Ever try this ??

[Roger Fisher]

I refer now to cold browning (and imply nothing off colour )

Rather than drag my cold browning barrel/tank up the yard and building it up to get the height for the barrel, I'm experimenting by doing it near the basement oil burner with wet rags hanging near to the barrel and sett trikkers...for humidity..      After 3 days (and nights) the Laurel mt brown is barely started to work and I'm not upset about it (of course I hope my age has no effect)   Anybody out there ever get lazy enough to try this while the outside temp in down in the 20s and said basement is around low 60s?    (I'm only browning the barrel and sett trikkers since she be brass mounted. )

[Old Salt]

I think the humidity is the important factor when using a cold brown solution.  Even with the moist rags the relative humidity near your furnmace is going to be very low.  The moisture will try to disperse to the entire space of your basement. 

I get almost instant results during the hot humid months, but the one time I browned a barrel in the winter the process was slow and did not produce the darker brown that I was accostomed to.

Leo   

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Our humidity here in central BC is very low in the winter and not much higher in summer.  I have browned barrels by simply leaving them on the table with 24 hours between applications.  It will take a week to get a decent brown. 

I use my damp box (per John Bivins) and apply the solution every 2 1/2 hours.  I get a great brown in five applications, carding with the end of a roll of canvas after each rust.  But as you can see it's a long day.  Often, if I don't feel like killing the rust before bed time, I just take the barrel out of the box and set it in V blocks on the table over night.  If anything, it evens out the rust even more, so that in the morning, the final card and bath yields a lovely brown.

[Acer Saccharum]

Damp box is what I have. I use a 60 W light bulb for heat. Damp rag for moisture. Works year 'round. 

[Joe S]

Generally speaking, the rate of chemical reactions doubles with every 10 degrees C increase.  Something to keep in mind for browning and varnishing.

[Long John]

Joe is right.  It is called the Arrhenius Equation.  If you reduce the temperature by 10 C you will cut the chemical reaction rate in half.  Reduce the temp by 20 C and the reaction rate is cut by a factor of 4.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[gunmaker]

In the book recreating double shotgun, author shows a pic of a vertical browning box with a coffee maker in bottom for heat & humidity. I haven't tried this yet, but will next time I cold brn a bbl....Tom

[Black Hand]

I hang mine in the tub from the shower plumbing.  If I feel I need moisture, I will run the hot water.  For the most part I don't bother with moisture and still get a fine (cold)browning. 

[Roger Fisher]

I hang mine in the tub from the shower plumbing.  If I feel I need moisture, I will run the hot water.  For the most part I don't bother with moisture and still get a fine (cold)browning. 

That thought did in fact cross my mind; but I'd have to sleep in the barn if I did that

[Greg S Day]

I made a plastic sheet Tee Pee off of the floor joist overhead in my basement.  Stapled the sheeing to the joist up top.  Held the bottom down with bricks.

An electric fry pan or a crock pot with water in it will serve to introduce warm moist air into the space.  You can turn on the electric device every so often to add more moisture if you don't want to leave it on and un-attended.

Worked well for me.  Got about 5 applications done in one weekend.  Got a nice rich brown finish.

In Pennsyvania.    In January.

Greg

[Jerry V Lape]

I use a piece of 4" PVC pipe split lengthwise and attach a couple wood feet on the bottom half so it doesn't roll.  Lay wet cloths in the bottom and suspend the barrel on wires above the towels.  Put the upper half of the pipe back in place and set the whole thing on a shelf where it gets some sun light (In AZ that beats most heaters).  Check to keep the cloths moist.  About every 4 hours it was ready to card and re-coat.  Have a nice durable fine grained brown finish in about two days.  Overnight I left it un-coated. 

[kutter]

Teens & twentys outside,,I keep the thermostat at 64F inside all the time during the winter.
The humidity is very low also.
L/M will rust parts for me in 24hr+ cycles in that environment, just hanging from hooks from the closet door frame upstairs.

It can be sort of an advantage depending on what type of finish you want. Especially when it's a rust blue you are doing and you want to keep a bright polish to the metal.

If I want to accelerate the process,,I too just hang the bbl and/or part(s) from the shower rail, run the shower with the drain closed for a minute or perhaps a bit more. That captures the hot water in the tub as well as steams up the room.

Don't let it get too much moisture in the air or it'll get the parts dripping with water and it'll spoil the finish.
Parts will be rusted in about an hour and a half to 2 hrs. You might have to go in and run the hot water again for a few seconds to recharge the temp and humidity in the room during that time.

Doing it that way you can do a complete cold rust brown or cold rust blue job a bbl in a day,, two days at most.
I've done a few hundred Bbls sets and complete guns that way over the years.
No humidity chamber to store or knockdown for storage either.

[fm tim]

Another reason for buying "Gunsmithing Tips & Projects".  You get Bivens' damp box description plus all of the articles that he wrote about gunstock woods, barrel inletting, inletting the lock, gunstocking, carving, inlays, metal finishes, lock assembly, barrel forging, and restoration.

[smallpatch]

While in AZ, the humidity is always VERY low, with temps low in winter as well, winter browning can be a challenge.
The answer to consistent browning is: consistent temp and humidity.
My answer is a 12" x 12" x 48" box of 1/4" plywood. inside a couple of partitions 6" high to set barrels on.  Fill the bottom with old wet towels, and you have a PERFECT browning box. I set small parts in the bottom on small cardboard boxes.  When the temperature is low, I have a 500w Quartz flood light to heat it up.

I can brown a barrel, and all the hardware on a rifle in 2 to 3 days, carding and reapplying every 12 hours. 
Rich, dark, IN the metal color every time.

Hope this helps.

[pathfinder]

Short answer, yes,I have done it the "lazy" way. Get away from the furnace. Trade humidity for heat. Ahhh, Arrhenious,what a constant bi#$% you are!  So makes me miss school!

[gunmaker]

I thought penicillin would cure that....Tom

[StevenV]

Roger I just finished browning a gun I've made in the cellar. Wood stove and no humidity. So like others have said already I have made a" humidity chamber" Works extremely well damp paper towels in the bottom with damp rags on ends of pipe. I have also used a jar with damp paper towel in bottom and upside down lid that fits in jar to hold small parts. Place lid on loose and set next to wood stove. Works great for small parts. For your viewing pleasure I have included pictures of lock results and barrel I use Laurel Mt. Forge solution for my browning. One other tip that I find works excellent is put your metal parts in Cholorox for 20 to 40 minutes before starting with LMF. Seems to make browning even better. I have even got away with no "Humidity Chamber"last winter in the cellar by doing the cholorox first before LMF. Of course plug the barrel before soaking in cholorox. Steve

[davec2]

I use a cardboard box as a damp box and throw it away when I'm done.  I would like to build a "Bivens Box", but I have no place to keep it between browning jobs.  Pictures here

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=21382.0

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

On some projects I've filled the bathtub with straight hot tap water and hung the barrel on the shower rod, shut the bathroom door and in a couple of hours you get pretty good reaction.

[Dave B]

I didt the bathroom hang it from the shower rod thing up till the pioint I dropped the barrel and the tang poked a hole in the rim of the tub I then built the bivins damp box and never looked back

[Old Salt]

     Somewhere I read lower air temperature results in less capacity for the air to retain water vapor.  If you google relative humdity you'll see a chart and some talk about water vapor satuaration in relation to temperature.

      If you have a vaporiser or a humidifier to put in the furnace room you might achieve better results.  I'd guess even a tea pot or a large soup pot simmering on a camp stove might work.

[ken]

Roger try hanging in the bed room , the snorring should put just the right amount of humidity that you need

[Osprey]

I do my browning in my furnace room.  6x10' room, closed door, and I run the washer full of jeans and towels and hang them in there to try.  Hot and humid as a sauna, works well and fast!

[volatpluvia]

Roger,
Actually sleeping in the barn could be fun.  Just think of it as a winter outing.
volatpluvia

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

I do my browning in my furnace room.  6x10' room, closed door, and I run the washer full of jeans and towels and hang them in there to try.  Hot and humid as a sauna, works well and fast!

Ooooooooooo, A sauna, I always thought I'd like one of those. Maybe this is a good enough excuse to get it by wifey. "It'll make my barrels brown in the winter" What do you think?