[ithacaartist]

Somehow I've missed hearing about this technology, and I think it's fantastic, particularly applied to irreplaceable gun parts. The work on your lever is exquisite!

I'll be doing a little TIG work on a couple of mine, somewhere down the line, but these project will be way simpler, more accessible areas, such as my progressively presbyopic peepers can handle with lots of magnification! Currently, I'm impressed by the sharp eyes and steady hands of a couple of colleagues--but these guys are about half my age

Marc, stress breaks in steel do, indeed make the exposed material look like a casting when it breaks. The stress, whether it's a constant pounding, sudden heavy shock, or repeated bending back and forth, makes the formerly steel crystalized, harder, and brittle. Cast iron is already brittle, so one good whack or deflection can kill it. The two kinds of breaks look the same because they sort of are the same.