bluing steel with a torch bluing steel with a torch

They should start gassing up approximately 2 to 3 minutes after exposure. When heat treating a forged blade you get the whole knife glowing, then submerge just the blade in the oil for 8 seconds. They are still sometimes used by gunsmiths to obtain an authentic finish for a period gun of the time that rust bluing was in vogue, analogous to the use of browning on earlier representative firearm replicas. The differential cooling causes patterns of colors to appear as well as hardening the part. Hot NaOH is so alkaline it is great as dissolving organic materials. You can blue heat-treated parts with no ill effects. Ventilation is important. Keep a fire extinguisher near your workstation in case of a fire. Excellent info. FigureLLC. This is how Colt made their rifles and pistols prior to Civil War you can read all about the process. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. occasionally I'll buff it afterwards. For more information on using a blowtorch and protecting the steel, scroll down! Youll need some shop rolls, ranging from 180 to 400 grit (typical 4-packs are 180, 240, 320 and 400 grit, in 1, 1.5 or 2. In fact most guides no matter their material cast iron to bronze and often bearing races are installed the same way. -An old container filled with your chosen degreaser (unleaded petrol), -Your desired polished metal object/s (very important! 4 years ago It was left in a flannel gun case in the back of a moist closet for 25+ years. Examples of this finish are common on older pocket watches whose hands exhibit what is called 'peacock blue', a rich iridescent blue. How to Blue Bluing Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Method How to Blue Bluing Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Method. to blue / heat anodize stainless steel Very helpful! on Introduction, Hello my name is Joe and Im doing a project where Im trying to achieve the same outcome. Large scale industrial hot bluing is often performed using a bluing furnace. Oil and grease really are the enemy because youre trying to (literally) corrode the metal. Get it Feb 25 - 27. YouTube - Nitre bluing a few gun parts. Should something happen, seek medical help right away. If you drop a piece of paper in there, or hydrocarbon compounds (like oil or grease on your part). I wore latex gloves, as Brownells recommended, but used a pot holder to handle the hot barrel, and that may have been the source. Please note: As you are working with heat, please be smart, use your common sense, do the bluing process in a well ventilated area and keep a wet towel to hand. highfour, case hardening is a bit different from what you describe.. Usually, the steel needs some time in a medium that will allow carbon to penetrate the surface, and we are talking 15 minutes to several hours. Nowadays, even mild steel does have a certain amount of carbon in the alloy, which can explain your observations, if you google "super quench," you should find a waterbased quench that is rumoured to do the same, but in my humble opinion, water can do just that as well. Ok you gotta help me out herewhen I was studying mechanical engineering a good few years back a project I done involved using a compression fit of 1/4" thick plate steel into 1" thick steel rod, both mild steel. JUST DONT. For the final step, we let the components cool down in water displacing oil. 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. The name of the process actually comes from the blue-black appearance of the black iron oxide. You can use a heat gun, a blow dryer, or a torch for this. The cotton gloves insulate your fingers from the heated barrel, and they prevent oils from your skin from getting on the raw steel. The bottom of the crucible is opened allowing the contents to drop into the rapidly bubbling water. Following the treatment in the bluing tank, relocate the components to a cold water tank. 2. Hardened steel prevents knife blades from dulling and tools from bending and breaking. Shooting Mystery is an independent website that provides content for informational purposes only. That surface rust on the barrel could be polished off easily. Ive dealt with strong acids and strong bases in lab work, and I fear the strong bases more. This article was very, "I've been working with steel since I was a child, and reviewing these proper methods and skills makes my projects, "It surely educated me on several points. "datePublished": "2022-03-27", To harden steel, start by heating the metal directly with a blow torch until it turns a cherry red color. Thank you, DG! Though it may seem tricky at first, youll be glad to have figured it out because knowing how to blue stainless steel will come in handy from time to time. Hunter holds a BFA in Entertainment Design from the University of Wisconsin - Stout and a Minor in English Writing. You might need two applications to clean up more deeply rusted spots. Then wipe off all excess oil and look at your beautiful finished object! Alternatively, you can press the pad of steel wool between your hands over the container of acetone, and then put it on some paper towels to dry. Be patient in the first few minutes as the metal needs to reach the temperatures where it changes colour! My first time wasnt a stunning success. Did you make this project? Then you can express blue it with a propane torch and a tank of boiling water. After 35% Potassium nitrate (aka saltpeter), http://castboolits.gunloads.com/archive/index.php/t-36054.html. You can also heat the oil to create different effects. Pour in Again, dont mess around with these chemicals and only handle them with extreme attention. Blue "description": "If you want to find out how to blue stainless steel, then you've come to the right place. Its much cheaper anyways. Many older browning and bluing formulas are based on corrosive solutions (necessary to cause metal to rust), and often contain cyanide or mercury salts solutions that are especially toxic to humans. (And taking, out of *your* hide). The inside barrel was saved by the fact it was so full of lead fouling. You can make your own desiccant packs with kitty litter (I would recommend the unused variety). 1. 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. Drift the sights back in from the right side of the barrel. 1. polish it very well 2. clean very well 3. quick dip in dilute FeCl (4:1) is what I use 4. rinse in cold running water and pat Many double-barreled shotguns are soft soldered (lead) or silver brazed together and many of the parts are attached by that method also. At least one of the cold bluing solutions contains selenium dioxide. 3.3k. You need to constantly be adding in a bit of water to bring the boiling point back down into the range you need. Battery acid is childs play compared to blueing salts. I handed a buddy my wallet and cell phone, and stepped under the safety shower and got wet. Wear thick gloves and a face mask before you quench your steel so the water or oil doesnt splash onto your hands. Blue or Black rust is complete passivation of the steel surface Fe3O4. 2mm wire has a circumference of ~0.25in. Reply It cannot rust any further. Heating it again to a lower temperature will not introduce additional martensite. I used Brownells Plum Brown, a product that requires that the barrel be heated to 275 degrees to activate the reaction. COPYRIGHT 2021, THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM. 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. If you want to blue something fast I have a cheap hot blue method: Lowes stump remover: Your tanks better be tight, your stands for the tanks better be rigid, youd better have top-of-the-line fire extinguishers (NB the plural) available to you. Remember the oil is probably gonna release some smoke/fumes once the piece is quenched so as said before: please do this step in a well ventilated area. 6 years ago. -something to hold your object with i.e. { However, due to the unique qualities of stainless steel, you cant simply blue the material however way you like. Depending on what solution you use, the tank temperature must be maintained somewhere between 240 and 310 degrees Fahrenheit. There are also methods of cold bluing, which do not require heat. Free shipping for many products! Add 5 lbs of regular table salt to the water. -A heat source. "https://theshootingmystery.tumblr.com/", The practice of bluing steel takes time and an exquisite eye for detail. Stainless steel can only tolerate hot bluing and a limited amount of chemicals. You have to apply the bluing fluid. It is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. 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. On another thread, we can go into nitre blueing, which is basically heating pins/screws/bits/bobs to 600F in a molten salt bath. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. (NaOH from Ebay soap supplies). The blue appearance of the oxide film is also used as an indication of temperature when tempering carbon steel after hardening, indicating a state of temper suitable for springs. There are many methods you can use to blue the steel. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. How to remove discoloration from heat? - Forums - Miller Welding You then oil or wax over the finish when youre done. Gun companies dont/wont do it because they want to make quick money, and today its all phosphates and bake-on appliance paint (you didnt think a guy who calls Glocks cheez-whiz was going to sing the praises of Duracote or Cerakote, did you?). Both ingredients are super cheap. Once the steel is clean, you can begin heating it up. Theres a reason I didnt pursue a career in chemistry. Posted December 21, 2009. Heat the gun parts. The usual mistake on buffing wheels is using too coarse a compound, and then the wheel becomes quite aggressive in removing material. Vegetable oil has a higher boiling point, so the hot steel will take longer to cool and reduce the chance of it cracking. Not blessed with a climate controlled safe. 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. When everything is set up, put on your protective gear and then get down to business. You'll probably be fine following these instructions - you'll probably be OK driving home a little drunk, too. I like 1.5 wide shop cloth myself). How to colour steel with heat (hot oil finish) is a simple but effective way of achieving a desired colour of choice.The colours are fantastic and often come out in a beautiful two-tone shine. However, oil may spill and create a fire hazard if the steel is put into the oil too quickly. This article has been viewed 914,567 times. Submerge in water and scrape edge. I've never done anything like this but want to try. Torch Rust bluing was developed between hot and cold bluing processes, and was originally used by gunsmiths in the 19th century to blue firearms prior to the development of hot bluing processes. It will first turn gold, then orange, then red, purple, blue and then dark grey! Still, you will find that cold blues dont last. To shrink, I assumed you heated the steel plate only, to expand the hole in it. Black iron wire You will need black iron wire to tie around any object you Bluing is a process usually used by gun owners and firearms manufacturers to improve the aesthetic value of their weapons. Do NOT wipe/touch your metal with anything after degreasing as the whole purpose of cleaning was then for nothing. Theres nothing wrong with your method, but is is very hazardous, especially to people who have never done anything like it before. The wire is extremely small in diameter, so you have to take that into consideration. Ill be buying the stainless tubs and chemicals to do it and go for as close to black as I can get. "@type": "ImageObject", Just let any residual matter evaporate/dry. That doesnt happen easily or by accident. Larger flames produce less heat while smaller flames produce a higher heat. Bear in mind not to touch the walls of your container as you don't want to disturb the process of what's happening! There are many simple ways to achieve good bluing. Glad that there are folks like you around. Ive gotten hot blue salts on me splashed into my hair. You wouldnt need salts. 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? Metal parts that look black or blue-black are usually blued (rather than painted). Isn't the point of the acetone to degrease, why would i grease? Heat the gun parts. Follow the instructions. I believe the change of color is due to a growing thickness of an oxide layer. Dang it all. "https://www.facebook.com/Shooting-Mystery-110244180901951", It greatly helped me to learn how to blue a gun perfectly at home. If you have a wood or phenolic handle, use a propane torch to heat the blade only for about two minutes. Treating with an oiled coating enhances the protection offered by the bluing. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/81\/Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/81\/Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid1214287-v4-728px-Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"