color case harding

[Kent Shootwell]

Just got done with a Sharps action that I'm purty happy with. Just wanted to show it off.

[Coffinmaker]

Oooooooooooo 

Coffinmaker

[Fox Creek Kid]

Two questions:

1.  Who made that action?

2.  How did you block it to prevent warpage?

[Kent Shootwell]

The action was made by a machinist named Smith and the only blocking is the tubes placed over the tang screws.

[Fox Creek Kid]

The action was made by a machinist named Smith...

Looks like he did a fine job. Any more info on this fella and his actions? Thanks for the answers. It looks very nice. 

[Paladin UK]

Nice...............

Very nice!!
Paladin (What`s impressed ) UK

[Kent Shootwell]

Thanks for the kind comments, I'm pleased with the colors and patterns as they resemble that found on original Sharps actions. The only bright unfaded colors I've seen are the parts covered by the wood as all I've seen or handled are well weathered  on the out side.
The maker is a first rate machinist and has made actions for a couple of company's that I know of. The smaller lot he made for one was one hundred actions and to the best of my knowledge doesn't sell one at a time. Receiver is 8620 and lock plate is 1117 alloys.

[Bugscuffle]

That really looks nice!!! Can you give us a little information on how you did this? Did you use any chemical additives? How hot did you let it get and did you quench with oil?

[Kent Shootwell]

Bugscuffle,
The process is simple, the part is heated in a closed container with wood and bone char coal then dumped in water. The devil is in the details! Heat that I use is between 1350 to 1575 depending on steel and or shape. Time at heat depends on how deep I want the case to go.Then the part is dried and placed in an oven at 300 to 400 degrees for an hour or more. Last is a machine oil coating. These parts I did today at my real job using lump char coal and Casnite. As you can see finish will very even though the parts on the left were polished and the right just cut form stock.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Where did you learn this technique? and ...

What are the associated start-up costs?

Thanks!

[Kent Shootwell]

Steel Horse, If you mean using Kasenit and lump charcoal that is something I just thought up and tried. All the rest of color casing has been gathered from many sources and much trial and error. As to cost the oven is the big cost ($1300 for mine) plus perhaps another $300 for supplies. A resent test with a lower quench heat gave this on 8620 steel.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Steel Horse, If you mean using Kasenit and lump charcoal that is something I just thought up and tried. All the rest of color casing has been gathered from many sources and much trial and error. As to cost the oven is the big cost ($1300 for mine) plus perhaps another $300 for supplies. A resent test with a lower quench heat gave this on 8620 steel.

Thanks for the info.  So, you need to know exactly what type/grade steel you have to do a good job?  That make about any job nearly impossible except for starting from scratch and building your own, right?

Rats ....

Looks like my Home Project just went down the drain ...

[Kent Shootwell]

 You need to know about the carbon content of the steel mostly. A sample piece of steel that is heated to red hot then quenched in water won't harden much at all if it has less then .30 percent carbon. That's a good steel to case for modest stress parts. Typical old shotguns and modern cap and ball revolvers as well as things like steel butt plates are safe to play with for my use. What did you have in mind?
Point taken and added.

[Delmonico]

You need to know about the carbon content of the steel mostly. A sample piece of steel that is heated to red hot then quenched in water won't harden much at all if it has less then 30 percent carbon. That's a good steel to case for modest stress parts. Typical old shotguns and modern cap and ball revolvers as well as things like steel butt plates are safe to play with for my use. What did you have in mind?

I think you mean 0.30.  It becomes cast iron at a bit above 2.1 or so.

[Professor Marvel]

Beautiful work Monsieur Shootwell!

Ah my Dear Del

those pesky little flyspecks decimal points will put themselves in the oddest places, or even fly off the page entirely when one is not looking.

said all in fun and joviality in order to mark this as a thread for future watching!

yhs
prof marvel

[Steel Horse Bailey]

You need to know about the carbon content of the steel mostly. A sample piece of steel that is heated to red hot then quenched in water won't harden much at all if it has less then 30 percent carbon. That's a good steel to case for modest stress parts. Typical old shotguns and modern cap and ball revolvers as well as things like steel butt plates are safe to play with for my use. What did you have in mind?

Nuttin' in particular, but C&B parts mostly.  For the hardening, not the pretty colors.  'Tho that is certainly a plus!  But, correct me if I'm wrong, the colors come from the bone-charcoal process, NOT heated to red then quenched and also using Kasenit, right?  You get hardened parts, just not colors with the Brownell's stuff, right?

[Delmonico]

Beautiful work Monsieur Shootwell!

Ah my Dear Del

those pesky little flyspecks decimal points will put themselves in the oddest places, or even fly off the page entirely when one is not looking.

said all in fun and joviality in order to mark this as a thread for future watching!

yhs
prof marvel

Yep, just wanted to make sure it was noted, if it really had that much carbon it would burn itself up.  Having cut cast iron a time or two with a cutting torch that's itself is way to many sparks for my taste.

[JimBob]

Yep, just wanted to make sure it was noted, if it really had that much carbon it would burn itself up.  Having cut cast iron a time or two with a cutting torch that's itself is way to many sparks for my taste.

I remember getting the old coal stove in the shop a little too hot one time and the cast iron firepot got to throwing them sparks out like your talking about. It sat kinda whopperjawed after that little episode.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Whopperjawed!!

A scientific term, right?  Like one of MY fav'rite sayings;  skew-iffie!


       

[Kent Shootwell]

Bailey, yep you can get colors with Casnite and wood charcoal. The Brownell stuff (bone and wood charcoal that you mix) gets hard with colors too but is a bit spendy for a few small parts. And as you seem to know red hot with Kasnite than quench is hard without colors.