Old Model Blackhawk .357 story

[dougader]

In any event, that's a nice looking 357.

See if Ruger will research the Serial number and send you a letter. Although that may just make the situation all the more cloudy, lol.

If it's chrome, I'd keep it and shoot the heck out of it. If it's stainless, I'd sell it for a mint and buy a bunch of sweet guns for a personal collection.

 

[chet15]

Logic would be that it would still have an Al grip frame even if the the gun were machined out of stainless since the grip frames are probably cast and there would not have been any stainless grip frames around. My guess is it is carbon steel with a finish.

As I posted above, I agree with you, but not for that reason. Because if a main frame was cast in stainless steel, it would be even easier to pour a grip frame in stainless. And all the other parts, hammer, trigger, etc., would have to be cast in stainless as well. And the most difficult: chunks of stainless bar stock would be needed to turn a barrel and cylinder from. Ruger only buys barrel and cylinder bar stock in 12 foot lengths.

You could probably use the same lost wax process and same wax patterns to cast a cylinder frame out of stainless (which would save machining them out of solid blocks of stainless), but not sure if there were different shrink rates between chrome-moly and stainless or not...which would affect the measurements of your patterns.
Also, if Ruger was doing the cylinder frames out of stainless steel, these would have been done in the R&D toolroom, not on the regular production line. WBR wouldn't have wanted anybody on the floor to even eyeball these things. The only thing that would have been done on the floor would have been the serial number and rollmarks, and even at that....after hours by those in the know???
Aluminum grip frames are made through the mold injection process, not by investment casting. So the cost and expense of making new XR3-RED grip frame dies to make stainless steel wax patterns through investment casting would have probably been out....though Ruger did have the process to make Super Blackhawk long grip frame steel investment castings by that time (through vendors).
Chet15

 

[steve8261948]

I was told that to work Stainless Steel that one needed special tools for Stainless Steel and that the machines needed to run at a different speed then the speed that was needed for the blue steel guns. If that is the case I don't see that it would have been possible for an employee to stop production on the standard guns and run 2 guns in Stainless and then change the machines back for the blue guns.

True, in my limited machinist experience it is gummy to work with.
Steve

 

[NitroAcres]

Working with SS is not "that big of a deal"...feeds speeds and tooling...it is all machining, for a Journeyman it is just another job, I have been working in the welding and machine industry for a bit over 40yrs.

 

[Hondo44]

Aluminum grip frames are made through the mold injection process, not by investment casting. So the cost and expense of making new XR3-RED grip frame dies to make stainless steel wax patterns through investment casting would have probably been out....though Ruger did have the process to make Super Blackhawk long grip frame steel investment castings by that time (through vendors).
Chet15

Maybe I'm missing your point, but the grip frame on the OP's gun is an XR3. I would think if they were going to cast a SS version, it would be the same size and wouldn't try to make a the non existent at that time, XR3-RED.

 

[chet15]

Aluminum grip frames are made through the mold injection process, not by investment casting. So the cost and expense of making new XR3-RED grip frame dies to make stainless steel wax patterns through investment casting would have probably been out....though Ruger did have the process to make Super Blackhawk long grip frame steel investment castings by that time (through vendors).
Chet15

Maybe I'm missing your point, but the grip frame on the OP's gun is an XR3. I would think if they were going to cast a SS version, it would be the same size and wouldn't try to make a the non existent at that time, XR3-RED.

Yeah...accidentally put the "RED" in the statement.
But the point is, Ruger had the aluminum grip frames cast differently than steel cylinder frames.
Chet115

 

[Hondo44]

Yeah introducing some molten stainless steel for a couple of grip frames into the injection process would be a headache.

 

[snakeeyes4445]

No one has asked what the serial number markings of this gun looks like.

I have a Ron Powers Custom model 19-3 finished in Metalife and it is harder than satainless and while looking very similar.

 

[NitroAcres]

No one has asked what the serial number markings of this gun looks like.

The .357 in question has a SN in the 12XXX range. Picture in 2nd post.