Underdog Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Can you sharpen a straightened paper clip to a very fine point and put a little bend on it so you can try and feel it for your self? A magnifying glass would be good too, or a macro shot cropped with the point in the crack/scratch! A scratch from a foreign body would be all the way down the barrel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malkiserow Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 The proof house manager in Brum is more than just a manager........ I'd use them personally. See if you can do a deal with GMK, If it fails they help you a bit. If it passes then you pay. A scratch is not their fault. It is devalued any way.... The question is how much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 If you get the proof house to test it - have it prepared by a gunsmith - because the high proof loads can damage the wood. It is usual I believe to remove the stock for proof firing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wabbitbosher Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I've pm'd you I recon thats a terminal Crack might be able to sort some barrels Wb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Just take the barrels or get them sent to the proofhouse for their opinion.......sorted! one way or the other.......end of! P1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snakebite72 Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Hi Neil. I'm new to these forums and your barrel problem caught my attention...I'm an engineer working in a metallurgy lab, my speciality is failure investigation, so I deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis. I'm sorry to say this but from the photographs you posted, it does appear that there is a crack in your forcing cone...that said, it could be just a scratch and a trick of the light...but I don't think so. There are numerous events that can cause this type of failure and most of them are likely to be attributable to a breakdown in the original manufacturing process, rather than something occurring as a result of mis-use. My recommendation would be as follows. Go on to ebay(or wherever) and buy a Rocol 3 part Flaw Detector Kit, This is 3 aerosol cans, 1 cleaner, 2 dye, 3 developer powder. Give the barrels a good clean and degrease with the cleaner, plug the barrel just beyond the forcing cone with a bit of rag, bog roll or whatever and then apply the dye (wear gloves and old clothes!)Let it soak in for at least an hour with the scratch/crack at the lowest point, so gravity helps the dye soak in. Next, give it a good wipe out to remove the excess dye and apply a light coat of the developer powder (don't worry, all this stuff will wash off with warm soapy water when you are done)then wait 15 mins for it to develop. Have a look and you should see a pink line coming through the powder. You have now found your "flaw". What you need to do next is determine whether it's a crack or a scratch. Wipe the powder away and repeat the developer process ONLY, don't apply any more dye. If after several rounds of "developing" you still see your pink line returning then I think it would be fair to say that you have a substantial crack and not just a scratch. Hope this helps...sorry it was bit wordy! Now, assuming you have a crack, given that this is likely to be a manufacturing issue (incorrect heat treatment, hydrogen embrittlement perhaps)I think Beretta would be very interested, as these type of failures can often indicate a batch problem and they may need to do some sort of containment activity to determine the size of the problem....or they might just tell you to "do one"! Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 As A RAF Airframe Technician, albeit long retired, I used the process accurately described by Snakebite above on a regular basis - it was known as Ardrox to us. If you'd have seen the mess that the Indian Air Force made of the job when they returned several Jaguar aircraft of loan, you would appreciate that interpretation of the result is a skill as is the application - excess developer is a common fault and there was no way that said Indians would have got an accurate assessment. In your case you have the added difficulty of access..Ultra-sound or X ray would be a better choice in this instance. As Beretta is on the ball, get GMK to send the barrels to them - you never know; if it is a crack they may just take pity on you - if you don't they can't - you've nothing to lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted June 8, 2014 Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Ultra-sound or X ray would be a better choice in this instance. As Beretta is on the ball, get GMK to send the barrels to them - you never know; if it is a crack they may just take pity on you - if you don't they can't - you've nothing to lose. If you know any structural welders or pipe welders they may be able to scan the tubes for you, as with all of these things. the skill is in the correct interpretation the results... See what GMK say once they have had chance to inspect the tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernneil Posted June 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2014 Well, that's certainly interesting! I didn't know such a process existed to be honest. GMK have had a bore scope down it and have assured me it is a scratch. To be fair, I think I'm going to have to take them at their word, I'm quite sure they ain't in the game if letting people fire things that are not safe? It's a back up gun anyway and a few people who have seen it (the gun shop I went to in order to RFD it to GMK) have said they're also certain it is, in fact they offered me a trade in for it when they could see I wasn't too sure. The barrels on these are chrome lined, I know there's no removing it so I'm left with 2 choices, buy another set of barrels (difficult ult without putting them on a card as she's just bought a Caribbean holiday for next year :-/) or live with it for now providing it is safe. I will buy another set of barrels just as soon as I can, or chop both this one and my 686 Gold E for a 682 Gold E at some point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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