Bluing Equipment suggestions

Jim Rehrer

Jim Rehrer

Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
686
I think i am finially at the point where I need bluing tanks...I looked at Brownells and i want the Nitreblue salts now I dont think i want/need a 40" tank...24" at the most would be all i would ever need. Is there other places to get tanks? Do i need an Iron tank or can you use stainless? i also looked at turkey frier burners but they are round and the tanks are long...that wouldnt heat evenly unless I had like a large stock pot...Any suggestions as to setups or where else to look...like i said the smaller the better and portable if possible with LP tank...thanks
Jim
 
You can make your own tanks of carbon steel sheet [ no need for stainless] and practice your welding skills. Use 16 or 18 guage hot rolled .New tanks should be acid washed and boiled with a weak bluing solution for 1/2 hour.Make the tanks as big or small as you need them.
 
Thanks Mete,

How does one go about acid washing and boiling a large tank? Is this to prevent corrosion? And are there other methods if the first is not feasible?

Also, as far as thickness goes, I find the following info:

16 gauge = 0.0598"

18 gauge = 0.0478"

These seem a bit thin to me. Won't they deform with heat?

John
 
Brownell's does have smaller tanks. I have one of their that's only about a foot long or so.
 
I've never had to clean a new tank, I only used the ones in gunsmithing school ! The cleaning is done to remove contaminents on the surface which would interfere with the bluing.Certain things will destroy the salts, like copper .Parts should not lay on the bottom Either weld spacers on the bottom for large parts or use a basket for small ones .Also make a cover to keep dirt out of the tanks. Remember that much of the "bluing " is the preparation , polishing , and keep everything clean.The color is dependent on the chemical composition of the steel [high nickel may need different temperatures].Brownell's is the best source for salts and they probably have good instructions .Also , you don't want to get hot salts splashed on yourself !
 
Something to think about is the temperature for bluing with Nitreblue -- about 600 F -- well above the tempering temperature of most common knife steels. Don't take me wrong -- I use Nitreblue a lot on gun parts and knife guards and pommals. Works great.
 
If your going to be nitre bluing you do not have to buy a tank. A stainless steel cooking pot will do fine. I nitre blue knifeparts on the sideburner of my barbecue grill. It all depends on the size of the parts that you will be doing. The advantage to nitre bluing is that you can get different colors depending on the temperature.

You only need a carbon steel tank if you are going to blue with oxinate-7 bluing salts. These salts are corrosive and tend to creep out of the tank after some use. The advantage is that you blue at around 200deg, but you only get blue.
 
I have used 50 cal ammo containers for slow rust blueing hand guns and small parts. Strip the ugly green paint off first. They may hold up to the higher temperature of hot salt blueing.
 
Thanks for all the comments guys...alot of good advice...

Charlie.. i am planning on bluing some stainless damascus mainly and maybe some carbon damascus 1095/nickle...i read that since the salts had to be so hot you can use them to temper..
 
Jim,
I have been interested in buying some nitre blue salts, but didn't want to spend the money on the large quantity that brownells sells. If you are interested on going in half let me know.
Matt
 
If you want a blue color go with the nitre-blue salts but remember that all other blueing salts make parts black not blue. Brownells is the best place to buy and they have very detailed instructions for everything they sell.
 
mdoyle said:
Jim,
I have been interested in buying some nitre blue salts, but didn't want to spend the money on the large quantity that brownells sells. If you are interested on going in half let me know.
Matt
Click to expand...

The tub they sell really isn't all that much. I believe it's a good quantity to have on hand. Remember that you have to fill your tank, and the stuff reduces down in volume when you cook it the first time (goes from fluffy salts to a liquid). So you'll be using up a big chunk up front. Then there's drag out (every time you take a part out you pull some out with it. Then there's skimming (You need to skim the foamy material that collects on top of the hot salts from time to time.) All this is wasted material, so you really need some fresh stuff to add in as you go.
The Brownell's bucket will last you a little while for a small tank, but it is a consumable product. Unless you're using a really small tank, half a tub of nitre salts is really not enough---you'll be ordering again real soon.
 
JCaswell,
I think what you just said was quit being so cheap Matt and just buy the nitre blue and be done with it. You're probably right. Thanks.
Sorry to hijack your thread Jim.
Matt
 
mdoyle said:
JCaswell,
I think what you just said was quit being so cheap Matt and just buy the nitre blue and be done with it. You're probably right. Thanks.
Sorry to hijack your thread Jim.
Matt
Click to expand...


Being cheap can be a good thing, but I'm pretty sure it will end up costing you more in this particualr case because you'll probably find yourself ording another tub of the stuff almost as soon as you start using it.
 
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