Lock finish question.

[Rt5403]

I am no where near the finishing stage for my chambers new England Fowler but just thinking ahead to get an idea of what to do. I think I have decided to brown the barrel but not a fan of the bright metal lock contrasting with the browned barrel. I was scrolling through pictures on the internet to get some inspiration and came across the Fowler built by James frost for the 2020 CLA show. The lock is a satin black and looks great against the browned barrel in my opinion. I'm guessing this is rust blued? Any info on how to achieve this finish on the lock?

[bob in the woods]

I fire blued mine.

[Rt5403]

Any pictures?

[Scota4570]

Rust brown the lock, same as the barrel.  Before carding boil the parts in distilled water.  They will turn black to blue black. 

[Rt5403]

Not my photo but this is it.

[flinchrocket]

This is rust blue, except for the stainless steel tumbler screw. What genius???

[BrentD]

Rust bluing a lock (or any part) is extremely easy.  Like most things, the prep is the most important and challenging part. 

It is basically just browning but with a boil after each rusting session. You can use your favorite browning solution as well.  As with browning, more dilute solutions and/or shorter rust periods will lead to finer, smoother finishes.  Boiling is generally with "pure water" (deionized, or distilled, or reverse osmosis) to avoid mineralizing spots when the hot part comes out of the water. 

If you want more instructions - I could send you some that Jack Belk wrote years ago.  They are pretty simple.  Jack was a renouned gunmaker.

[rick/pa]

I used Pilkington's American Rust Bluing Solution with fire blued screws.

[mgbruch]

laurel Mountain Forge has detailed instructions on their website.

[BrentD]

I used Pilkington's American Rust Bluing Solution with fire blued screws.

Really nice polish on that lock.  Pilkingtons is great stuff.  LMF is good too, but too strong for my rotation.  I dilute it 1:1 with dihydogen oxide.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Not my photo but this is it.

I suspect that the matte finish you see on this rust blued lock is from the glass beaded as cast surface, in other words, no attempt to polish.  A highly polished surface yields a highly polished blue.

[Rt5403]

Awesome info guys I appreciate it.

[smart dog]

Hi,
You can also just temper blue the metal, which gives a nice finish although it will wear over time to a silver gray.









dave

[elkhorne]

Dave,
Could you explain “temper” blue and how you did it a little more. I really like the effect. Looks great! Thanks.
elkhorne

[smart dog]

Hi Elkhorne,
It is really simple.  You do need to polish the outside of the lock for a good effect.  Then degrease it and heat it to 580-600 degrees.  I use my heat threating oven and it is best if you heat soak the parts for an hour or so but you can do it with a torch if careful.  Placing the parts on a 1/8" thick sheet of steel and heating from below helps even out the heat.  As you heat it will turn from yellow, to bronze, then purple, and then blue.   When the color turns purple, really slow down the heating or even take the torch away to see if the residual heat brings it to blue.  Then let air cool on a fire brick or some other surface that won't burn.

dave

[Scota4570]

"Then degrease it and heat it to 580-600 degrees."

I did this years ago in Linotype alloy.  MP = 522* F.  The color was more even than I could do by eye.  Having a thermometer to sneak up on the temperature makes it easier.  I will try it on the next lock. 

I also did some parts in melted potassium nitrate.  They came out a very bright blue.  The melted salt scared me from a safety standpoint. 

[Rt5403]

Rust bluing a lock (or any part) is extremely easy.  Like most things, the prep is the most important and challenging part. 

It is basically just browning but with a boil after each rusting session. You can use your favorite browning solution as well.  As with browning, more dilute solutions and/or shorter rust periods will lead to finer, smoother finishes.  Boiling is generally with "pure water" (deionized, or distilled, or reverse osmosis) to avoid mineralizing spots when the hot part comes out of the water. 

If you want more instructions - I could send you some that Jack Belk wrote years ago.  They are pretty simple.  Jack was a renouned gunmaker.

. 


If I decided to do the barrel too any suggestions for how to boil it?

[flinchrocket]

This is 2”x 48” pvc split not quite in half with a cap on each end,then attached to a couple short boards. Put the barrel in and boil a gallon of distilled water and pour it in.

[Rt5403]

This is 2”x 48” pvc split not quite in half with a cap on each end,then attached to a couple short boards. Put the barrel in and boil a gallon of distilled water and pour it in.

I appreciate it. So it doesn't have to stay boiling long?

[flinchrocket]

I get the water to a rolling boil and just pour it in . Make sure you have enough to cover it good. In a couple minutes it will be blue, but leave it for15 or 20 minutes then dry it inside and out. It will have a black powdery suit that I use a gray scotchbrite pad and scrub off. I brown the barrel and put it in boiling water once and it’s done, I have never boiled after every coat of solution.

[flinchrocket]

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