Brass Henry

B

Bailey71

New member
Yes I bought a brass henry 30-30 awhile back w side gate because I did t have the patience to wait on the side gate to come out in blue or case hardened. I wish I would’ve waited. So now I want to let it patina but damn it I keep cleaning it and making it shine like the sun. How can I speed the patina process up. I want that older look
 
Bluing or ????

I want that older look
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After a good mineral spirits wipe to remove any surface oil and grease, carefully apply just about any "Bluing" with a damp wipe. It will turn color pretty cast. Solvent wipe, again and buff it. Another additional prep, is to first buff it with scotchbrite steel wool but that other stuff. You can also buy this stuff from an antique restore store of M/L supply store. It's called brass brown. Dixie Gun Works might stil carry it. I use it on new RamRod tips. Also, may check out YouTube ... ;)

God Luck and;
Be Safe !!!
 
I don't know, are they 50 years old?
Uberti made a few authentic .44 Henry Flat Rimfires that were classified as antique reproductions, not accepting readily available ammunition.
 
C&R only pertains to the actual firearm in question being 50+ years old, or deriving its value from obscurity or rarity. Reproductions of such firearms DO NOT COUNT. This was what I last read on the ATF website last week.

Modern, 9 times out of 10, will NOT coincide with C&R eligibility.

Have the gun around when someone touches off a black powder gun. Hahah. Just let it sit in the smoke for a moment... that will get the petina on there post haste. I have a reproduction made Brown Bess flintlock, and I didn't get to cleaning the brass fittings fast enough, and they took a petina and browned up overnight. I was able to take some soft brillo to them, some metal polish, and the furntire is back to where it was, but legit, be near a flint shooter, and it'll be QUICK, bud. Hahah
 
Measure twice; cut once !!!

It probably has a coating on it to keep it from tarnishing.
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Yes, and I have to back-track on my previous reply as I have only dealt with the .22-Henries and they have an aluminum alloy with some kind of "brass" colored plating/coating. Am not aware of the "Big-Bores" and suggest, you define this before doing any work. ..... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
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C&R only pertains to the actual firearm in question being 50+ years old
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Navy Arms introduced the 1966 Yellow Boy reproduction in 1972. So next year they will start reaching 50 years old. Will that make them C&R?
Henrys came in a lot later. I read that the .44 rimfire repros are rated same as antique or C&R, don't recall which.

I have a K22 made prior to 1962, is it C&R?
 
Jim Watson said:
Navy Arms introduced the 1966 Yellow Boy reproduction in 1972. So next year they will start reaching 50 years old. Will that make them C&R?
Henrys came in a lot later. I read that the .44 rimfire repros are rated same as antique or C&R, don't recall which.

I have a K22 made prior to 1962, is it C&R?
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Yes & Yes.

Can't address rimfire.
 
You can bet that if it is metallic cartridge fed, of whatever chambering, bet on it being governed by C&R.

If you have a few extra minutes, apply for your C&R if you don't already have it. $35 for three years... can't beat it. If you do already have it, the ATF website is pretty clear and helpful when determining what is and is not covered.

They also state that their list is not exhaustive as things are becoming eligible every single day by the very virtue of their age. Just gotta keep an eye on that manufacture date per the serial number.

The only hiccup I run into is what a dealer will consider safe to sell as C&R. I tried purchasing an original action online, as that is the firearm in the governments eyes last I knew. And the seller would NOT budge as the barrel had been ripped off and the stock was destroyed. They considered it no longer original. That is a bit of a grey area with me.

Best of luck. Back to the OP, though. Maybe ask the factory what is on the brass??
 
I have read that modified guns fall out of C&R status. Sporterize that WWI Mauser and it is no longer C&R.
Does a heavily restored gun lose status? I dunno.
 
Heat treatment just like with high carbon steels. While its not the EXACT same process, it involves heating the metal up until the crystalline structure of the molecules realign or change and strictly following the cooling procedure to make sure they crystallize again.

Steel has carbon that crystallizes, brass has another base alloy that hardens, and while brass is already tough as nails in certain alloys, hard brass is TOUGH NAILS!! Can really handle pressure. A lot of steam rated fittings are hard brass.
 
BornFighting88 said:
Heat treatment just like with high carbon steels. While its not the EXACT same process, it involves heating the metal up until the crystalline structure of the molecules realign or change and strictly following the cooling procedure to make sure they crystallize again.

Steel has carbon that crystallizes, brass has another base alloy that hardens, and while brass is already tough as nails in certain alloys, hard brass is TOUGH NAILS!! Can really handle pressure. A lot of steam rated fittings are hard brass.
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Wrong... Brass can only be hardened by working. Heating and quenching (or not quenching), only softens Brass.
Steel does not form "molecules", it forms "space lattices" as in Ferrite, Austenite, Martensite.

https://sciencing.com/temper-brass-metal-7937058.html
 
The big bores are hardened brass.
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I don't know if it's actually "hardened"--but long ago when I bought my first brass Henry I called them and asked about about the strength of the brass receiver and was told it is rated to the same pressures as their steel receivers are.
 
If you look on Matweb, you will see a whole range of tempers for brass, with "Extra Spring" being the hardest style. I believe it is all work-hardened by rolling it out. Percent work-hardening apparently tracks well with percent thickness reduction by rolling. If they over-harden it (get it too close to wanting to crack) they can stress-relieve it to the desired degree in an oven.

In the case of Henry, it would be interesting to know what exact alloy they are using, too.
 
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