Acoustic emission monitoring is a non-destructive testing technique that ects ultra-high frequency sound that stressed metal emits. In straightening a gun tube the workpiece is at first under no stress, is elastically deformed (with total springback when pressure is released), is plastically deformed (with some springback upon release of pressure), or it cracks under too great a pressure. Each of these stages produces a distinctly different type of acoustic emission. By listening to the workpiece during the pressing operation the operator can be alerted as to the stage the workpiece is in and he can adjust his operation accordingly.