color case hardening

[Phil Coffins]

I took this hobby up some time back and thought I'd share what can be done. It's not cheap or easy but gives good results.
IMG_1099 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[don hepler]

Beautiful.....indeed!

 

[Spikebuck]

Love the look of color case hardened parts. :thumbsup:

Did you invest in a furnace or do it the "old" way like in the Colonial Williamsburg Gunsmith video?

 

[Phil Coffins]

I do all my case coloring with wood and bone charcoal like the old timers but for heat I mostly use a furnace. Here's a nose cap I did in a campfire with good results.
IMG_0581 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Col. Batguano]

Does case hardening make the parts brittle and prone to breakage at all?

 

[Phil Coffins]

Not if properly done, the first step is to know what steel you're working with. Cast iron or any mild steel can be done. Some alloy steels can also be done such as 8620 up to 4140. The last two numbers like the 20 or the 40 indicate the carbon content in the steel. Low numbers mean low amount of carbon and it takes carbon to make steel hard. The case hardening adds carbon to the surface from .001" to .005" deep depending on how long the metal is at its critical tempiture. This makes the surface a high carbon skin that becomes very hard. The core can be kept unhardened so it's tough. It would take a lot more typing then I'm willing to do to cover the subject. The case hardened parts are not only pretty but that hard skin is wear resistant and less prone to corrosion.

 

[don hepler]

That is "Art" and talent and knowledge combined.

Wonderful work, thank's for showing. :bow:

 

[M. De Land]

Nice work! I too use bone and wood charcoal: