Case color hardening ?

[Limestone]

Morning, trying see if there is anyone in the mid-Atlantic area that does case color hardening. The parts I want to do are repo parts, want to do a lock plate, hammer and trigger. I have been told that Turnbull is top notch. Not looking for artwork just very basic case color hardening. I understand you get what you pay for. Any info would be great. Thanks

[bobanderson]

A good friend who passed a couple of years ago did a very serviceable job of creating the "case color" with an acetylene torch and what he described as a "carburizing" flame, meaning (I think) very little oxygen in the mix.
He worked relatively slowly, taking the tip closer and farther in a pattern that ended up looking, if you'll pardon the expression, DAMN good.
I remember one of the tricks was to be careful not to overheat the work or the colors and patterns will wash out, or the temper (hardness) could be affected. Good news there was all you had to do is sandpaper/steel wool it clean if you wanted to start over.
I sprayed the finished parts with clear lacquer to protect the finish because it is fragile. Whole job took about 30 minutes in his shop.

My Rolling Block receiver came our pretty good and I didn't have to pay Turnbull for the work. It's lasted at least 15 years or so.

[TCLewis]

Morning, trying see if there is anyone in the mid-Atlantic area that does case color hardening. The parts I want to do are repo parts, want to do a lock plate, hammer and trigger. I have been told that Turnbull is top notch. Not looking for artwork just very basic case color hardening. I understand you get what you pay for. Any info would be great. Thanks

An option to consider are some chemical or bluing options. The bluing method uses cold blue with some water and some other optional variants. If you mess it up or are not happy with it you can start over by using white vinegar. There is also a company called Steel FX/Patinas that have kits.


Steel FX/Patina Kit:
https://steelfxpatinas.com/product/c...MUygsIgL0Ci7FS

[Maillemaker]

Make sure you understand what you are actually after.

"Color case hardening" is kind of a misnomer.

Case hardening is where you take an object with low carbon content and pack it in a carbon-rich material and then heat the object in a furnace. The carbon atoms in the carbon packing migrate into the outer layers of the iron object, making the outer layer into steel (iron+carbon=steel). Depending on how long you let it soak determines how thick a layer of steel you get on the object.

The object then will respond to heat treatment (quenching and tempering) and so allow the outer steel layer to be made hard, while the internal iron core, which does not respond to heat treatment, remains ductile and tough.

The mottled colors you get from this process are just a side effect of actual case hardening and quenching and tempering.

Many, if not most reproduction arms today are "color case hardened". They aren't actually case hardened at all, since the object is either made of steel to begin with or is simply not heat treated at all. But they apply a chemical treatment to the object to give it the appearance of traditional case hardening.

As others noted, there are kits that let you color the surface of a steel object to make it look case hardened.

If you want a real, period case hardening then someone like Turnbull is who you want. They might be able to do the simulated finish also.

[Limestone]

Thank you all, for the info.

[clowdis]

I have used this place http://www.wyomingarmory.com/ for color case hardening as well as replacement parts for black powder rifles and have been extremely happy with them. They aren't the cheapest but the turnaround is good and quality excellent. If you have to UPS parts someplace it doesn't matter if it's Virginia or Wyoming, but pick a good supplier.

[John Bly]

You have gotten some good info and some not so good. Turnbull is very good but probably the most expensive. I've used Wyoming Armory and they are good. If you are not into the most brilliant colors and patterns I can recommend several people that would save you some money and still do a decent job for you. PM me for info.