Lock polishing

[A.Merrill]

   When polishing a lock to leave in the white after a gun is finished, what's the finest gret sandpaper you use ?   Al

[J. Talbert]

That’s a matter of taste and how fancy a gun you’re making.
I’d say 400 grit would be sufficient for a basic rifle.
Opinions will surely vary.
Jeff

I might add, a fine wire wheel (such as can be gotten from Brownells),  turned in the drill press gives a great burnished finish, eliminating nearly all sanding marks.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Mr. Talbert is correct.  But I find that the finer the polish, the less chance the lock will have to rust.  So I polish mine to 1200 grit.

Regarding polishing, as you go to finer and finer abrasive, you will find that the time spent at each stage will become shorter and shorter.  Basically, one takes out all of the marks left by the last grade of paper/cloth abrasive material, and the finer marks take less time and effort to remove.  Always change the angle when changing to a new and finer grade of abrasive.

[Mark Elliott]

I go to 600 if I am going to engrave it, which I am most of the time.

[Bob Roller]

That’s a matter of taste and how fancy a gun you’re making.
I’d say 400 grit would be sufficient for a basic rifle.
Opinions will surely vary.
Jeff

I might add, a fine wire wheel (such as can be gotten from Brownells),  turned in the drill press gives a great burnished finish, eliminating nearly all sanding marks.

Using the wire wheel in any orientation be it vertical or horizontal requires eye protection like
a face shield.I once had a wire come off a wheel and it was embedded in my chin and was over an inch in length
so please protect your self.
Bob Roller

[Fly Navy]

I sand to 400 grit and then use green scotch-brite. I'm not a fan of a high polish and like a fine brushed finish.

[alacran]

Grobet makes a fine wire wheel on a wooden hub. it has 4 rows of bristles .0025 diameter. You are not supposed to spin it above 500 RPM.
It leaves a fine finish that is more satin than glossy. I have used it without wearing gloves and the bristles are so soft that it will not cut the skin. K&G Knife supplies, and Brownels sell them.

[

[Clark Badgett]

Using the wire wheel in any orientation be it vertical or horizontal requires eye protection like
a face shield.I once had a wire come off a wheel and it was embedded in my chin and was over an inch in length
so please protect your self.
Bob Roller

Mr. Roller is correct. I've had more little pieces of wire stuck into my skin than I care to admit at work.

[J. Talbert]

I checked and the bristles on my wire wheel measure 0.004 inch.  They are so fine that my fingers routinely brush against them in use without any damage to my fingers.  I can also concur that if turned at too high an RPM it will eject wires.
As alacran said, it leaves more of satin finish rather than a high polish.

Jeff

[Eric Kettenburg]

I won't claim to have seen some of the finest pieces made (historically).  What I will claim is that I personally have never seen a lock on an original rifle or fowler or whatever that looked finer than a modern *maybe* @ 320 or so.  You can always see fine scratches and always find some polished file work evidence, somewhere. 

Maybe some of the really high art Euro work was taken to a higher level but if so I have not seen it first hand.

And I have seen work at a much lesser level, that's for sure, even on fairly good quality locks.  Once casehardened, I don't think taking it to ridiculously polished levels is going to affect anything from a functional perspective.

[Not English]

I use small scotchbrite wheels with a dremel type tool with good results. I'm sure the safety police will chime in, but EVERYONE SHOULD BE WORKING WITH PROPER SHOP SAFETY PRACTICES without the safety police chiming in every time someone suggests using power tools.

Dave

[alacran]

I use small scotchbrite wheels with a dremel type tool with good results. I'm sure the safety police will chime in, but EVERYONE SHOULD BE WORKING WITH PROPER SHOP SAFETY PRACTICES without the safety police chiming in every time someone suggests using power tools.

Dave

When I use any grinder, wire wheel , buffer etc. I use safety glasses and an N95 mask. When I use the carding wheel I spoke about in the previous post I usually wear 10mil nitrile gloves to keep the carded rust off my hands. Occasionally I will touch up a small part and I don't take the time to don gloves. That is how I found out that that fine a wire (.0025) wheel spinning at low RPMs will not cut or scratch you.

[Bob Roller]

It ain't about "cutting and scratching"but it is about smaill diameter wires becoming
projectiles.Quite a few of us are used to a well equipped shop and use it frequently
and then there are others who are not.Power too;s can and will eat you alive and no
apologies are offered so caution must be used.
Bob Roller

[577SXS]

I use die maker stones and go to 600 grit. With stones you can keep edges sharp and get into little details.

[577SXS]

Here is where I get the stones. webinfo@gesswein.com

[Scota4570]

After filing and getting to about 320 grit paper.  Maroon scotchbrite blends it all to an even satin luster.  It is very fast.  On the parts where it is appropriate, I do use 120 polish-o-ray on a sewn wheel.  This take experience and judgement to not mess up, be careful.

[A.Merrill]

   Thank's for the replys.    Al

[Bob Roller]

Look in Shop Made Tools for Feb 2016 and see the remake I did on a common bench
grinder and this may help with some aspects of lock polishing.I still use it in my trigger
making.
Bob Roller

[varsity07840]

How about if you're going to give it an aged blue finish, in particular on a Kibler Colonial lock?

[Bob Roller]

How about if you're going to give it an aged blue finish, in particular on a Kibler Colonial lock?

If this is a follow up to my posting about the grinder modifications,I have no idea about how to
age any locks including my own.Chet Shoults used to polish locks until they looked like chrome
plating and so did I.After a while he offered bright polished,low luster and file finishes.I settled
for the gray finish left by sand or bead blasting.I would not now even try to dress up a lock or
anything else because the labor intensiveness involved is more than I want to do at my age.
Bob Roller

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

If you are going to rust brown or rust blue a lock, it depends upon the finish you want, ie:  scaled or polished...that determines how far to take the polish on a lock or barrel, for that matter.  Some folks like the look of flat browning, that is, no shine.  For that, drawfiling and 180 grit will suffice.  But if you intend to card away all the scale, such as when you rust blue, then the higher the polish, the better the brown/blue will look, to my eye, anyway.  I concur that original longrifles that I have examined are not taken to a high polish.