bluing steel with a torch

YouTube - Nitre bluing a few gun parts. ", informative and did not use technical language and concepts that would have left me floundering and none the wiser. Being prepared is important if you can not measure the temp. How to remove discoloration from heat? - Forums - Miller Welding Woodworkers doing furniture finishing will use 000 and 0000 wool, and they hate oil on their wool for rubbing down oil finishes. Hes claiming that method is more durable than Blue alone. For this reason, it is considered not to add any appreciable thickness to precisely-machined gun parts. In order to confirm the bank transfer, you will need to upload a receipt or take a screenshot of your transfer within 1 day from your payment date. Hot NaOH is so alkaline it is great as dissolving organic materials. WHERE or when would the torch get used? It cannot rust any further. Bluing - Finishes for Metal - I Forge Iron I can't stress how important the degreasing step is! This is often achieved without chemicals by simply heating the steel until a blue oxide film appears. However, if the bluing effect isnt satisfactory, then you can try giving the components an acid bath (using Hydrochloric Acid). "logo": { 3D Printed Futuristic Space Age Wall Clock. This step should be done before heating the steel, as the steel should be quenched immediately after removing from heat. This process is also the only process safely used to re-blue vintage shotguns. 1/16-inch pivot wire has a circumference of ~0.2in. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. JUST DONT. You can also heat the oil to create different effects. Accidental exposure to the chemicals could result in serious injuries. Now, using the information above, you should have little problem bluing your firearms on your own. February 20, 2016 at 16:12. 5. Above you can see some example pictures of the colour shades that can be achieved with this techniques.Have fun doing it! 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. 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. Brand: Logix. COPYRIGHT 2021, THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM. Should something happen, seek medical help right away. This method was adopted by larger firearm companies for large scale, more economical bluing. I used Express Blue #1 on lots of guns, where I want something less labor intensive than slow rust blueing (which I wont describe here): most steel wool isnt oil-free. When youre using hot blueing salts, youd better be on top of your game, or you can seriously injure yourself. Apply heat to your object and heat up gently and equally. Hopefully these concepts suggest caution and diligence for what you are doing. I like parkerization on some of my milsurps. Red rust is Fe2O3, and is incomplete rust it will continue allowing the surface to corrode over time hence the oil or wax. How to Blue Stainless Steel in 5 Easy Steps: Complete Guide wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer. Bluing is most commonly used by gun manufacturers, gunsmiths, and gun owners to improve the cosmetic appearance of and provide a measure of corrosion resistance to their firearms. Heat the gun parts. Add 5 lbs of regular table salt to the water. This answer was tested with a utility knife blade and it drilled through with ease. You can reassemble the gun after. 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 greatly helped me to learn how to blue a gun perfectly at home. Referring to the post that started all of this; Dyspeptic Gunsmith says: "https://twitter.com/Shoot1ngMystery", Not only does it give you an alchemical feeling of satisfactionbut it also gives the metal a finish to stop corrosion. Battery acid is childs play compared to blueing salts. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 914,567 times. I have at least three cold blue solutions in my shop including Oxpho-blue, 44-40 and others. Prepare the components of the metal surface before you attempt to blue using your tools. For larger pieces of steel, you need to use a. Craig, torch bluing is a real thing that has been use a lot in the custom gun world, mostly for screw heads but even for complete muzzle loader creations ( the vendor will be quite proud of his work it seems as cost increases considerably to a finished item). No. If you cant, just get them out of the case and allow air to circulate around them. Higher carbon contents will take longer to heat. Now you slide the cold rod in, and the plate cools, gripping the rod. Before operating your torch, read all instructions so you know how to handle it safely. This article has been viewed 914,567 times. "@type": "ImageObject", 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? So you said the polishing is key for the coloring process. If you drop a piece of paper in there, or hydrocarbon compounds (like oil or grease on your part). The head is fixtured and and an arm holding the valve seat moves the the proper location. 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]. Wear safety glasses and gloves while working with hot metal. Note that it has to be a different tank from the one you used for Step 2. Here is a video by Clevinger Customs illustrating it: I use the Brownells nitre blueing salts, which are a combination of sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and potassium nitrate. With a simple heating and quenching process, you can make your steel last for much longer! Keep heating the steel until you notice a blue color form on the metal. As mentioned, cold bluing can be done at room temperature with decent results. Oh mas oui.Express blueing, slow rust blueing, hot salt blueing, nitre blueing, carbona blueing all are better than cold blueing. It will instantly vaporize into steam and splash all over you. $36.73. That would be a hot salt blueing mix. This is an alternative method for creating the black oxide coating. Share it with us! Fill the tank with a suitable amount of water then add in the bluing salt using the correct ratio. Thermal Bluing - The Process of Heat Treating Watch Hands How to Blue/Re-Blue a Gun - The Truth About Guns You are a fantastic resource for all of us here. Did you make this project? 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! How to Colour Steel With HEAT : 5 Steps (with Pictures) this article statement You heat the outside member only when you do a shrink fit.). However, due to the unique qualities of stainless steel, you cant simply blue the material however way you like. Still, you will find that cold blues dont last. I wish this article had come out sooner, since I did not know that 0000 steel wool may have oil in it. The blueing salt bath will be at about 286 to 292F, and as it is bubbling away, it is losing water, and the boiling point of the solution keeps climbing. "https://www.pinterest.com/theshootingmystery/", Pull it out of the tank and place on a drain rack. Safety is the number one priority so protect your body as much as possible. I heat treated a piece of carbon steel to make it less likely to wear (using its edge as a cutting surface in a wood turning application). 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 higher temperatures of the other processes as well as their caustic nature could weaken the soldered joints and make the gun hazardous to use. The parts can often be put together with little or no forces need and friction lock together and the one parts shrinks and the other part expands. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Slow rust blueing can take a week or more to accomplish, but it is a durable blue job like no other. Participated in the Explore Science Contest. I ended up with some spots where the browning did not take, and a few dull spots, most of which I was able to buff out with steel wool soaked with gun oil. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Ill be buying the stainless tubs and chemicals to do it and go for as close to black as I can get. Both ingredients are super cheap. 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. "https://www.reddit.com/user/theshootingmystery" It provides the stainless steel surface with a layer of protection, giving rust and corrosion resistance while reducing potential glare as well. Spray down the whole barreled action with copious amounts of WD-40, inside and out. How to Harden Steel: 10 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow Oil binds with the metal and prevent it from getting air/chemicals to corrode. The thickness of the oxide is a function of how hot you heat the steel (The color is due to interference of light reflecting from the surface of the oxide coating, and light reflecting from the oxide-steel interface). You can not do this method with Aluminium because it won't reach the temperatures required for bluing, it will just melt. Ventilation is important. Cold blueing is OK for touchups, at best. Modern home hobbyist versions of this process typically use a hydrogen peroxide and salt solution, sometimes with vinegar, for the rusting step to avoid the need for more dangerous acids.[7]. Alternitavely you can leave it in the oil bath to stabilize. Just let any residual matter evaporate/dry. In this case cooking oil, rather than gun oil, acts to displace water and prevent rust. This is all from memory so I might have left some stuff out. However, rust bluing small areas often match, blend, and wear better than any cold bluing process. This article received 28 testimonials and 92% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. I've never done anything like this but want to try. The cabinet is then sealed. 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. steel it would appear these sights are drifted into dovetails. I hope to someday have good knowledge to pass on to people, heh. You can experiment ultimately what oils to use. { What I forgot to mention in all of this is a detail that seems mundane, but it critically important: Wear cotton gloves. High temperatures and dangerous chemicals mean that a moment of carelessness can make you pay a heavy price. These minerals (often calcium and magnesium compounds) tend to result in blotchy and uneven results. gas coverage is another big one. Another good test for determining when the steel is ready is seeing if a magnet sticks to its surface. These processes were later abandoned by major firearm manufacturers as it often took parts days to finish completely, and was very labor-intensive. Why do you bother with all this crap?. Very helpful! 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. } Follow the instructions. Probably the main one is the content of so-called "carbon, "I was looking at making a set of plate armor and I wanted to see how to harden the breastplate. How to Blue Bluing Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Method. By the time I was done it looked like it was a beat up 5 year old gun rather than a 1930s bolt .22 that came from a scrap yard. "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dwEQfHK1tk_ZeaA4PniOA/", on Introduction. When youre done and have neutralized & washed off the Express Blue #1 solution, you then should spray down the barrel with water-displacing oil. This works well for me. Safety is the number one priority so protect your body as much as possible. Only 3 left in stock - order soon. To temper the steel so it isn't brittle, place it in an oven heated to 375 F for 3 hours, and then it let it cool overnight. 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. Ive learned a LOT. Degrease a pad of 0000 steel wool with acetone. 2mm wire has a circumference of ~0.25in. Its a pretty straightforward process. Its for mild steel, which must be greased, oiled or otherwise coated with something to stop it from rusting almost immediately. The steel was mild steel and had very little carbon content. (NaOH from Ebay soap supplies). 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. A few safety items: I wouldn't recommend either. To remove pitting and keep the barrel profile intact requires skill with a file, and that requires hands-on training. That doesnt happen easily or by accident. Every true outdoorsmans dream! In the nitre bluing process, polished and cleaned steel parts are immersed in a bath of molten saltstypically potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate (sometimes with 9.4 grams (0.33oz) of manganese dioxide per pound of total nitrate). Examples of this finish are common on older pocket watches whose hands exhibit what is called 'peacock blue', a rich iridescent blue. The process was to coat the gun parts in an acid solution, let the parts rust uniformly, then immerse the parts in boiling water to convert the red oxide Fe2O3 to black oxide Fe3O4, which forms a more protective, stable coating than the red oxide; the boiling water also removes any remaining residue from the applied acid solution (often nitric acid and hydrochloric acid diluted in water). When youre done, attach the thermometer to the tank and fire up the burner. Thanks, 8 years ago Life is good. Metal