Help my friends..

R

Raider2000

New member
I've got a friend that wanted to play "gun smith" to his Pietta 1860 Army & really screwed up the hammer sear to the point that it isn't very safe.
He said that he wanted to get a lighter trigger pull & no creep but he was using a FILE instead of a light stone & ofcorse did not check his progress as he went, instead he filed way too much off. :eek:

Last night he brought it to me to see if I can do anything with it.
The good thing for him is I do have my spare parts for my 1860 "raw parts" but I do need to do a little stoning to get it timed & smoothed up for him.

Now my quandry.

I have no Kasenit left to reharden the hammer once I get it finished & Brownells, Tack of the Wolf, nor Midway does not have any on hand "back ordered," does any one know of a source that may have some or another alternative to reharden the hammer?

As soon as moma comes back with the Digital camera I'll take a picture of the carnage.
 
If all you're doing is smoothing up it shouldn't need rehardening. Timing work should be on the hand and bolt, not the hammer
 
If all you're doing is smoothing up it shouldn't need rehardening. Timing work should be on the hand and bolt, not the hammer
Click to expand...

You're right, which I may have to donate more than my Hammer if it is just enough to be a problem on his piece.

As far as not needing to reharden the hammer I've allways had a habbit to reharden my work so to be sure that it'll last for years, & to give a little extra hardening to the area that strikes the primer.
 
Hey raider2000, i was wondering if you can give me
some info on this kasenit?, does it make, say like color
case hardernig on frames? or is it only for small items.
Dont mean to hijack your thread, ( gosh darn it, need to
use my nogin:rolleyes:, could have pm you daa ) anyway
if its all right by you, i would like to know a little bit about
this harding biss. thanks.:D
 
Kasenit is a compound that "for a lack of better explanation" infuses carbon onto the steel when it is heated to a red hot condition, then after the Kasenit is on the part they both is placed into the heat again for a few seconds more "up to 30 seconds" & then quenched in cold clean water.
If you have enough of it you can use it on quite large parts

This method will Case Harden the part to where it will have a slight grey hue but be glass hard on the surface but still mild enough under the surface to retain some springieness in the steel.
Color Case Hardening requires the use of Bone or Leather as the carbon supply & a container to place it all in to get it all hot enough to perform it's duties at approximatly 1200-1300*F in which when quenched in cold water which has bubbles or stirring to enhance the effect will take on the nice colors.

Kasenit can be used on smaller parts where all you need is just a small propane torch to achieve the right amount of heat required to achieve the hardening effect desired.

I have done both in the past but at my present home, & my wife just would not understand I chose not to perform the color case hardening.

Oh & BTW I don't mind your questions my friend, without some one asking the questions how aer we to find the answers.
 
Raider2000, what do you think, i have never done
this before, i would love to give it a go but i am :eek: stiff,
your info seems like its not for a beginer? i do have a torch
ok your advice here, do you think i should try it on a hammer
first, i have a old hammer from a old 58 remmy maybe i should
try it out on that first, i will take all the advise you can give
me, you seem to have a lot of knowledge on this subject.
Thanks for all your help and advise. :D
 
Well bud, if you have any parts like you mentioned then by all means go for it, or start like I did "with my Grandfather" harden some 1/2" or bigger bolts till you get the hang of it.

The Kasenit is great for parts that you want the hardening but am not too worried about the nice colors of CCH, hence why I usually do this method on areas like the sear of the hammer, tip of the trigger, & tip of the hammer where it is fast, it works but the result is mostly in a greyous color.

With that, a basic plumbers propane torch "for small parts like the sear area of the hammer" is the perfect heat source, once it gets red hot but even across the area that you want case hardened, just place the part into the Kasenit to cover it totally, then pick the part back up "of corse with pliers" & reheat it for a few more seconds at that red hot condition, then quench it in cold water.
The part will have a .005-ish layer of hardened steel where the underlaying steel will still be softer to act like a shock absorber to the tempered part.

The better method is more involved & takes a little more time to perfect but it can "with the use of Bone &/or Leather as the carbon source" produce the beautiful Color Case Hardening that looks great but also has the same effect of case herdening.
 
OK Pard, i am partway there, when you heat the part
red, you said dip it in the kasenit, how long do you keep
the item in the kasenit for? and last Qs can you get this
kasenit say like a plumbers store or home dp or lowes?.
Thanks pard your advise has been great.:D
 
I usually dip the heated part in the Kasenit for about 2-5 seconds, enough time to coat the part real good..

As far as finding Kasenit, the last time I bought it was off of a gunsmith friend years ago "he's sitting at the Lords table now :(" but if they had it you can get it through Brownels or Tack of the Wolf, I've tried my local welding supply & they don't carry it.
 
Mykeal:
I gave them a call & they are out of it too but it's hopeful that there may be some available by the end of the month at the latest.

Thanx though.
 
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