10 May 2020

The Riddle Of Plastic

I have noticed that there's a rather large contingent of people who unironically complain about how much plastic gets used in modern firearms without noticing how much plastic is on their favorite "steel" gun.

In some cases, their favorite was even a pioneer of non-metal, non-natural materials.

There's the exact same amount of plastic parts in an M16 as there is in most FALs.

The same is true with the G3.

Did you know that many (perhaps most) M14's didn't have a wood stock when they were finally turned in?  Where did you think all those beautiful surplus walnut M14 stocks came from?  Look up what 'surplus' means...

The M1911A1 didn't sport wooden stocks for decades of service.

I don't fear new materials in old applications.

But the new material must be applicable.

Metal injection molding (MIM) is a viable process for making parts, assuming that the part is designed with the material properties in mind.  It is not a substitute for a part where the material properties aren't possible with MIM!

Polymers are perfectly fine in many applications and are proving superior to metal there too.

Don't fear the new.  Understand it.  Grok it in its fullness.  Use it where it works.

2 comments:

  1. I build plastic boats,well fiberglass, but it really plastic. Plastic is fine for boats and mailboxes but I won't have a firearm made with it.

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