Every true outdoorsmans dream! If you dont drain the barrel or action recesses properly before putting a barrel or action into a hot salt tank, then you will find out in a hell of a hurry as the water flashes to steam under the surface and again, splatters hot, highly caustic lye/nitrite salts all over you and your shop. Now, using the information above, you should have little problem bluing your firearms on your own. The salts will be a gooey caustic mess while theyre cold, and you MUST have covers on the tank when youre not using them, or the salts will climb over the edges of the tank and make a mess on the floor. Theres nothing I see as super-dangerous about blueing other than trying to do hot salt blueing without all the correct safety equipment and precautions. Higher carbon contents will take longer to heat. The reason I ask is that when you heat steel that is in the white to 600F, you get a brilliant blue all on its own. Youre a gunsmith who has a lot of nice guns! This will keep the bluing from adhering to the sharpened edge. Fill the tank with a suitable amount of water then add in the bluing salt using the correct ratio. How do I do this? For hazzalandy: carbon content has nothing to do with the color process, it is only the temperature you heat to, and to a lesser extent, the time spent hot. I didnt drop outta my mommas womb being able to do this stuff. Usually, you can find the manufacturers recommended ratio in the product manual. It's worth noting that there can be some additives in motor oil that release hydrocarbons when burnt which is a known carcinogens to the body (in other words: Bad Stuff!). When youre done and have neutralized & washed off the Express Blue #1 solution, you then should spray down the barrel with water-displacing oil. I pulled the temp off the top of my head. After the Civil War they switched to another process. 1. You will need:-2x containers (one of them preferably being metal for the oil)-oil -unleaded petrol/Acetone/Terpentine/Rubbing alcohol or any goo This heating forms the blue on the plate. kitty litter (I would recommend the unused variety). Note: I know a plastic container is pictured but always use a metal one! Bluing is a process usually used by gun owners and firearms manufacturers to improve the aesthetic value of their weapons. To remove them, you put the action/barrel into a sturdy vise (padded with soft jaws) and you use a piece of brass rod to drift the sights out. When polishing something like the above rifle/shotgun, youve got a pretty light coat of rust, without severe pitting. Wear thick gloves and a face mask before you quench your steel so the water or oil doesnt splash onto your hands. Last Updated: May 13, 2022 The steel was mild steel and had very little carbon content. That can be a pen torch (pictured), a blow torch, a heat gun, a gas hob (which I am going use) or anything that will provide you with enough heat. List Price: $18.64 $18.64. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience :) ). Thoroughly degrease the area to be reblued with acetone. This article received 28 testimonials and 92% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. The tank of distilled water you heat with a camp stove, the kitchen stove (Im not responsible for marital discord and disruptions of conjugal relations) or some other much larger heat source to a boil. (Its Crystalline Potassium Nitrate 100%) $6.18 In this case cooking oil, rather than gun oil, acts to displace water and prevent rust. How to Blue Bluing Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Method. It is usually sold in a 1lb bottle for $3, you'll need 3 or 4 pounds probably. Posted December 21, 2009. Follow the instructions. Metal Finishing Guru. I saw you reference a coleman stove and propane tank for heating solution. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The torch comes in when you first apply the Express Blue. Premium fencing blades are often offered with a blued finish. Thanks a lot for sharing. Once you see it turn golden, the process has started and colours will change fairly quickly! Thank you, DG! The head is fixtured and and an arm holding the valve seat moves the the proper location. Once it's cooled down, take the object out of the oil and place it on a piece of paper/cloth and let it set for about 20 minutes. Then, you can put the components back into the bluing tank and increase the temperature until you see the blued steel. Degrease and heat the items to be blued in a steel pan to about 700F. 99. I have done a cold blue on a very rusted .22 for a friend. Ive learned a LOT. Wait for 10 15 minutes and then take out the components. You dont want to affect the hardness of your steel in critical areas like actions, bolts, bolt lugs, barrels, chambers, etc. JUST DONT. 3D Printed Futuristic Space Age Wall Clock. "width": "1500", You need to constantly be adding in a bit of water to bring the boiling point back down into the range you need. Many double-barreled shotguns are soft soldered (lead) or silver brazed together and many of the parts are attached by that method also. Cold blues will How do I harden a steel hammer so that is lasts longer and is more durable? As mentioned, cold bluing can be done at room temperature with decent results. Reply I wouldnt use this bluing method for these items. 2023 All Rights Reserved by Shooting Mystery. 3.3k. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer. Metal parts that look black or blue-black are usually blued (rather than painted). Seriously, this is interesting and thank you for posting it, but I hope to never be in a position where I need to use either of these techniques! The difference is immersion in boiling water for bluing. The wire is extremely small in diameter, so you have to take that into consideration. ", steel". Free shipping for many products! No. "name": "Shooting Mystery", "Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. -An old container filled with your chosen degreaser (unleaded petrol), -Your desired polished metal object/s (very important! Use a coffee can or similarly shaped container as your quenching chamber. If you want it smoother/shinier, you can polish up to 600 grit, with wet-or-dry paper. Salts. it takes a long time to heat up a long (ie barreled action length) tank that is, oh, three barrels wide. Brilliant blues. Interesting and informative as always. This is how Colt made their rifles and pistols prior to Civil War you can read all about the process. Thats how vigorously we de-grease guns before starting blueing. YouTube - Nitre bluing a few gun parts. Hardening will cause it to be more brittle, which could cause the hammer to chip and cause injury. Make sure the piece is chemically clean, sandblasting followed by power wire brushing is good then stop heating when you hit purple because the heat will travel. Ive used this method in a pinch to make a tap from a cheap mild steel bolt to chase out galled female threads. "I have very limited knowledge as to how metal can be manipulated for different applications. it washes off with water. Above you can see some example pictures of the colour shades that can be achieved with this techniques. The potassium nitrate will liquefy at around this temperature and blue your items at a relatively quick speed. When youre using hot blueing salts, youd better be on top of your game, or you can seriously injure yourself. this article statement One can generally use the same solution to brown as to blue. Just dont. You are nitre blueing here. Further, I probably would have used a coarser wet-dry to prep the raw steel (this was a kit Kentucky long rifle) rather than the 1500 grit I used. 4 years ago It also looks good on AK type weapons of which I have three to park. Thank you so much for sharing such a great article. You should note that the blue layer is rather delicate so dont treat it roughly. you may benefit from the use of a gas lense as well. Christopher Graham writes all the content and reviews on this site with the help of his team of hunters and shooters. There wasnt a whole lot of pain just yet until my buddy took the safety bottle of vinegar solution used to neutralize the alkaline NaOH salts, and then the pain was there. Have proper ventilation and use proper modern safety gear! I wasnt planning on doing it for a few months. Also buffing wheels pre blue. Mea culpa. The parts must be observed constantly for colour change. I have at least three cold blue solutions in my shop including Oxpho-blue, 44-40 and others. This method was adopted by larger firearm companies for large scale, more economical bluing. Hi SteelJunkee Method is as follows: Fit rod into drill and set at constant speed Clean rods with acetone on clean rag Use butane and propane mix blow torch to achieve colour range Quench in water Dry The weird thing is that they look great for around 4-5 days then deteriorate. Ill go into parkerization later this week. Also: Do not allow the solution to run, drip or sag. Then the crucibles would be removed from the furnace and placed over boiling hot water and air would be bubbled through the water and the parts would be dropped into the water. Theres nothing wrong with your method, but is is very hazardous, especially to people who have never done anything like it before. Hot blueing salts attack soft solders on guns, so it isnt to be done on old shotguns and some older rifles. Excellent info. I believe the change of color is due to a growing thickness of an oxide layer. Approved. . Colour case hardening occurs when soft steels were packed in a reasonably airtight crucible in a mixture of charred leather, bone charcoal and wood charcoal. -Something to hold your piece with, make sure it's appropriate to hold it with so it doesn't get too hot in your hands. He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns. I guess Ill have to just be happy drying toilet paper. Cold bluing is not particularly resistant to holster wear, nor does it provide a large degree of rust resistance. 2 years ago, For the record The gentleman said multiple times that the plastic container shown in the pictures was just for the instructional photos and to be sure that the container is made of metal for this process, (Homer Simpson smacking his forehead: "DOH! By using our site, you agree to our. Dont. "https://twitter.com/Shoot1ngMystery", The steel will pull some of the carbon out of the oil while quenching and harden the outer portion of the metal. You can blue heat-treated parts with no ill effects. Water is great for rapidly quenching the hot metal, but it could cause thin steel to distort or crack. The colours range through straw, gold, brown, purple, blue, teal, then black. 4.3 out of 5 stars 242 ratings-30% $12.99 $ 12. Theres a reason I didnt pursue a career in chemistry. Still, you will find that cold blues dont last. Fortunately, this is easily had at any hardware store: WD-40 is a water displacing product, not a lubricant (contrary to widespread advertising). And I work alone in my shop, and lack the required (IMO) safety facilities that are needed. I can see my wife walking in and shaking her headabout as vigorously as when I asked if I could use the dishwasher to clean some tools. Great column, and thanks for all the responses to various questions and comments. Bluing, being a chemical conversion coating, is not as robust against wear and corrosion resistance as plated coatings, and is typically no thicker than 2.5 micrometres (0.0001 inches). Question Very helpful! And then there is the difference between general care and storage vs available daily carried protection pistols living in a some sort of Holster (nylon or leather) , good, bad, take them out or leave them in? Hunter holds a BFA in Entertainment Design from the University of Wisconsin - Stout and a Minor in English Writing. Then wipe off all excess oil and look at your beautiful finished object! There is something really rewarding about this technique. "author": "Christopher Graham", Blue Metal Shell 13 in 1 Welding Torch Nozzle Tip Cleaner For Welder Soldering. DG thank you. If youre using acetone to de-oil, dont be afraid to do it more than once. It was left in a flannel gun case in the back of a moist closet for 25+ years. Hunter Rising is a wikiHow Staff Writer based in Los Angeles. Reply There's also blued hardware available, like nuts, bolts, screws, and hinges. Bluing is often a hobbyist endeavor, and there are many methods of bluing, and continuing debates about the relative efficacy of each method. ", fascinated with blacksmithing, but have not had an income to even get it started. For more information on using a blowtorch and protecting the steel, scroll down! Soft, low-carbon steel was used, but strong materials were needed for the receivers of firearms. Because so many people are trying to do this sort of thing on the cheap, thats when I start thundering in my warnings about safety. Im asking because theres a guy on YouTube recommending Brown Express first, then several layers of Blue over that. The bottom of the crucible is opened allowing the contents to drop into the rapidly bubbling water. "sameAs": "mainEntityOfPage": "https://shootingmystery.com/blue-stainless-steel-beginners/", Answer Share it with us! The cotton gloves insulate your fingers from the heated barrel, and they prevent oils from your skin from getting on the raw steel. [4], Bluing can also be done in a furnace, for example for a sword or other item traditionally made by a blacksmith or specialist such as a weapon-smith. This is often achieved without chemicals by simply heating the steel until a blue oxide film appears. These include hot bluing, cold bluing, niter bluing, and so on. In fact most guides no matter their material cast iron to bronze and often bearing races are installed the same way. Submerge in water and scrape edge. Go on and start bluing! BUT like so many power tools on guns, it is possible to create expensive screw-ups to fix on guns with power tools, and buffing wheels are no exception. Bluing is also used in seasoning cast-iron cookware, to render it relatively rust-proof and non-stick. Either that or the steel wool. Even a fingerprint will affect the consistency of the colour. Brand: Logix. It is a difficult product to apply evenly, offers minimal protection and is generally best used for small fast repair jobs and touch-ups.[2][3]. Very true. Its nice when something can be re-used a time or two, especially when used in diversified ways. "https://theshootingmystery.tumblr.com/", Then you can express blue it with a propane torch and a tank of boiling water. WebThe gun bluing process Start with 1 gallon of water and add it to a deep fryer that has been thoroughly cleaned. If you are referring to torch bluing, the If you tempered the steel with a blow torch, set the metal on an anvil or another large steel surface to conduct the heat. You can make your own desiccant packs with kitty litter (I would recommend the unused variety). Now you slide the cold rod in, and the plate cools, gripping the rod. Thanks for the lesson, DG. And for the next (after the next) installment, how to do hard case coloring. I have cut and polished 4 pieces of mild steel to demonstrate different colour stages. High temperatures and dangerous chemicals mean that a moment of carelessness can make you pay a heavy price. If everything appears good, then you can transfer the components into a hot water tank. Any more advice is welcome SteelJunkee Joined May 6, 2018 Messages 891 Just let any residual matter evaporate/dry. "height": "800", Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Excessive buffing on stainless steel could result in a grainy appearance so do it with care. You want 0000 steel wool for carding between coats. You can get a IR non-contact thermometer for less than $20 at Harbor Freight. Apply heat to your object and heat up gently and equally. Mea maxima culpa - and I left my comment up rather than delete the thread (for now) just so I could reply and admit the My Dumb, rather than skulk away cleanly >;-), Question Ferrari installs valve seats in their aluminum cylinder heads via robot. Hot bluing is the current standard[6] in gun bluing, as both it and rust bluing provide the most permanent degree of rust-resistance and cosmetic protection of exposed gun metal, and hot bluing takes less time than rust bluing. "@context": "http://schema.org/", Blue or Black rust is complete passivation of the steel surface Fe3O4. It is always essential to remove all oils from metals you want to blue, even if the cold blueing solution claims you dont need to do so. There are many methods you can use to blue the steel. Technically speaking, bluing is more or less a conversion of red iron oxide (Fe2O3) to black iron oxide (Fe3O4). The color is not oxides, when steel is heated at relatively low heats (300-600 degrees Fahrenheit) it changes colors from light yellow to a deep blue, after 600 it turns back to a steel color. Why do you bother with all this crap?. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. A non-linear resistance property of the blued steel of razor blades, foreshadowing the same property later discovered in semiconductor diode junctions, along with the ready availability of blued steel razor blades, led to the use of razor blades as a detector in crystal set AM radios that were built by servicemen (as foxhole radios) or by prisoners of war during World War II.[8]. Wear thick gloves so you dont burn yourself. The mixture is heated to 310 to 321C (590 to 610F) and the parts are suspended in this solution with wire. Bluing may be applied by immersing steel parts in a solution of potassium nitrate, sodium hydroxide, and water heated to the boiling point, 275310F (135154C) depending on the recipe. Bluing also helps to maintain the metal finish by resisting superficial scratching, and also helps to reduce glare to the eyes of the shooter when looking down the barrel of the gun. Heating up a tank on the kitchen stove. When youre done, attach the thermometer to the tank and fire up the burner. This article has been viewed 914,567 times. With HSS you're looking for 2500-3000rpm, M35 or M42 cobalt bits 3000-3600rpm, and carbide 10k-12krpm.
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