Inletting black

[moleeyes36]

I've been using Jerrow's Inletting Black for years and there has to be a cleaner process than that.  I admit that I'm pretty good at making a mess, but it's a real pain trying to use this stuff without getting it all over yourself and the gun stock.  I end up looking like Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic strip every time I use it, especially on something like a butt plate.  And as you know, with the oil base it's nearly impossible to get it out of things once it's there.  What do you guys that build more than the couple of guns a year like I do use for inletting?  I hope there's a good, and cleaner, alternative to using Inletting Black.

Don Richards

[smokinbuck]

Just use an oil lamp with a chimney. The soot works well is controllable and wipes off easily.
Mark

[Kevin Houlihan]

...or without a chimney.  Works great, cleans up easy.  You can find old oil lamps cheap at antique stores - they're even cheaper when there is no chimney. 
Kevin

[rsells]

I do the same as Mr. Snap.  I use an oil lamp without the globe.  It has worked good for 30 some odd years.  Every now and again, I do have a hard time getting oil to use locally.  It is not near as messy as the inlet black.
                                                                                   Roger Sells

[gwill]

Here's a definitely non-HC option. I use dry erase markers. They are so much neater in my hands than inletting black.

[moleeyes36]

I like the dry erase marker idea, I'm going to have to try that one.  I've used the oil lamp approach and it worked well.  However, it set off the smoke detector and my bride of many years was not happy with me at all. 

Don Richards 

[TPH]

I've used Jerrow's for years and have no real objection to the mess. But I have also used candle stubs. I am clumsy and fear an oil lamp - knock a candle over and it is not too bad a fire hazard, but a lamp with oil makes me nervous. 

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I like Jarrow's too and have used it exclusively since I was introduced to it in '79.  I'm on my second jar now.  I apply it with a small toothbrush that hangs near my vise.  From time to time, I give the brush a few drops of WD 40 to reactivate the black, and it goes a long way.
For clean up on the metal parts, I hose the parts down with WD 40 and wipe clean with a paper towel or shop rag.  Dish soap and water removes it easily from your hands.

[fastfrankie]

I made up my own inletting black some years ago by taking some lamp black powder (forgotten where I got it now) and mixing it up with some cold cream that I "borrowed" from my ex-wife. It worked great and cleaned up relatively easily.

[Woodbutcher]

 I'm waiting for the guy to respond to this with using lipstick. He said that it's cheap, easy to use, and clean up, and smells nice.
 I'm in enough trouble at the fabric department, as well as buying fingernail polish. That stuff is bullletproof, flies, arrows, gunsights, and all the colors. No one will ever trust me when I start buying lipstick.
  Let's see now, white would be nice for walnut, some of those crazy purples should really stand out on maple. At a dollar a stick the price is right.                                 Woodbutcher

[Acer Saccharum]

I use inlet black on a toothbrush, just barely enuff on it to transfer. While the black is so light on the parts, it's plenty enuff to show up on maple.

Taylor, thanks for the WD trick. I may make the remains in the little jar last the rest of my life!

[Curtis]

Try putting a bit of Jarrows in a plastic lid and lightly daub it with an old shaving brush,  apply it to your part to inlet with a light hand.  You will be very surprised how a little goes a long way, and the shaving brush allows for a very light coating.

Curtis

[moleeyes36]

Well I think I've always been applying too much of the Jerrow's and that's main problem.  I've been trying to put a light coat on with a Q-tip and that's messy.  The next time I use it I'll try applying it very lightly with a small tooth brush. 

But before I use Jerrow's again, I just have to try the dry erase marker method.  I'm going to inlet the ramrod entry pipe this afternoon and see how it works for me.  But just to be on the safe side when I go out to buy a dry erase maker, I'm going to buy a small soft toothbrush.   

Don Richards

[WadePatton]

... I do have a hard time getting oil to use locally. ...
                                                                                   Roger Sells

I've started using "citronella torch fuel" (available at dollar general-and similar for 6 bucks a half-gallon) in a lamp in the house.  No extra soot, just less mosquitos.  I'll not hesitate to use that in the shop as well.  Many places around here sell kerosene.  I don't understand the shortage.  HTH (hope that helps)

[Chris Treichel]

For a very small area of metal against wood I use a sharp pencil, the graphite rubs off on the wood and doesn't make a mess where you don't want it.  You can't see it well on metal so its not a fix all solution but works in some places where the black or white is too much.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

One thing to remember when using inletting black...you're looking for black everywhere along the wall of the inlet.  The absence of black is a gap.

[Mark Elliott]

I use a large black felt tip pen for most of my marking needs.   It is very clean but requires high pressure to transfer.   If I need a finer transfer agent,  I go to the HC solution; a beeswax candle.   I have both a candle and a couple of markers on my stocking bench.   The more guns I do,  the better I get at reading the indentations without a transfer agent, at least with regard to the lock.

[sweed]

Somewhere, I'm not sure where , I saw someone using brass cartridge cases, to make a lamp blacker. Seems he used a 30-30 case for the oil and wick, and maybe a .32 acp case as a lid/snuffer. There are many combos that would work. He made some sort of base so it would be more stable. Better than a candle, safer than a lamp, and less heat in the shop. 


Also for cleanup, try de-natured alcohol. Dries fast and clean. Keep some around, and use it when in doubt, or you don't want grease, or soap. It's suprising  what all it will clean!!
Sweed

[B.Habermehl]

I use jarrows black. I use a acid or flux brush trimmed back to about 1/4 inch long bristles or a bit shorter. BJH

[shortbarrel]

i use bearing spotting blue with a little light oil added. use a one 1/4 artist brush to apply the blue, works on light and dark woods as well. as the fellow above said, he was going to inlet a entrance thimble in the afternoon, sure wish i could get a 85% spot in 8 or 10 hours. guess i'm just  old and slow.

[Dan Fruth]

I'm with Mark...I've been using large tip black magic markers for some time now, and they work very well...the small tip pens work great for small pieces, and they will "read" the stamping on the bottom flat of a rifle barrel, which is great for close work...Clean up is easy with lacquer thinner and a rag for removing from the metal part. Once I'm within limits , I scrape off the black from the wood, and I'm done...No mess with lamps and soot. I also use burnt sienna pigment and oil mixed to a thick consistency( a trick I learned from Jack Haugh) and that works well also......Dan

[Mark Elliott]

I use denatured alcohol to clean off the ink if I care to.   Usually,  I just leave it as not one is likely to ever see it.     If they do see it,  they will see how well I inlet their barrel.

[kutter]

I still use Jerrows for inletting stocks. Most of the time too much is applied to the parts and it gets all over the place. A tooth brush for an applicator, once it's charged with a bit of the stuff can go a long long way into a project before you need any more of it on the brush. Yes you'll probably still get some on your hands, tools and other wood surfaces, but it cleans up w/o much of a fuss. If it doesn't,,then you're using too much to begin with.

A couple of full time stockers I know use lipstick. Red for walnut seems to be the choice .
I tried it and it works well. I just didn't like the way I had to carefully scribble it onto and into all the corners of the parts. Not easy to coat the areas down in between where the lipstick won't fit either.
So much easier w/a toothbrush application of Jerrows or something similar.

Oil lamp/smoke I use for metal fitting. Jerrows is too thick for that when fitting locking bolts and the like so I just use it for all metal to metal fitting.
I tried to use it for stock work and the continuous smoke output of the lamp got to me in the shop.
Lighting, extinguishing and relighting the lamp was a pain. So back to inletting black I went for stocks.
Smoke fitting metal parts,,,I simply use a cigarette lighter. Pull the wick up a bit and you get a nice sooty flame.


Whatever works...

[flehto]

I've been using "Permatex" Prussian Blue....got in the habit when in the toolroom. I mix it w/ blue bearing grease for low absorption into the wood and somehow when the final finishing is completed, there's no trace of it on surfaces that get finished.

Have a question....how long does it take to "soot up" say a TG?....Fred

[Keb]

The trigger guard is no problem but a 4 foot barrel, well that's another thing. :/