oldschoolsdime92 Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 If one were to make up some steel pistol targets, what's the general consensus on how thick to go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidgetTodd Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Used brake rotors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DAIVI PAI2K5 Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 AR500 steel then you can use it for either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thGix Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I was wanting to make some gongs but AR500 steel isnt cheap. Unless everyone on here was interested in some to help absorb the cost of material, frieght and getting them lasered out of a full sheet. I imagine you could get 32 12" gongs out of a 4'x8' sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiggy74 Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 http://www.jcsteeltargets.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flounder Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 go with jcsteel or bigdogsteel and be done with it. Making gongs from AR500 isnt going to save you anymoney by the time your all said and done. Ive looked into getting full ipsc sticker targets made from AR500 sheets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flounder Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 go with jcsteel or bigdogsteel and be done with it. Making gongs from AR500 isnt going to save you anymoney by the time your all said and done. Ive looked into getting full ipsc sticker targets made from AR500 sheets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 Ar500 needs to be cut on a waterjet. The heat from plasma, torch, and laser will deplete the heat treatment as well as welding brackets/bases to the target. I've considered cutting targets from mild steel and then having them heat treated to ar500 but finding the base metal composition and the heat treating process seems to be a well kept secret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted July 27, 2013 Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 I have tons of steel targets. Here are some of them testing a 45 cal target Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 If you're only using it for pistol, what ammo are you going to use? Frangible? You should be alright on mild steel around 3/8 - 1/2" for light pistol rounds with frangible ammo. My steel plate at 900 is a 10"x10" mild steel plate 1" thick and it holds up just fine to 338 Lapua, 7mm Rem Mag, and of course .223 doesn't even phase it. Hell, .223 barely removes the paint at 900. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschoolsdime92 Posted August 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 It was just going to be pistol use or .22 rifle at 100+ yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Ar500 needs to be cut on a waterjet. The heat from plasma, torch, and laser will deplete the heat treatment as well as welding brackets/bases to the target. I've considered cutting targets from mild steel and then having them heat treated to ar500 but finding the base metal composition and the heat treating process seems to be a well kept secret. Way too much work, and might not work the first try:And should be able to cut AR500 with carbide tools. Barely. Unfortunately there is no uniform specification for AR500 material other than hardness and the chemistry and Heat Treatment will vary from mill to mill. A representative chemisrtry is C-.30%, Si-.70%, Mn-1.70%, Cr-1.00%, Ni-.80%, Mo-.50% and B-.004%. Surprisingly the Boron @ .004% has a huge effect on the hardenability of the steel and an even bigger effect on the response of the Heat Affected Zone. In the HAZ where the temperature is in the 600F to 850F range the impact strength of the material can decrease to near zero due to the presence of carbides and untempered Martensite. We have learned this the hard way from Bainitic Frog Castings we have produced by adding Boron to induce Bainite. These were being investigated as an alternate to Cast Manganese Steel (Mn-14.00%)..."The structure of AR500 is tempered martensite which is obtained by a quench and temper operation. This should be accomplished by heating the material uniformly above it critical temperature to fully Austenize the structure. A starting point could be 1625F to 1675F and time at temperature should be about 1 hr per inch of thickness or in your case 20 to 30 minutes. Quench the material in light oil heated to 150F. After quenching test the material using a file. The file should skate across the surface and not cut the material. If the material is soft reheat and quench in cooler oil. While it may be necessary to obtain a faster quench, a water quench will most likely result in a cracked plate.After the plate has been quenched it must be tempered, using the plate without tempering risks the plate being shattered and creating shrapnel when struck by a bullet. The harden plate should be tempered to 350F to 400F for one hour after reaching heat. Check hardness using a file and comparing to an unaltered plate. Be prepared to do all of this again if it is too hard or too soft. Remember too hard - raise the tempering temperature, too soft - lower the temperature." http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/9995-heat-treat-for-ar500/?p=121081 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 It was just going to be pistol use or .22 rifle at 100+ yards. I find that over 1/4 inch plates that move are reasonably good for .22 rifles. None of mine are fixed . Only AR500 should be used for fixed plates IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDBGoalie Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 The type of steel is important because it determines the thickness. I shot a match down at Ft. Gordon a few years back and we all had to get our ammo checked after one of the targets had holes punched through it. Turns out they used a lesser steel for the target. So even though the dimensions were the same, the lesser steel had almost no resistance to penetration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted August 16, 2013 Report Share Posted August 16, 2013 low cost 4" x 4" octagonal plates $6.99 on sale http://www.shooterselement.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=22 seems about the right size to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschoolsdime92 Posted August 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2013 good find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted October 12, 2013 Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 Well, got 4 new 6 inch AR500 plates and finished the stand for them today. Range is always changing and growing it seems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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