Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Craftsmanship => Gun Building and Repair => Topic started by: Ironhand on February 18, 2018, 11:34:32 PM
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At my gun show this weekend I scored one of the old CVA double barrel shotgun kits. New in the box. My great nephew wants to help build it so definitely will be building it.
My problem is with the metal finishing. I have used Plum Brown before but these barrels are soldered to gather. Is the solders melting temperature high enough for me to use a hot blue solution without separating the barrels? Any suggestions on what solutions to use?
Any bits of wisdom on building a sxs kit?
Thanks
IronHand
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Birchwood Casey has cold blueing - (Super Blue) it's called. I've used it to good effect before. :bl th up
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Track of the Wolf has a good browning chemical, Laurel Mountain Forge is the brand. It works well with out heating the metal and is less effected by grease. I've had good results with it.
Brownells carries a good cold blue chemical Oxy-blue.
I have used both, I get the best finish with the brown. follow the instructions and take your time.
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Ironhand,
In order to answer your question, I can say that the hot bluing process we used on our double rifles some years ago did not seem to bother any of the seams on the barrels and both the 4 bore and the 8 bore rifles stayed together with 300 grain Fg charges.
You should not have any problems putting them into a tank.
Sorry to say, I do not recall what all the brand name of the hot blue solution was, but it was obtained from Brownell's. I don't think they have many choices to choose from.
On the other hand, if it is more than you want to deal with, I am sure most any gun shop that gets into repairs could handle the job for you. Probably less money than investing in your own hot blue set up, tanks and such.
Another thought is to go ahead and do a cold brown finish then heat that up. It will go from brown to blue.
John
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The best (to my liking) was always the 44-40 blueing. I haven't seen any of this stuff for years, but when it was available I really liked the finish you would get with it on a Green Mountain Barrel - it was kinda like a blue/grayish finish, and I always liked that. Perhaps it was the metal GMB used that allowed such a finish.
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4440 is still available in a cream or a liquid. I use it some. It leaves a blacker finish than the hot blue or the ozy blue.
For small parts the liquid works well and fast. For larger applications the cream blends better.
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Mountain Laurel Forge browning solution can also be used to blue things, although it does require some heat IIRC. I have used it to brown several rifles and it gave a deep, even finish although it took numerous applications and carding. Good stuff, I recommend it unless you want a shiny finish.
~Kees~