Friction welding the two surfaces are rotating as it heats the weld joint .The two are then pressed together upsetting the joint to a raised bead. A standard application for Hydraulic Cylinder rods for many heavy equipment manufacturers.
Ever wonder how the operating rod for the M1 was made?
Ever wonder how the operating rod for the M1 was made?
a. The operating rod (D35382) consists of three components: the tube (B147193), the handle (D35384), and the piston (A152682).
. . . (1) Tube material, FS 1050 steel, MIL-S-11486 (ORD) seamless, annealed is ordered to O.D. .503” to .510”; I.D. .402” to .407”; R.B. 85 to 100, in lengths of 7’ to 16’. Specification permit a curvature of .010” per foot. The tube is rough cut to lengths of 15-3/4”, finished to print length, and ground to size, .506 -.006, on centerless grinders.
. . . (2) The tube is welded to the handle (FS 8745 steel) in a resistance welding machine*. A fixture gage is inserted in the handle, and the transient assembly is positioned on the machine. The handle is clamped, and the fixture gage removed, resulting in the tube being clamped in the same position occupied by the fixture gage. A resistance heated weld unites the two components.
. . . (3) The piston is fixtured in position on the tube in the resistance welding machine and welded in place.
. . . (4) The welds are annealed by means of a traveling belt, gas-fired furnace. The operating rod assembly is loaded parallel to the belt and positioned manually according to specified stops.
b. The rod assembly is bent to a prescribe offset in a resistance heating fixture. It now conforms moderately to drawing D35382.
c. The rod assembly is subjected to two subsequent heat treatments of differing hardening temperatures. The unit is later tempered to establish hardness values.
. . . (1) The assemblies are racked on a bird cage fixture for transportation purposes. These are passed through a furnace, heating the entire unit to austenitize the handle and tube. Serious decarburization is prevented by suitable heating conditions. Without intermediate exposure to outside air and without manual handling, the rod assembly is subjected to an oil quench.
. . . (2) The piston (type 420 stainless steel) is heated to a controlled temperature in an induction coil, austenitized, and oil quenched. It attains a temperature of 1850 to 1900 F, the heating effects about ¾” along the tube.
d. To grind the piston to size, the rod assembly is chucked to revolve to piston accurately against the grinding wheel. The handle is left to rotate freely at high velocity.
e. Finally, in the straightening and bending operation, the rod assembly is manually bent and adjusted to conform to the standard contour of drawing D35382. Two gages are employed: the silhouette gage and the functional or “gun action gage".
. . . (1) Silhouette gage. By comparing the assembly unit to an outline, shadow, or silhouette pattern of drawing D35382, the straightener adjusts the assembly unit to conform to this represented pattern.
. . . (2) “Gun-Action gage”. The “gun-action gage” simulates the actual weapon, consisting of essential components of the actual weapon rejected for non-conformance not effecting function of the operating rod. However, the gage is subject to the dimensional variations typical of the weapon. Consequently, gages differ among themselves.
The manufacture of the operating rod assembly was always a headache for the production engineers, as there were many points in the process where things could go awry.
1) The raw tube was not straightened prior to centerless grinding, this can lead to varying wall thickness and warping during heat treatment.
2) Drift of the alignment in the welding fixtures.
3) Warping during heating while unevenly supported on the traveling belt in the furnace.
4) Damage during transport in the annealed condition.
5) The unsupported handle during grinding the piston lead to bending of the tube due to centrifugal forces.
6) Variations in the “gun-action gages”.
Surprisingly enough, these issues were never addressed until the mid 1950s.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
* Many people falsely think that resistance welding and friction welding are the same process. The M1 and M14 operating rod assemblies were resistance welded. Resistance welding is done by pressing the two parts together and passing an electrical current through the joint, heating the material to the melding point. The major advantage of this method is there is no filler wire, and there need not be any moving parts.
a. The operating rod (D35382) consists of three components: the tube (B147193), the handle (D35384), and the piston (A152682).
. . . (1) Tube material, FS 1050 steel, MIL-S-11486 (ORD) seamless, annealed is ordered to O.D. .503” to .510”; I.D. .402” to .407”; R.B. 85 to 100, in lengths of 7’ to 16’. Specification permit a curvature of .010” per foot. The tube is rough cut to lengths of 15-3/4”, finished to print length, and ground to size, .506 -.006, on centerless grinders.
. . . (2) The tube is welded to the handle (FS 8745 steel) in a resistance welding machine*. A fixture gage is inserted in the handle, and the transient assembly is positioned on the machine. The handle is clamped, and the fixture gage removed, resulting in the tube being clamped in the same position occupied by the fixture gage. A resistance heated weld unites the two components.
. . . (3) The piston is fixtured in position on the tube in the resistance welding machine and welded in place.
. . . (4) The welds are annealed by means of a traveling belt, gas-fired furnace. The operating rod assembly is loaded parallel to the belt and positioned manually according to specified stops.
b. The rod assembly is bent to a prescribe offset in a resistance heating fixture. It now conforms moderately to drawing D35382.
c. The rod assembly is subjected to two subsequent heat treatments of differing hardening temperatures. The unit is later tempered to establish hardness values.
. . . (1) The assemblies are racked on a bird cage fixture for transportation purposes. These are passed through a furnace, heating the entire unit to austenitize the handle and tube. Serious decarburization is prevented by suitable heating conditions. Without intermediate exposure to outside air and without manual handling, the rod assembly is subjected to an oil quench.
. . . (2) The piston (type 420 stainless steel) is heated to a controlled temperature in an induction coil, austenitized, and oil quenched. It attains a temperature of 1850 to 1900 F, the heating effects about ¾” along the tube.
d. To grind the piston to size, the rod assembly is chucked to revolve to piston accurately against the grinding wheel. The handle is left to rotate freely at high velocity.
e. Finally, in the straightening and bending operation, the rod assembly is manually bent and adjusted to conform to the standard contour of drawing D35382. Two gages are employed: the silhouette gage and the functional or “gun action gage".
. . . (1) Silhouette gage. By comparing the assembly unit to an outline, shadow, or silhouette pattern of drawing D35382, the straightener adjusts the assembly unit to conform to this represented pattern.
. . . (2) “Gun-Action gage”. The “gun-action gage” simulates the actual weapon, consisting of essential components of the actual weapon rejected for non-conformance not effecting function of the operating rod. However, the gage is subject to the dimensional variations typical of the weapon. Consequently, gages differ among themselves.
The manufacture of the operating rod assembly was always a headache for the production engineers, as there were many points in the process where things could go awry.
1) The raw tube was not straightened prior to centerless grinding, this can lead to varying wall thickness and warping during heat treatment.
2) Drift of the alignment in the welding fixtures.
3) Warping during heating while unevenly supported on the traveling belt in the furnace.
4) Damage during transport in the annealed condition.
5) The unsupported handle during grinding the piston lead to bending of the tube due to centrifugal forces.
6) Variations in the “gun-action gages”.
Surprisingly enough, these issues were never addressed until the mid 1950s.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
* Many people falsely think that resistance welding and friction welding are the same process. The M1 and M14 operating rod assemblies were resistance welded. Resistance welding is done by pressing the two parts together and passing an electrical current through the joint, heating the material to the melding point. The major advantage of this method is there is no filler wire, and there need not be any moving parts.
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Its pretty much how band saw blades are welded.
eQ
eQ
Gotta love the genius of Garand when he designed this rifle. And now we got the M14 rifle to boot. Thank you, sir!
A neat bit of manufacturing knowledge! Thanks for finding and sharing!
Since I've really never seen it friction welding always confused me what stopped it from just shearing back off when it spins ?
The joint is fluid when it reaches welding temperature. I think the chucks are timed to stop spinning. Much same when you set the welder for the type of welding you intend to do.
Speaking of Garand op rods, I bought a mongrel rack grade from CMP (SA w/ W.R.A. and IH parts) with an op rod listed in the Poyer-Riesch book as "National Match". It shows a different drawing number, no manufacturer and no NM stamp. The rifle shoots but the bolt tracking is a little sloppy for my liking and the op rod seems a little light. I don't have the drawing number with me right now, can anyone shine some light on what this might be?
Since I've really never seen it friction welding always confused me what stopped it from just shearing back off when it spins ?
Operating rod assembly part numbersSpeaking of Garand op rods, I bought a mongrel rack grade from CMP (SA w/ W.R.A. and IH parts) with an op rod listed in the Poyer-Riesch book as "National Match". It shows a different drawing number, no manufacturer and no NM stamp. The rifle shoots but the bolt tracking is a little sloppy for my liking and the op rod seems a little light. I don't have the drawing number with me right now, can anyone shine some light on what this might be?
35382
6535382
Thanks for this info. If the drawing is available, it might be interesting to show others the one (or two?) dimensional differences/tolerance spec regarding a standard M1 vs NM M1 op rod…folks might be surprised at the nuances difference…
The drawings are the same. It is just in the 1950s they added a two digit prefefix to all older drawings, e.g., the hammer went from 46008 to 5546008.Thanks for this info. If the drawing is available, it might be interesting to show others the one (or two?) dimensional differences/tolerance spec regarding a standard M1 vs NM M1 op rod…folks might be surprised at the nuances difference…
Very interesting, thanks for sharing.
The M1 NM op rod is 7790722 either SA or RA depending on maker.
OK.... I'm back home now and have the rifle in front of me. First off, I was wrong, the Op Rod has an SA mfg. stamp. It has a 7790722 serial number. It's listed on page 71 of the Poyer-Riesch book as "NM Rifles from 1962". Is there anything different about these op rods?Operating rod assembly part numbers
35382
6535382
My question is the up and down play causing the bolt to jam rearward when cycling manually (and no... it's not the follower). You must apply downward pressure on the op rod or the bolt will hang open. I has yet to hang up when shooting but I don't have any of these issues with any other Garands so I was just curious. Might this be a sign of excessive op rod wear?
Standard M1 Garand op rod drawing:It has a 7790722 serial number. It's listed on page 71 of the Poyer-Riesch book as "NM Rifles from 1962". Is there anything different about these op rods?
The only difference is the drawing for the NM op rod refers to the piston edge as "SHARP TO .003R MAX"
That and the "NM" stamp are the only two differences. My guess is the sharpness of the leading edge wears after a little bit of normal usage/wear, at point the two are likely identical aside the marking...and the prices that are asked if its marked "NM."
It's listed on page 71 of the Poyer-Riesch book as "NM Rifles from 1962". Is there anything different about these op rods?
My question is the up and down play causing the bolt to jam rearward when cycling manually (and no... it's not the follower). You must apply downward pressure on the op rod or the bolt will hang open. I has yet to hang up when shooting but I don't have any of these issues with any other Garands so I was just curious. Might this be a sign of excessive op rod wear?
Sounds like the tab is out of spec, or improper bend or something else worn.
Regarding the difference, no, there was no difference in the oprods other than the "NM" marking being slated for the NM program. Most of them ended up on standard rebuilt rifles.
Mike B
1 - 20 of 20 Posts
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