Smith Enterprise Fans: M14 & M1A Parts and Upgrades: M14 Receivers: Bar Stock, Heat Treat & DOD Prints

This page covers M14 receivers made by Smith Enterprise, Inc. (SEI) of Tempe, Arizona. It shows how SEI said it makes them from bar stock, how it checks heat treatment with cross sections mounted in epoxy, the Department of Defense aperture-card prints it works from, and a set of photos of finished receivers.

The SEI text and email below were first posted on this blog in 2013. Claims about other makers are SEI's own, as stated at the time.

Independent fan blog. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Smith Enterprise, Inc.

Made from Bar Stock

First posted on this blog in October 2013.

SEI said in 2013 that, to its knowledge, no one else made M14 receivers from bar stock. Its October 2013 update shows the bar stock and parts in progress. SEI also said it was the only company with these gauges for the process.

M14 receivers and bar stock at Smith Enterprise, 2013

This is just a peek at what we are up to. Notice the bar stock in the steel tub - that is what we start with to make receivers. That is why it takes a long time to get these built. We make our receivers from bar stock, which no one else is doing for M14s (to our knowledge). Notice the two receivers with larger thread gauges. One is for pre heat treat and the other is for post heat treat. We are the only company with these type of gauges for this process.
Thanks for sticking with us as we get all these M14 receivers built. We are making great progress.

Heat Treat Checks: Cross Sections in Epoxy

First posted on this blog in October 2013.

In 2013 an SEI employee named Jack sent Croc's Gun Shop photos of receiver part cross sections mounted in epoxy, for its newsletter. His email follows.

Cross sections of SEI M14 receiver parts mounted in epoxy

Here is an email from Jack (an SEI employee) to Anthony from Croc's Gun Shop. It is pretty enlightening to see this one of many industry standards that SEI has started.

Anthony,
I was able to get some pictures done and edited for you to send out in your newsletter.
These are the cross sections of our receiver parts mounted in epoxy. These are samples that were done form last yearâ€™s batch. These mounts check the accuracy of our case depth and core hardness. There is no industry SOP as to when or how often this should be done, it is determined by Ron. Since perfecting the heat treatment process on his receivers in 1985, Ron has periodically sent out receivers from several different batches to get tested, just to assure that they have been staying within his heat treating guidelines. Ron doesnâ€™t think that there is any other manufacturer out there that goes to the same lengths of quality control for their heat treatment. Material 8620 is very predictable in heat treat. The heat treat processes for the M14 in 1957 were far different than they are today, due in large to EPA restrictions. We have found that on de-milled M14 Receivers, that core hardness is as high as 45, which is extreme, with case depth as much as .0020. With todayâ€™s technology, it is much easier to control and predict the outcome of a heat treat on a given material than it was back then. We know that the USGI M14 Receiver when de-milled, were sometimes hit on the op-rod side middle with some type of hammer blow which broke them. The receiver would withstand a great deal of compression, but lateral strikes could not be tolerated very well.
-Jack

Original DOD Prints on Aperture Cards

First posted on this blog in December 2013.

A December 2013 post showed Ron Smith with a stack of Department of Defense M14 aperture cards, the microfiche prints SEI works from. SEI said in 2013 that, as far as it knew, it was the only company in the country with a full set.

Ron Smith holding Department of Defense M14 aperture cards

This is Ron holding a stack of Department of Defense M14 Aperture Cards (Microfiche) with all of the original prints of the different M14 parts. At SEI, we have the highest standard of excellence for our products. We have a print of every nut, screw and bolt for the M14, up to and including the stock print. Smith Enterprise, as far as we know, is the only one in the country with a set of these type of prints. This is what we use. Most people don't realize just how rare and coveted these cards are. We want our customers to know. We don't reverse engineer anything, nor do we use copies of copies of DoD prints. Our customers can rest assured that we only use the real deal for our M14 parts.