doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com CASE COLORS

Wishing someone dead is a bit harsh, don't you think?

I never once mentioned wanting them dead. Out of commission would be fine.

guess no one except my pal pa24 cares to express an opinion regarding the origins of the case colors of the gun mentioned in the beginning of this thread?

as to early parker case colors...it appears some of you don't much care for the results of an effort to duplicate them. perhaps some of you critics would like to refer us to an example of what you think are appropriate representations of late 19th century parker case colors?

I don't think those garish colors represent a duplication of early Parker colors.

man, they alota nasty, angry folks on dis thread today...

ED;
As I pointed out original heat treating of the receiver in a case hardened part will begin to be affected as temps exceed about 350�F. You can verify this from any edition of Machinery's Handbook or virtually any book or treatise on heat treating &/or metallurgy. I would define low temp as any temperature not exceeding this, not really a difficult definition.
My responce was to "Your" statement that it was low temp because it did not exceed the critical tmperature of the steel. "IF" that is your definition of low temp then you do not understand the term in relation to heat treated parts, Period.
As best as I can determine from looking at a picture the parts in question have the appearence to me of being temper colored. I have in the past chemically colored the receivers of a few inexpensive gun frames using the method which heated the part to around 160-165�F & the chemical was then daubed & streaked on with a Q-tip. This does not raise the temp high enough to have any affect on the heat treat. These parts do not have the same appearence. Temper colors on the other hand cannot be obtained with out the temp being high enough to affect the hardness of the part. Once more the critical temp "DOES NOT" have to be reached for this affect to take place.
So one more time "YOU" are the one who said the heat treat was not affected because the critical temp had not been reached.
It would pay you Sir to learn the definition of "LOW TEMP" in relation to heat treating & tempering or drawing hardness is concerned. "IF" you can't define it how do you know you haven't exceeded it.

I felt the implication was obvious. Sorry if I misread it.

2-PIP: low temp is a relative term. in the context of all of this, it means just enough heat to support a chemical reaction on the surface of a shotgun receiver, and no more. an experienced chemical case color mechanic would never apply enough heat to change the original factory heat treating or surface case hardening.

So if you do the low heat method correctly it doesn't damage the gun?

And if you do the bone charcoal method correctly it doesn't damage the gun.

Amazing!

ED;
Everything is relative. The question is relative to what. A heat of 200�F would be perfectly safe to a heat treated piece of steel, but Highly Detrimental to a Snowman. Temperatures relative to when a heat treated part will be affected are very well defined indeed. You've beat around the bush with "Relative" terms about long enough. If you have no idea how hot you are heating a part then it would be highly advisable to stop heating them. If you know how hot, then come forth & say so.
These old guns which originally had case hardened frames were all made of a low carbon steel. The core beyond the point the carbon was "Cooked" into do not harden in the quench but remain soft. Only the case hardens. It matters little whether the original piece of steel was a 1008, 1015, 1018, 1025 etc the process is virtually identical. When one gets into through hardening alloy steels then it becomes much more criticle to know what you are working with. These early case hardened frames are built of a pliain low carbon steel. Even some steels having some alloys but retaining the low carbon content can be case hardened by the same process without any special attention. This is all a matter of metallurgy, not VooDoo.