Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Manco
there is really no point in using titanium in handguns except perhaps for the novelty of it.
|
After thinking about it some more, I realize that some folks use titanium firing pins to slightly decrease lock time, so maybe there are some uses in firearms, but it's generally not for ordinary use. Titanium's corrosion resistance would be useful as well, but not with the cost and difficulty of working with titanium.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jimmy10mm
Still for S&W to use a titanium cylinder the strength to take the shock of a 357 magnum must be considerable.
|
Roughly speaking, for the same size component, titanium should be about as strong as its steel counterpart. It will flex more, though, which shouldn't be a huge problem for cylinders, although I expect that barrels will continue to be made of steel (or have steel inserts) for the foreseeable future.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jimmy10mm
Even in the few reports of cracking on those the scandium was the problem, not the Ti.
|
I think that S&W got a bit too aggressive in their use of aluminum-scandium alloy. Sure, the addition of a small amount of scandium toughens up the aluminum considerably, but further lightening the frame by 1.7 oz and then clearing them for .357 Magnum went too far, in my opinion. In their tests they found the frames strong enough, I'm sure, but there is little or no margin for any internal defects--the metal has to be virtually perfect or it may crack at any time. Maybe it's just a quality control issue with the alloy, but I think that a titanium frame could be made considerably stronger and more durable with only a small weight penalty (it could still be as light as a Model 642 but shoot .357 Magnum). Maybe there are a few uses for titanium in firearms after all....