can I flame blue lock?

[Buff1958]

Still waiting on the replacement frizzen spring for the new woodsrunner I just put together.
Messing up the lock made me decide I needed a spare, so I ordered one. I got the shipping notice today so at least I can rob the spring and finally shoot my new rifle.

I flame blued the screws on this last build and really like the way they look.
Can I flame blued this new lock frame and hammer?
I know it would ruin the frizzen but I don’t know if it would hurt the hammer and frame

 

[Phil Coffins]

It will be difficult to do an even job.

 

[LRB]

You "might" do it in a HT oven which would give you even heat but I would stress "might". Any finger prints or even gases from left over debris could make it splotchy. It would not likely hold up anyway for long term.

 

[oldwood]

If you're dead set on doing the bluing , polish up the parts , and while doing the polishing , wear a pair of those cheap cotton gloves to eliminate skin oil from touching w/fingers. Get some Brownell's OXPHO Blue liquid. Just wipe it on a time or two. More times it's applied , the bluer it will be. Back in he early 1970's , Dick Getz , Getz Barrel Co. baked a large Siler lock plate in a conventional kitchen oven at 450 deg. F. for a time. It looked good. I'll stick w/ Oxpho Blue , 'cause the resulting blue/black color was the same , and easy. May not be as durable , but I'll just redo it.

 

[rchas]

I also like the look of a blued lock. Get some Laurel Mountain Forge Browning Solution, and use their rust-bluing instructions. Easy to do, if you follow the instructions exactly. You can boil the parts in distilled water on your kitchen stove. Cold bluing solutions and temper/heat blue aren't durable and will wear off before you know it. A rust-blue finish will last a lifetime.

 

[Buff1958]

would the boiling water mess up the hardness of the frizzen?

 

[rchas]

would the boiling water mess up the hardness of the frizzen?

No, not at all. You would have to heat the frizzen red hot to change it's hardness.

 

[Mgbruch]

I've built several guns... but before I'd try something like that on a lock, I'd get a piece of mild steel bar to practice on. If I'm unsure of what I'm doing, I'm certainly not going to chance something like that on a new lock. Learn how to do it first.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Temper blued locks look fine.

The heat bluing has lasted quite a while and still going. Without a heat treating oven (one that can heat to 600 degrees F) you could place the lock plate and flint cock (it is not called a hammer) on a sheet of steel and heat from below with a propane torch. The steel will even out the heating better. Just keep heating until it turns purple, almost blue and stop heating. It will probably then go to blue after the heat is removed. Make sure the parts are clean, polished, and degreased. Temper bluing won't look very good unless the cast texture is removed and the parts polished.

dave

 

[LRB]

No, not at all. You would have to heat the frizzen red hot to change it's hardness.

NO, you do not have to go to red heat to change the hardness. Any heat much above about 325 F is going to change full hardness. With most properly hardened frizzens, a temper above 425 is going to make it softer than ideal.

 

[rchas]

NO, you do not have to go to red heat to change the hardness.

You are right, I stand corrected. I was thinking about the whole tempering process... . Nevertheless, from prior experience, 212 degrees won't hurt a frizzen.

 

[Packrat]

I have one of Dixies screw barrel kits from many years ago, I blued it using a torch and after 25+ years still blued

 

[LRB]

You are right, I stand corrected. I was thinking about the whole tempering process... . Nevertheless, from prior experience, 212 degrees won't hurt a frizzen.

You just had a brain fart. Some of mine are legendary.