what type of plastic is used in gun stocks?

[knifenutz2008]

anyone know what type of plastic they use like in synthectic gun stocks?

 

[Jared Stenoien]

i thought they used some sort of fiberglass?

 

[howiesatwork]

Nylon 66 and FRN (fiberglas reinforced Nylon)

 

[knifenutz2008]

nylon 66 is that the same as nylon 6/6 the stuff that mcmaster carr sells?

 

[moonwilson]

Nylon 6-6 is the same stuff they make solution-dyed carpet out of (very abrasion resistant) It's a Dupont polymer that is colored when it is still in the pellet stage- before it is extruded or made into anything useful. You can dye it any color you want as long as you're prepared to buy a LOT of it. The color goes all the way through, so scratches don't show. It is fairly unaffected by temperature changes, completely impervious to humidity and chemical resistant. By itself, Nylon 6-6 is fairly flexible, so it needs to be stiffened somehow. The fiberglass (around 30% or so) gives it rigidity and strength. Otherwise a powerful rifle would crumple somewhat under hard recoil, or your zero would shift if the action and barrel wasn't free-floated.

Fiberglass reinforced Nylon is a good material to make weapons with. You can cast it, extrude it or mold it around steel to make modular components (Ala Glock). Once you pay to engineer and make the original mold, you can produce large quantites of FRN stocks, handles, whatever, very quickly and very cheaply, with hardly any skilled or hand labor involved. Too bad it's so damn ugly.

I thought some stocks were (are) made with fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin- though I'm not sure what the advantages of this would be. I'm not a chemical engineer.