Extraction - Carbon Steel vs. Stainless Steel vs. Titanium

[labnoti]

I understand the extraction of spent cases from chambers machined in Titanium cylinders can be difficult, and I've experienced this myself.

Is there an appreciable difference in extraction between carbon and stainless steel cylinders?

 

[The Evangelist Cowboy]

I understand the extraction of spent cases from chambers machined in Titanium cylinders can be difficult, and I've experienced this myself.

Is there an appreciable difference in extraction between carbon and stainless steel cylinders?

If there is I can't tell. The main difference I do see is when someone has the charging holes extremely polished but that has little to do with carbon vs stainless.

 

[Walkalong]

If there is I can't tell.

Me either, but I am not shooting rip snorting loads in my revolvers.

 

[reddog81]

It's probably not going to matter until you're well past the limits of most modern cartridges. Even then it's probably going to be a function of which one was finished better. A slightly rougher finish is going to result in sticky extraction sooner then one with a mirror finish.

Interesting question but I'm not sure anyone will be able to give a definitive answer.

 

[robhof]

I'm surprised as Ti. makes the absolute best reloading dies, usually it's just a Ti. sizing ring that acts like a lubed die. I've got a few of these dies and they size and slide like well lubed shells, even on range brass. I've polished the chambers on my revolvers to ease cleaning and makes extraction much easier on both my SS, and carbon/blued guns.

 

[Kp321]

Loading dies are not straight titanium. They are either tungsten carbide or titanium nitride, not the pure metals. Pure titanium does not polish to the same surface finish that steel does, hence the extraction difficulty. I have not worked extensively with titanium so can't speak to why this is, probably has to do with the grain structure of the metal.

 

[Pat Riot]

I have not had experience with Titanium cylinders. I have experience with carbon steel and stainless steel cylinders. The only hard extraction I have seen with them in center fire guns was just dirty chambers. With .22 LR and Magnum I have had to polish the chambers with Flitz polish and that solved the problem.
Come to think of it, I did also polish the chambers in my stainless original model Vaquero due to sticky cases in a couple of the chambers, But I think that had to do more with hotter loads I was trying.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Titanium has a quality like aluminum but much more so in Ti. In layman terms Ti is "sticky". It will catch cutting tools sometimes during machining which is why Ti is so difficult to machine.

If you have the materials, take a piece of steel and aluminum of equal thickness and try to cut it with a hacksaw. The Al is way softer but it will sometimes catch your saw dead in its tracks.

Im sure this "stickiness" is what is causing any extraction problems in the Ti cylinder. It is true it will not take as high of a polish as carbon or SS but only a little polishing should be all it takes to never have a problem again.