Cheap Hot Bluing Tank Idea?

W

Will Leavitt

Joined
Jul 28, 2006
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I've read about using turkey fryers for hot bluing. I was shopping with wifey the other day :( but saw a programmable crock pot. You set the temp and how long you want it to cook, was about $30 or so. Think that'll work instead of messing with a fryer?
 
I have no idea if that would work or not. Sorry. But if it does let me know. I have one that I am not using. I think it would depend on what type of hot blueing you are going to do. I am fairly sure some of the hot blue salts have to be fairly hot. It may be hotter than a crock pot can go. Like I said though I dont really know.
 
I would put a thermometer in it and try it, If is in that ballpark temperature range as William mentioned.
 
For bluing salt it has to be a tank has to be made of carbon steel (black iron), temp between 275- 285 not to exceed 295 deg fahrenheit for the salt I use. It is black magic bluing salt.
 
What kind of size and shape of workpiece do you have in mind?

Rifle barrelled action vs knife guards....makes a difference

small bits
A carbon steel box- short piece of square tubing with an end welded on...
sitting upright inside an electric frying pan...do some trial runs to set the temp right...
 
Black iron works, but it turns rusty, It leaves a nice copper tint on a Damascus blade.
 

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I use a porcelain coated roaster and a double burner hot plate. I drilled a hole in the lid and stick the thermometer in the hole. Had a a couple problems at first though. The double burner hot plate, I discovered had on high coil and one low coil and would not get hot enough. I changed out the low coil for another high and that did it, but was very slow. It seams to take some serious heat to get 6 lbs of salts and a gallon of water hot enough. So I built a sheet metal hood that goes around it all and has a oval hole in top for the roaster to keep all the heat in, it has cut outs for the control knobs. Works great now. I found a double burner propane cooker at a yard sale for $10 a while ago so now I think I will bag the electric.
 
I have seen the AGI American Gunsmithing Institute Acid Bluing (not the hot bluing) video.

The setup they have is a gas burner make of pipe with many small holes drilled in below th tank. I suspect it was a regulator from a BBQ feeding it.

It wasn't automated, just eyeballed.

If you happened to have a PID controlled salt bath, you could just have a different tank swapped out.
 
I don't know about hot blueing but I was told to use a deep fryer for storing and heating quenching oil and those things get hotter than a crock pot and a new one at wal mart is less than 30 bucks.
 
Depending on the size of tank you need, this may work. For all of my blued hardware I use Nitre Blue. I have two different size tanks.... A 4" dia. X 5" iron pipe with a cap welded on one end, and a handle welded on, so I looks like a small cooking pot.... the larger of the two was made by cutting the end off an old CO2 fire extinguisher, and welding a handle to it for a larger pot.

My heat source is an old coleman stove that is converted to run propane.
 
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