Firing pin steel selection

[Metaloxide]

No. You are looking for something 50ish Rockwell C. No less than 45.

I guess I need to hurry up and get the kiln modified.

 

[pontiac428]

I guess I need to hurry up and get the kiln modified.

A small part like that is a quick and easy propane torch job to dull red with an oil quench, followed by an anneal to straw color and a slow cool.

You can get hardness testing files that will bracket your heat treat fairly conveniently into a Rockwell number range.

https://www.amazon.com/Fowler-Warranty-52-760-000-0-Hardness-Diameter/dp/B00B5HQYAM

 

[Advil]

Those files are handy. I bought a set years ago. If you buy them under the japanese name tsubosan they're about 50% less:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TGHFLC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They seem expensive, but not if you look at all the other options for testing hardness to a reasonably narrow range. Getting it to within 5 is more than enough accuracy for a home shop and to give you some peace of mind.

 

[GeneT45]

Those files are handy. I bought a set years ago. If you buy them under the japanese name tsubosan they're about 50% less:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TGHFLC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They seem expensive, but not if you look at all the other options for testing hardness to a reasonably narrow range. Getting it to within 5 is more than enough accuracy for a home shop and to give you some peace of mind.

They're also usable in a lot of cases that a 'real' hardness tester isn't. e.g. you can test thin material, tubes, and other shapes that would not be intrinsically rigid - a requirement for a conventional rockwell tester.

GsT