Nitre Bluing Questions

[DeBee]

I'd like to nitre blue some small parts on some of my rifle projects.

Specifically, the screws, cross bolts, the ejector box spring and the extractor spring like I've seen done on London Rigbys, Westley Richards and commercial Mausers and such...

My question is: Is it safe to blue these springs or will they lose temper?

Anyone know where I can get a small quantity of nitre blue for experimentation without buying the 20lb. bucket from Brownells? How much do I need for small parts? Is the stuff reusable?

You can do this on the stovetop right? Just heat the stuff and dip?

Any experiences with the stuff appreciated...

 

[ldgat]

Debee,
I highly recommend Blue Wonder by Novum Solutions. It is really easy to apply and relatively inexpensive. Brownell's and Midway sells it. You can go to www.novumsolutions.com
and watch a short video.
No interest, just satisfied customer
Dewayne

 

[Alex Johnson]

John Bivins did an article on this back in the 70's for Rifle magazine. You can get a copy of the article by purchasing the book gunsmithing tips and projects. You can buy the stuff through your local drugstore probably, might not be any cheaper in smaller quantities than the stuff you buy in Brownells. Whether or not the stuff would damage the temper is open to question. Some modern alloys need higher temperatures than you'll get with the temper blue color, in this case you can temper them in an oven, polish, and than blue them in the nitre with no problems. Other parts that were tempered at lower temperatures shouldn't be blued this way for obvious reasons. Typically the finish is reserved for very small parts such as screws it's not very durable compared to other blueing and would not be my first choice.