Quote:
Originally Posted by alanint
I say that because as a kid I broke the back sight off my MGC Model Gun MP40 and tried to glue it back onto the stamped steel receiver. After many attempts it was just a mess, so my Dad put the back sight into a pot of boiling water to try and remove the globs of glue. The entire sight melted into a blob of zinc! I had to order a new sight from MGC. I am convinced this frame is made of the same stuff.
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Doug, I don't doubt it, if it was lying on the bottom of the pot. The temp at the bottom of the metal pot (not the water) is essentially the same as the heating coil - Which can be hundreds of degrees higher than 212º. The act of boiling actually cools the pot (relatively speaking). Wikipedia shows Zinc melting at 786 °F, which I would think is easily reached by an electric stove and certainly by a gas stove. Lead bullets are cast on electric stoves at 621.5 °F.
I have two MGC MP-40s. The sheet metal is thinner than the Germans used - about half the gauge [thickness].