
long tube through which the coolant oil is
pumped, but at far lower pressures than
are used in the Gun Drill.
 A reamer for refining a drilled bore is a Bore reamer entering the barrel
long cutting tool with its working edges
on the sides.

C. Lapping
 After the rifling operation is completed, the barrel is lapped. Lapping is the
smoothening of the inner surface of the gun barrel, polishing the inside of the barrel
like a mirror with a polishing compound.
 Lead lapping the barrel is done to polish the bore
and remove machining marks and to remove any
tight spots in the barrel and make it dimensionally
uniform end to end. If you were to sit down and
write a top ten list of barrel makers, past or present,
almost all would lap their barrels.

D. Straightening
 Barrel straightening is a manual operation that
requires a very skilled operator, adding to the cost
of the barrel-making operation. It behooves the
designers and operators of barrel-making equipment to create and maintain machines
that produce straight barrels every time.

E. Riffling
 Equipping the barrel with the spiral grooves that spin-stabilize a bullet is the essential
operation that defines an entire category of firearms.
  Rifling refers to the spiral (helical) grooves that are cut or swagged on the internal
surface (bore) of a gun barrel, which helps impart the spinning motion to a bullet
when it’s fired. A spinning bullet is found to be more stable in its trajectory and is
therefore more accurate than a bullet that doesn’t spin.
https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/what-is-rifling-what-purpose-of-rifling-in-gun.html

 Bore: The hole drilled in the barrel of a firearm, through which the bullet travels when it
is fired.
Purpose of Rifling
Rifling imparts spin to the bullet along the latter’s lengthwise axis. This helps the
bullet maintain a stable trajectory when it leaves the gun and enhances both the range and
target accuracy of the gun. https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/what-is-rifling-what-purpose-of-rifling-in-
gun.html

Composition of Rifling
a. Number of lands
Lands refers to the raised metal between grooves. The lands and grooves on a bullet
are measured in thousandths of an inch or in millimeters. One way to measure
individual rifling impressions is to use a micrometer.
b. Number of grooves
Grooves refers to the depressed portion of the gun barrel.
c. Width of lands – both broach and button rifling are considered conventional rifling
techniques. The transition from a land to a groove is very distinct and the lands and
grooves are flat to slightly curved.
d. Depth of grooves
e. Pitch of rifling – the number of inches traveled by the bullet to make one complete
turn.
f. Twist of rifling – the direction of twist whether right or to the left.

There are four ways to produce the grooves:

A. Cut Riffling
A. Single Point Riffling
 The process of single pointing a barrel starts with the cutter head, which is a
small, separate piece of hardened alloy.
 Single-point rifling is slower and more expensive than newer methods.
However, improvements driven by military needs in the early twentieth
century helped to increase the speed and accuracy of the process enough to
keep it competitive.
 Single-point rifling is the method of choice for custom barrel manufacturers
that make barrels of many different bore diameters, twist rates, and
land/groove characteristics. For large firearms manufacturers that need to
build thousands of identical barrels, other methods are more appropriate.

B. Broached
 Broaching removes metal in
shallow passes with multiple inline
cutting surfaces, each progressively
larger than the previous. Broaching

Riffling broach
 provides a high level of dimensional control, making it an excellent
technology for barrel making.

B. Button Swaged Riffling

 Button-swaged rifling is one of two
forms of swaged or cold-formed
rifling. Metal is moved, not removed,
to produce the pattern of lands and
grooves.
 Button-rifled barrels are durable and
offer low cost and high production
rates.
 Drill and reamer marks are not
Double-tapered riffling button
removed by button rifling as they are
with cut rifling. The marks are pressed
into the grooves, and the highly polished button does not produce significant
major unique marks unless the button is damaged.

C. Forged Riffling
 Hammer forging produces a very
straight barrel with a work-hardened
bore surface. Marks of interest to
the firearm examiner consist almost
entirely of drill and reamer marks
from upstream operations and any
marks resulting from chambering
and crowning operations.
 Hammer-forged rifling starts with a mandrel with reversed riffling
reusable mandrel that carries the
reverse image the entire length of the bore and uses it to produce the desired
rifling profile. The lands and grooves are visible in reverse, spiraling the full
length.

D. Contouring/Profiling
 The finishing operation that can affect the
examiner’s ability to compare a bullet to a
barrel is crowning the muzzle (bullet exit
point). If a barrel is left with a perfectly flat
muzzle, the edges of the rifling are exposed
to the potential for mechanical damage.
 Accidentally striking the end of the barrel
against a rock or other hard surface can create
burrs. These defects can negatively affect the
exit of the bullet from the barrel by degrading
accuracy, thus shifting the point of impact.
To avoid such damage, barrel makers recess
the rifling through crowning.
 Crowning is frequently accomplished with a
shaped mild steel lap covered in fine grinding
paste. Target arms are often fitted with a Contoured muzzle
 machined, flat-bottom recess that leaves the rifling edges sharp but slightly below the
end of the barrel for protection.
 Any crowning operation can contribute to individual marks that will characterize a
bullet. If this occurs, it is a function of the method of rifling, the barrel material, and
the crowning method.

E. Chambering and Throating

 All cartridge
firearms, except
revolvers, require the
enlargement of the Chamber reamer
rear portion of the
bore to accept a cartridge. The enlarged section is the chamber.
 The intersection of the chamber with the rifling must be carefully tapered to reduce
the engraving forces on a fired bullet. This area of the barrel is the throat. For mass-
produced commercial and military firearms, the throating reamer is commonly an
integral part of the chambering reamer.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t06.htm

COSMETIC FINISH
The external finish on a firearm enhances the appearance and provides protection. An
effective surface finish, whether on metal or wood, preserves the value of the firearm and protects it
from environmental damage.
Depending upon the gun design and the manufacturer’s workflow, cosmetic finishing may be
applied before or after final fitting and assembly. Final cosmetic finishing is applied to the vast
majority of guns before assembly.
Prior to the American Civil War (1861-1865), the standard metal finish for most military
rifles and muskets was polished bare metal. Although polishing removed tooling marks, the surface
was neither protected nor colored. As a result of a slow oxidation process, these firearms develop a
brown surface called patina.
Starting with the 1873 U.S. Springfield, the U.S. military adopted commercial finishes. To
enhance sales appeal, finishes are applied to commercial firearms. The most common metal finish in
the industry is blued steel; the metal is chemically oxidized to produce a dark blue finish.
Electroplating and anodizing are also routinely used methods for finishing firearms.
 Bluing
 Bluing is used on steel metal parts to
provide a protective coating. This
involves an oxidizing chemical process
that provides some protection against
corrosion. Depending on the specific
process, the resulting coating appears as a
blue or blue-black color on the metal
exterior.
Bluing is about 2 millionths of an inch thick.
A knife test easily scratches the surface,
Electroplating revealing the bare metal beneath.

 The electroplating process provides a protective coating to different types of metal.

The most common use in firearms manufacturing is chrome or nickel plating, which
provide a bright finish to the metal. Electroplating can be used on various types of
metals; the result is a thin metal coating on the exterior of the original metal part.

Anodizing
 Anodizing is used to provide a protective coating for aluminum and titanium. The
process produces a controlled oxidized surface similar to bluing. Like the
electroplating process, anodizing uses electrical current. Different colors can be
produced in this process; black is the most common for firearms parts.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t08.htm

ASSEMBLY
There are two levels of assembly: subassembly and final assembly. Subassembly is the
completion of components requiring attachment of multiple pieces. Final assembly creates a finished,
functional firearm from the combination of these components.
Subassembly
Parts that usually require subassembly include these:
 Hammers
 Triggers (including trigger groups in some classes like semi-auto and pump shotguns)
 Cylinders
 Bolts
 Slides
Subassembly is usually required for major components, such as semiautomatic pistol slides
and rifle bolts. Several tasks in the functioning of a firearm are performed by these major components,
including housing the firing pin and performing the extraction of the cartridge case. These functions
are accomplished by small parts and springs that are attached to the major component. The process of
fitting smaller parts to major components allows for a better final assembly flow.

Final Assembly
 The amount of work involved in the final assembly process depends on the design of the
firearm. Some firearms will fit together and function without individual fitting of the parts. This is
called a drop-in fit, which saves time and labor if it can be accomplished. It is an extension of the
concept of interchangeable parts as conceived by Eli Whitney.
The final assembler does not usually test fire the firearm. However, if the assembler is
building a repeating firearm, dummy ammunition is used to cycle the weapon while watching and
feeling for proper function. These inert cartridges are stained dark brown or black for identification
and contain no primer.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t09.htm

FINAL STEPS
Upon completion of the assembly process, the firearm is tested before being shipped. Proof
testing, test firing, or both, are performed on the assembled firearm.

Proof Testing
Most major gunmakers use proof testing to stress test their products. Special proof
ammunition is loaded to pressures 30-40 percent higher than the most powerful commercial
ammunition. One or more of these cartridges is fired in each firearm. The maker stamps the firearm to
indicate proof testing was conducted.
https://projects.nfstc.org/firearms/module04/fir_m04_t10.htm