December
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
Who's Online Now
6 members (Ted Schefelbein, cr17, Mike Harrell, 3 invisible), 170 guests, and 6 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums10
Topics39,186
Posts553,730
Members14,486
Most Online1,344
Apr 29th, 2024
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 3 1 2 3
bushveld #632076 06/26/23 08:27 PM
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 41
PhysDoc Offline OP
Sidelock
**
OP Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 41
Originally Posted by bushveld
LeFusil is straight on about the potassium nitrate heat coloring.

I totally agree, thank you Lefusil and bushveld.

I've always loved the colors produced by nitre bluing, but have been reluctant to try it because of the associated dangers.
I think that, for the amateur like myself, the method I've tried is a relatively low-cost, low danger way of doing heat bluing.
What I didn't understand. until I started this thread and thought about the replies, was the mentality that I had when I was torch
bluing versus this method. With torch bluing, once I had the color I wanted, I would stop immediately, here once the temperature
is stabilized that you should keep the piece at that temperature for several minutes.

PhysDoc #632092 06/27/23 09:17 AM
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 4,618
Likes: 250
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 4,618
Likes: 250
At one time I had access to a whole drum of the salts and thought of setting up a 50 cal ammo can as a tank I could slide under a work bench when not in use. My shop was then and is now in my basement, so I decided to avoid the danger and possible smell, and just go with what I already knew. The smell was why I usually used water hardening steel for screws, D-bit reamers, etc. If I had to quench in oil, I tried to do it while my wife was gone shopping. It didn't always work, and we "discussed" the smell when she returned. I still think PhysDocs hot plate idea is a great one.
Mike

Der Ami #632131 06/28/23 08:12 AM
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 41
PhysDoc Offline OP
Sidelock
**
OP Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 41
Hi Mike


If you try the hot plate method let me know how it works and contact me if you have any questions. I will do an update
here next time I use it.

Fred

PhysDoc #632140 06/28/23 10:24 AM
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 4,618
Likes: 250
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 4,618
Likes: 250
Fred,
Thanks, I will, but realistically I am too old now to finish all my easiest projects. It doesn't help that I can't stand in front of my lathes and mills long enough to be productive. I will have to use the methods I already know. You should learn from my problems and try new ways to do things while you are still young and fit. That way, you can improve things for people coming behind you. A good example is your current project.
Mike

PhysDoc #632216 06/29/23 07:50 PM
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,597
Likes: 274
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 7,597
Likes: 274
For this type of project, one could consider using an old (small) kitchen pot with clean sand in it. Works just fine to stabilize and even out the temperature, just stick the part in the middle somewhere, near the thermocouple. It's good for uneven parts, but I don't think it's too durable. Thanks for the pictures, and looks like the finish line is in sight.

PhysDoc #632851 07/14/23 09:47 AM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,296
Likes: 95
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,296
Likes: 95
This golf putter when offered by Scotty Cameron was what they called “oil can” finish. Its probably almost 30 year old. When sold new, they recommend oiling often to prevent rusting. I let my kid use it and after a few years I asked for it back. It had a complete coverage of orange rust. Needless to say I had a few choice words for my kid. So I took it from him cause these have become a bit expensive to Titleist Scotty Cameron putters. I was just going to polish it and hot blue it. But decided to try heat with a torch. It took at least 10 minutes to heat it up to start seeing any color change. But consistent moving the torch around the whole part and eventually it came to the color it is now. I quenched in burnt motor oil. It came out close to exactly like originally new. I’m happy with how the color came out. It has nice pleasing blue and purple finish.
[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]
[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]

Last edited by battle; 07/14/23 09:48 AM.
PhysDoc #632883 07/14/23 06:02 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,857
Likes: 384
mc Offline
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,857
Likes: 384
What gauge?

1 member likes this: battle
PhysDoc #632885 07/14/23 06:16 PM
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 977
Likes: 312
Sidelock
**
Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: May 2008
Posts: 977
Likes: 312
Looks par-fect to me.

2 members like this: Stanton Hillis, battle
PhysDoc #632938 07/15/23 02:42 PM
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 910
Likes: 45
Sidelock
*
Offline
Sidelock
*

Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 910
Likes: 45
When warching the temp he kept his eye on the birdie :-)

keith #635785 09/23/23 10:20 AM
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 41
PhysDoc Offline OP
Sidelock
**
OP Offline
Sidelock
**

Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,199
Likes: 41
Originally Posted by keith
I mainly use potassium nitrate salts for spring tempering or to blue small parts like screws. I never tried it on larger items such as steel grip caps or trigger guards because I have read that it isn't a very durable bluing process for parts subject to wear. I'm curious to hear if anyone has personal experience to share on durability. I am intrigued by the higher temp charcoal process such as that used by Colt or the Carbonia process used by Smith & Wesson. Obviously, those processes were beautiful and held up well. We had a good discussion about this a few years ago:

https://doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=574458&page=1

Hi Keith

Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been playing around with both methods over the summer and discovered this, that if I take a soft wire wheel used for carding, that the wheel will remove the heat blued finish but not the charcoal blued one. In fact the charcoal blued finish looks better after carding.

Fred

Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

Link Copied to Clipboard

doublegunshop.com home | Welcome | Sponsors & Advertisers | DoubleGun Rack | Doublegun Book Rack

Order or request info | Other Useful Information

Updated every minute of everyday!


Copyright (c) 1993 - 2024 doublegunshop.com. All rights reserved. doublegunshop.com - Bloomfield, NY 14469. USA These materials are provided by doublegunshop.com as a service to its customers and may be used for informational purposes only. doublegunshop.com assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in these materials. THESE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT-ABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. doublegunshop.com further does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these materials. doublegunshop.com shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits, which may result from the use of these materials. doublegunshop.com may make changes to these materials, or to the products described therein, at any time without notice. doublegunshop.com makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. This is a public un-moderated forum participate at your own risk.

Note: The posting of Copyrighted material on this forum is prohibited without prior written consent of the Copyright holder. For specifics on Copyright Law and restrictions refer to: http://www.copyright.gov/laws/ - doublegunshop.com will not monitor nor will they be held liable for copyright violations presented on the BBS which is an open and un-moderated public forum.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.0.33-0+deb9u11+hw1 Page Time: 0.093s Queries: 36 (0.066s) Memory: 0.8530 MB (Peak: 1.8993 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-12-14 17:28:27 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS