inleting black

[yip]

   whats the best inleting black one can make. i used vasoline and oil soluable red, don't care for it to messy. any ideas?

[docone]

I use lipstick.
Comes off real easily.

[Stophel]

some pigment, whatever I can reach at the time, usually a burnt umber, mixed with some pain thinner to make a sort of paste.  Paint thinner evaporates completely, leaving just the dusty pigment, which can be wiped/washed easily off your hands.   

[Jerry V Lape]

I use dry erase markers which work fine if there is no oil on the item to which you  apply it. 

[Ed Wenger]

Chris, I like the your method, have to give that a try...

I mostly use soot from a burning candle.



         Ed

[Dennis Glazener]

I use dry erase markers which work fine if there is no oil on the item to which you  apply it.

Jerry,
What brand/color? I tried this one time with some black ones that my wife had, forget brand, but they would NOT transfer to the wood. I gave up.
Dennis

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I use Jarrow's Inletting Black from Brownell's.  I bought my first tiny jar in about 1979, and it ran out about a year ago.  So, I'm on my second one...expect it to be an heirloom in thirty or so years.

[blunderbuss]

I used lipstick once and got in trouble with my girl friend .try explaining that   "Sure you were useing it on a gunbarrel!

[Tom Cooper]

I use a candle

[A.Merrill]

    One thing I like to do when using inletting black, is to take a piece of clothes hanger, flatten the ends, make a handle out of it and epoxy it to what I am inletting. It keeps your hands up out of the way so you can see things better as you set them in place and lift things straight back out so you won't get a false reading. As long as what you epoxy to is polished it will pop right off when your done.Works great on BP,SP, even barrels and those little inlays you put  inletting black on and then try to pick up . Not near as messy.    Good Luck   AL

[whitebear]

A black magic marker.

[David Rase]

Candle.
Dave

[Jerry V Lape]

Dennis,

The dry erase markers I have at the moment are marked as EXPO.   I really can't say that I have selected any particular brand, just pick them up at Staples office supply store nearby.  I actually use multiple colors at times particularly if I think I may have hit the wood wrong while moving the metal in or out.  Helps me avoid over cutting areas around the breech when a barrel gets tipped in wrong.  I can apply a second color and see if it makes the same contact.  Usually use black, green, red and blue as those come in the 4 pack.  

[FALout]

I've also used the Jarrow's inletting black for many years, it can be messy if your not careful, but anything like that and lipstick can be a problem if your sloppy.  Jarrows sands off the wood easily and have had no trouble with staining and finishing.  I've no patience for the candle method and in my shop, an open flame that can be knocked over could be dangerous as many projects/repairs are always going on.

[Lucky R A]

  Jarrows for the few times you actually need inletting marker doing a gun.   I am like Taylor in that I just got started on my second bottle.  The old one got so dried out it just did not work well any more.  I buy cheap kids water color brushes about a dollar for 20 and them to apply the inletting black precisely where I want it.  I remove it as soon as I can after the part is inlet.

Ron

[Stophel]

Jarrows inlet black is the nastiest substance known to man.  I will never even consider using it anymore.  "Just be careful"... yeah, right.   

And my candles all burn way too clean to use them.     I've used the acetylene torch to blacken parts before just as an experiment.  It works, after a fashion, but it's not exactly handy.  One of the carbide sight blackeners would work, I'm sure.  And for me, having a candle burning in my shop is probably not a good idea!   

[Dennis Glazener]

Dennis,

The dry erase markers I have at the moment are marked as EXPO.   I really can't say that I have selected any particular brand, just pick them up at Staples office supply store nearby.  I actually use multiple colors at times particularly if I think I may have hit the wood wrong while moving the metal in or out.  Helps me avoid over cutting areas around the breech when a barrel gets tipped in wrong.  I can apply a second color and see if it makes the same contact.  Usually use black, green, red and blue as those come in the 4 pack. 

Thanks I am going to pickup a box and try it again.
Thanks
Dennis

[Meteorman]

Jarrows inlet black is the nastiest substance known to man.  I will never even consider using it anymore. 

Amen.

Lipstick.
Bright color - easy to see, stays on surface, comes off easy, smells good.
What's not to like?

[hoochiepapa]

I have a small jar or Jarrow's that I had in a gunsmithing shop with a friend in '76 or '77. Still works great.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I apply the Jarrow's with a small kid's tooth brush.  It gets jammed down into the bristles and goes a very long way.  When it gets too dry to spread effectively, I give the tooth brush a drop of WD 40, and I'm good again for a long time.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I have an oil lamp that i use, makes soot like mad.... been experimenting with magic markers because they are less messy...

[frenchman]

i use a small magnet to hold steel parts no glue and for black, candle and vaseline will try those markers for sure

[whitebear]

I used the markers on my last build and found them to be much easier and cleaner than any other method that I have tried.  Just use the tip of the marker to color the spot to be inlet dries almost instantly doesn't readily come off on your thumb if you need to pick the part up.  Washes of skin without too much trouble.

Another advantage is the WONDERFUL fragrance, cheap high.  Low cost,     ( be sure not to leave the tip uncovered for long it will dry out).

[FRJ]

I second or third the lipstick thing. Inletting black just too messy!!!! Cheap lipstick bright color. Frank

[Dave R]

A little kerosene oil lamp that works just fine!I have a friend that uses crayons he swipes from his kids!