Heat treating small parts

[Dale Halterman]

I am making my first venture into lock work, and just replaced the fly in a small Siler with a new one from a kit, which of course is soft and has to be hardened after being fitted.

On such a small part, I am assuming that a propane torch will generate enough heat. This may sound silly, but how do you hold it so it gets evenly heated? And do you really want it evenly heated? It seems that you might not want the "pin" hard, or it might break off.

Are my concerns justified, or should I just grab it with some needle nose pliers and get on with it?

Dale H

[David Veith]

Just thinking out lould I would just do it with a pair of pliers hanging onto it by the post. At the same time don't use your good pliers for this sooner or later you will pull the hardnes out of them. I have a bad pair of vice grips that I use for a lot of that type of thing.
David veith

[Pete Allan]

When I only do one I just wrap a piece of (mig) wire around a fly and heat treat accordings to instructions. Most propane torchs are plenty hot enough for that small a part. Good luck

[Pratt]

You can also set it on a piece of real thin sheet steel and heat both from the underside, pinch the sheet metal in vise grips or pliers, you can bend it up a little to help keep from losing the fly.
  A small red clay flower pot is cheap and great for retaining heat to do small springs etc, twist a  piece of coat hanger around it and pinch it in the vise so the pot is sideways, hold the small part inside the pot up near the top and direct the flame up towards it. The pot will crack after a while. Throw it at the wall and get another. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[Dphariss]

Would heat it on a plate of sheet metal by heating from below. Then dump into the quench media.
You can use wire to hold it as well.
I would polish then heat to  a good red and quench in light oil.
If its hard then carefully clean and polish then heat carefully to a tan ("straw" is the old term meaning the color of oat straw) color and allow to cool. Heating to blue or even dark straw is too soft. This can be done in a kitchen oven.
The pin does not carry that much of a load that it needs to be soft.
If it will not oil harden use room temp water.
Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

Some small parts I heat on a block of charcoal. It reflects the heat pretty well. For a fly, make a little hollow to hold the fly; the hollow will reflect the heat, and keep the part from blowing away. When hot, tip the part into the oil or water. If you have a little homemade ladle of screen, it will catch the part so you don't have to spill out the oilcan to find your parts.

[Dale Halterman]

Thank you for the replies. The mention of the flower pot reminded me of another question.

I also have a small Siler flintlock kit to put together this winter. Is it possible to make some contraption to hold/focus the heat from a propane torch to do larger pieces such as the frizzen? I have seen pictures on another website of forges made from fire brick to do just that. Anyone here ever try it?

Dale H

[Larry Luck]

Dale,
Also consider using a MAPP gas torch.  Not very expensive and lots more heat than propane.  The flame is quite bright, so wear eye protection.
Larry Luck

[Dale Halterman]

Good point, Larry. I do have one of those little mapp/oxygen set ups that uses cylinders like a hand help propane torch. Bought it at a yard sale and have never tried it. Do you think that would that be hot enough to do a frizzen without building some kind of enclosure?

Dale H

[David Veith]

L.Luck use refering to just the mapps gas. You can use the same torch head as propane.
David veith

[flintriflesmith]

I have had good success with small parts by laying them on a block of charcoal. The charcoal begins to glow and actually adds heat where pliers of sheet metal sucks it away.

With just a candle and blowpipe I could really control the bluing of screws etc. With a mapp gas torch you may not need a brick container to trap the heat.

Gary

[Acer Saccharum]

The charcoal will also help absorb some oxygen, which helps keep your parts safe from heat degradation.

[Stophel]

Other than with a little brick forge, I don't see any way you could possibly heat a frizzen enough with a propane or MAPP torch.  Not by a long shot.

I have one of the little propane/oxygen torch set ups too.  The oxygen runs out almost immediately.  Really goes quick.  Not worth the trouble.

[Joe S]

I have heated treated frizzens by using two torches at the same time. One of my torches is propane, and the other is MAPP.  No problem getting sufficient heat.  I hold the frizzen on a piece of wire, so there is not a big heat sink like you would get with pliers.  After quenching, the MAPP torch by itself will easily heat the tail of the frizzen to blue.

[Acer Saccharum]

If you have a charcoal fired bbq, you have a great heat source. Open a a can of tunafish, make a sandwich, eat it. Save the can, with the lid. Pack it full of crushed charcoal, center your frizzen it the charcoal. Set in the center of a nice charcoal fire, pile up with more coals. When can has been red for 1/2 hr to 45 min, take it out and dump the contents into warm water.

I use a plastic bucket, with a metal screen held off the bottom about an inch.

If you like fire, you'll like this.

Acer

[Ohioan]

I heard a method of tempering the frizzen that used sugar. 

It seemed like you took a steel beer can, filled half way with sugar, placed the frizzen in the fire, and then fill the rest with sugar and pinched off the top, and threw it in a fire.