Brown Bess Lock

[Jim Cook]

My brown bess Willits 1746 lock project has been quite an education for me.
I just got done hardening and temporing the main spring per the Kit Ravenshear "Simplified V -Springs" manual.
I highly polished the main spring before I started the heat treating. After the hot operations the spring has hardened carbon on it. Steel wool just seems to burnish the carbon and not remove it.

What is the best way to clean it up?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Polishing the springs is great, but not really necessary.  All you need is bright steel so you can see the colours well.  So take your hardened spring and some 180 grit abrasive cloth or paper, and polish off the scale left after the hardening process.  Be careful - don't drop it or flex it.  It should be hard like glass, and will shatter if abused.  then draw the temper.  I  leave 'em with the lovely blue colour after tempering.

[Jim Cook]

Thank you

It has been hardened and tempered. Thus, I hope it doesn't shatter if I drop it 

Polishing the springs is great, but not really necessary.  All you need is bright steel so you can see the colours well.  So take your hardened spring and some 180 grit abrasive cloth or paper, and polish off the scale left after the hardening process.  Be careful - don't drop it or flex it.  It should be hard like glass, and will shatter if abused.  then draw the temper.  I  leave 'em with the lovely blue colour after tempering.