Chuck, great drawing!
I found this in my archives for after the bend is repaired:
Oil&Ash(Charcoal)blueing
Trooper Lennox:

Howdy', read your question about charcoal blue. I'll give you a method that I have used for years. It's easy to use on triggerguards and backstraps, but more difficult to use on barrels, as you will understand after I've described it to you. I read about it in American Rifleman back in the 60's. It's the same method that Springfield Armory (the original Springfield Armory) used back in the late 1800's.

The part that you want to blue is removed from the gun and degreased. Then you rub a very thin coating of boiled linseed oil on the surface of the part. Not thick or runny, but a nice even thin coat. The next step is to dust a coating of HARDWOOD ash over the entire surface. I keep a coffee can of ash from my fireplace in the shop for this purpose. You want to make sure that the ash is very, very fine, about like talcum powder. Anyway, dust the ash on. Hang the part on a piece of coat-hanger or heavy wire. Use a propane torch to slowly heat the part. You will be able to see the part change color from straw to purple to light blue to full blue. After it reaches full blue, it will get light again and then go through the colors again. When it reaches full blue the second time, remove the heat and let the part cool. Do NOT let the part get red. Dust off the part and apply some oil. Let it sit over night to let the blue harden. Blueing is an oxide and is a little fragile when it is new. If you have an old copy of Machinery"s Handbook, the process is similarly described there. It also lists the various colors associated with different temperatures. You want to keep the temp below the critical temperature where the steel is compromised. Anything below the red color is ok. Springfield armory used ovens to control the heat, but I didn't have one that went to the right temperature. Try the process on some scrap steel first to get the hang of it. Remember, the higher the polish, the better the blue. As I also said earlier, this is difficult to do on a barrel, because the frame acts as a heat sink and you will not get an even blue. This finish is very durable as is witnessed by the finish on any of the old trapdoor Springfields. Good luck.
Hope it is useful.
JC
