uf-engineer
Well-known member
Has anyone used gun blueing to finish a bench vise? It should do a good job of preserving the metal. Thx
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Gun blueing a bench vise
- Thread starter uf-engineer
- Start date
This came up a month ago or so. Real hot "browning" or hot blueing would be worthwhile in my opinion but so few folks have the cast iron tanks to do it right. I have tanks, but they are designed for barrels and are too shallow and narrow to dip a vise.
The cold blueing stuff is probably a waste of time in my opinion.
The cold blueing stuff is probably a waste of time in my opinion.
06wt cold blued his Morgan last year.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61442&highlight=bluing
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61442&highlight=bluing
senlow
Well-known member
I think that a blued vise would be cool. Cold bluing is a piss poor finish that's not very durable. A hot blued finish would be great, but most of us are not equipped for that. There is an alternative.
Slow rust bluing is the way to go. It's an old school method of bluing steel. It's inexpensive and doesn't require much equipment. However, it's pretty time consuming. How do you do it? Here's a quick overview of the process. First, clean the parts thoroughly. Next, wipe a rust bluing solution (acid) over the parts. Then suspend the parts from wires in a humid tank. This can be as simple as a 5 gallon bucket with a little water in the bottom and hooks in the lid for suspending parts. Let the parts rust for a few hours or days, depending on temperature and humidity. Next, you need to convert the red rust to black oxide. For this, just set the parts in boiling distilled water for 15 or 20 minutes. Note, the water must be pure. If it has minerals disolved in it, they may be deposited on your parts. Finally, the parts need to be carded. This is typically done with a wire wheel. There, I now have UB's attention. It's important to use a stainless wire wheel with small diameter strands, spun at low speeds. Mine is 6" diameter, with .005 (yes, that's five thousandths of an inch) wires. Now for the time consuming part; repeat the process 3-12 times, depending on the depth of color you want.
I have blued many parts this way. I've even blued a few vise parts, like handles and swivel nuts. I haven't done a complete vise, but it's doable.
Slow rust bluing is the way to go. It's an old school method of bluing steel. It's inexpensive and doesn't require much equipment. However, it's pretty time consuming. How do you do it? Here's a quick overview of the process. First, clean the parts thoroughly. Next, wipe a rust bluing solution (acid) over the parts. Then suspend the parts from wires in a humid tank. This can be as simple as a 5 gallon bucket with a little water in the bottom and hooks in the lid for suspending parts. Let the parts rust for a few hours or days, depending on temperature and humidity. Next, you need to convert the red rust to black oxide. For this, just set the parts in boiling distilled water for 15 or 20 minutes. Note, the water must be pure. If it has minerals disolved in it, they may be deposited on your parts. Finally, the parts need to be carded. This is typically done with a wire wheel. There, I now have UB's attention. It's important to use a stainless wire wheel with small diameter strands, spun at low speeds. Mine is 6" diameter, with .005 (yes, that's five thousandths of an inch) wires. Now for the time consuming part; repeat the process 3-12 times, depending on the depth of color you want.
I have blued many parts this way. I've even blued a few vise parts, like handles and swivel nuts. I haven't done a complete vise, but it's doable.
back2class
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2009
- Messages
- 2,723
Why not slather it in KY jelly and have a go!