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November 14, 2019
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I don't know if this was discussed here (I searched but came up empty) or not, but what stress does the shroud see when the gun is fired? To me it seems the shroud is only holding the barrel inline with the cylinder.
I imagine you could have a shroud made of a material that isn't steel... Am I wrong? Has anyone ever had a custom shroud that wasn't blued steel or stainless steel? Does anyone know what type of steels were used for the shrouds?
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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There was a Colt experimental gun on Gunbroker not long ago that had an interchangable barrel and shroud. It was an aluminum shroud. The barrel of a revolver vibrates and flexes with the torque and force of the bullet. That is mitigated with the shroud, barrel and nut of a Dan. Other makes rely on top rails, bull barrels and full lugs to stiffen the barrel. The Colt gun was probably made by Karl Lewis when he worked for Colt. Colt declined to put the idea into production and the rest is history.
I am not certain but I think the shroud is the same steel as the frame but rolled steel, not investment cast. Ditto sideplate and cylinder. Heat treating is different for the different parts I believe. I am sure other members are more knowledgeable and will be heard from.
November 14, 2019
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Ole Dog said
There was a Colt experimental gun on Gunbroker not long ago that had an interchangable barrel and shroud. It was an aluminum shroud. The barrel of a revolver vibrates and flexes with the torque and force of the bullet. That is mitigated with the shroud, barrel and nut of a Dan. Other makes rely on top rails, bull barrels and full lugs to stiffen the barrel. The Colt gun was probably made by Karl Lewis when he worked for Colt. Colt declined to put the idea into production and the rest is history.
I am not certain but I think the shroud is the same steel as the frame but rolled steel, not investment cast. Ditto sideplate and cylinder. Heat treating is different for the different parts I believe. I am sure other members are more knowledgeable and will be heard from.
Thanks for the information, the Colt sounds interesting. I wonder how the aluminum would hold up to the heat generated by the barrel. I imagine you would have to check the barrel torque after getting things nice and hot. The cylinder gap would probably grow as well...
I was thinking about titanium, but that is known to work harden. I wouldn't want to have it all suddenly come apart. I don't know how many shots you'd get out of a TI shroud (probably a lot).
August 8, 2016
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MagnumBoomer said
I don't know if this was discussed here (I searched but came up empty) or not, but what stress does the shroud see when the gun is fired? To me it seems the shroud is only holding the barrel inline with the cylinder.
I would agree after having a newer DW barrel split last year which then split the frame...
https://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/revolvers/my-monson-715-barrel-and-frame-split-f/
Shroud was perfectly fine. In fact DW didn’t even replace the shroud. They just sent me a new frame and barrel.
November 14, 2019
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I read that thread. I wonder if it was improper heat treatment that caused your failure. It makes sense that yours failed the way it did, it cracked at it's weakest point. Still very sorry to see that happen, glad that you are okay. I bet it was scary when it came apart!
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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Many folks have put side and botton slots in a supermag and there are no problems.
November 14, 2019
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Maybe I wasn't clear in my reply about Andrew1220's failure. I was implying the barrel wasn't properly heat treated which caused the erosion. When the barrel split it cracked the frame at it's weakest point.
I'm aware of the "speed holes" in the Super Mag shrouds. I don't believe the shroud is a highly stressed component. Heat and vibration/flex is probably the greatest forces it sees. I wonder how that experimental colt fared ( I guess not so well considering there aren't any aluminum revolvers out there ).
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Dans Club
March 25, 2013
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I don't think the aluminum shroud was the problem. Colt, like Smith and Ruger are liability shy. Folks changing their own barrels scares them. Most modern Revolvers of quality are using the barrel and shroud but they don't encourage owners to change barrels. They are after the accuracy. Smith only sells the barrel tool to gunsmith or FFLs. And they don't offer much in the was of choices of barrel lengths.
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