tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949568258499987693.post1983446798468874646..comments2024-03-24T18:57:39.570-07:00Comments on TINCANBANDIT's Gunsmithing: Nitre BluingCasehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568533343504978702noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949568258499987693.post-88722141983610590272020-09-10T05:23:59.083-07:002020-09-10T05:23:59.083-07:00You can temper it not anneal itYou can temper it not anneal itAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949568258499987693.post-42642954601840859492020-01-17T14:09:46.852-08:002020-01-17T14:09:46.852-08:00Yes you can.Yes you can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949568258499987693.post-91292240381535336002019-12-03T14:59:25.071-08:002019-12-03T14:59:25.071-08:00Thanks for your info on bluing. I'm going to g...Thanks for your info on bluing. I'm going to give it a try soon with my Lee melting pot. I've had a lot of success with fume bluing and rust bluing but want to try using your mixture for small parts.<br /><br />There is a common misconception about annealing metal. True annealing, done to soften hardened metal so that it may be re-machined, occurs at temperatures approaching 2000 degrees F and requires soaking of the part in that heat for at least 1 hour per inch thickness of material. "Tempering" is done at much lower heats and is done to reduce the hardness of steel and increase its toughness. Tempering ranges are typically 400 degrees to 800 degrees F. <br /><br />Modern gun steels are primarily alloy steels that are very precisely heat treated for "hardness" and then Tempered to reduce their hardness and increase their "toughness". When you reduce the hardness of steel you get a corresponding increase in the toughness of the steel. The "toughness" is a measure of the steels ability to deform without failing. Hard steels fail in a brittle fashion, tough steels fail by stretching. In a firearm you always want maximum toughness. Modern alloy steels temper in the 800 F range, bluing will not affect them.<br /><br />Older firearms used mainly low carbon steels, many of which (Mausers, Arisakas, Springfields,enfields...) were case hardened. Heat bluing these guys will not impact their hardness in the least within normal temperature bluing ranges. Most of the older firearms made from low carbon steel, casehardened or not, will not be affected by temperature ranges involved with blueing. Trigger notches, sears, and parts intentionally made very hard may be affected a little bit if you hot lead blue or blue with some method that gets above 400F and holds it for a long period of time but it is a simple matter to use some casenite to re-harden these items if needed. Probably would be a good idea to touch up these spots on an old gun anyhow.<br /><br />The thing to remember is bluing temperatures can only "Temper" steel, they do not "Anneal" it. Bluing below 400 F and for short durations (15-30 minutes) will not effect temper at all. If you know the type of steel in your firearm then look up its "tempering" temperature, as long as you stay below it in your work you will not change its temper.<br /><br />None of the above applies to springs, they harden and temper in many heat ranges and durations, keep them out of the bluing unless you know how they were originally heat treated and tempered. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01088811856170162707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949568258499987693.post-20977215998904610162018-10-25T05:41:13.220-07:002018-10-25T05:41:13.220-07:00600 degrees will indeed bring the hardness of your...600 degrees will indeed bring the hardness of your metal parts down a few points. It’s tempering the steel just a little. 600 for 30 min isn’t all that critical but I wouldn’t do it to my bolt head on a rifle... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949568258499987693.post-18451397029388987452015-12-26T22:40:01.324-08:002015-12-26T22:40:01.324-08:00thanks for your comments, perhaps "annealing&...thanks for your comments, perhaps "annealing" is the wrong term to use when discussing the removal of surface heat treatment.Casehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568533343504978702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949568258499987693.post-74846514688425980472015-12-26T01:25:22.759-08:002015-12-26T01:25:22.759-08:00You cannot anneal steel at 600 degrees Fahrenheit ...You cannot anneal steel at 600 degrees Fahrenheit even if it is a high carbon steel. Please check this sort of information before publishing it on your website. Homer Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04537925906145197803noreply@blogger.com