At the height of WWII the British War Ministry ordered, on an experimental
basis, Bronze/Gun Metal Bolt Assemblies. Amazing in that, as an alloy, the material cost
was many times greater than that of steel. The reason however was machine-time, which was
a valuable commodity in 1943 (see "The Sten Machine Carbine" by Peter Laidler
page 250-51. The Bronze bolts could be cast and then required only slight machine
finishing; whereas regular steel bolts had to be cut from solid. The use of Bronze bolts
were abandoned as soon as machine-time pressure was alleviated. |
