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05-27-2018, 07:56 PM
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Gun springs
Wondering if the bluish gun springs are blued or if the spring steel from which they are made is naturally blue?
I have a model 1 project gun that has a bit of rust and I think that the top spring will need to be cleaned. Will it be in the white like a barrel when the rust is removed or will the spring steel blue remain?
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James Redfield
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05-27-2018, 08:08 PM
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The springs are not blued. The blue color you see on some springs is due to the hardening process.
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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst
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05-27-2018, 09:35 PM
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cold blue it/them when done and call it good.
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05-28-2018, 12:06 AM
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Any of you with an interest in how springs are made (by just plain folks), and how to do pretty much anything else that has anything to do with our toys may find Gunsmith Kinks to be a valuable resource. It's a now four volume set written by the Brownells folks and (mostly by) their professional customers) which is chockablock full of the wit and wisdom of the trade. I've had all four volumes for at least 15-20 years, and they've paid for themselves many times over---and are good for laughs as well.
Ralph Tremaine
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05-28-2018, 03:44 AM
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Spring steel is silver in color just like any other iron alloy. In the process of heat treating the steel to make a spring, it is heated to a red heat and then quenched in oil or water, then polished bright and re heated to draw the hardness back to that appropriate for a spring. the blue color that results is due to surface oxidation at the drawing temperature. It is only microns thick and the spring can be left blue, or can be polished back to the bright silvery color without any effect on the spring quality. Some years ago I made a hammer spring for my Navy Arms repro Schofield for which the original spring had lost its tension. I made the spring from annealed spring stock obtained from Brownell's. After cutting the spring to shape, forging the stirrup hooks and filing and polishing the spring-to-be to the final dimensions, I heated it to the appropriate red heat with an acetylene torch, then quenched it in oil. It was polished again to a bright finish with 400 grit sandpaper. I then put it in my kitchen oven, set for the highest setting, a bit above 500 degrees, and baked it for an hour or so. When I removed it from the oven it was a very pleasing bright blue color. It has functioned just fine in the revolver for over 20 years. The polishing step before hardening is critical to remove any scratches in the steel that will act as stress concentrators that will cause the spring to fracture at the scratch. The second polishing is purely for cosmetics when finished.
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Tom
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Last edited by Skeetr57; 05-28-2018 at 03:47 AM.
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05-28-2018, 09:19 AM
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THE FIRST TIME'S A CHARM!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skeetr57
Spring steel is silver in color just like any other iron alloy. In the process of heat treating the steel to make a spring, it is heated to a red heat and then quenched in oil or water, then polished bright and re heated to draw the hardness back to that appropriate for a spring. the blue color that results is due to surface oxidation at the drawing temperature. It is only microns thick and the spring can be left blue, or can be polished back to the bright silvery color without any effect on the spring quality. Some years ago I made a hammer spring for my Navy Arms repro Schofield for which the original spring had lost its tension. I made the spring from annealed spring stock obtained from Brownell's. After cutting the spring to shape, forging the stirrup hooks and filing and polishing the spring-to-be to the final dimensions, I heated it to the appropriate red heat with an acetylene torch, then quenched it in oil. It was polished again to a bright finish with 400 grit sandpaper. I then put it in my kitchen oven, set for the highest setting, a bit above 500 degrees, and baked it for an hour or so. When I removed it from the oven it was a very pleasing bright blue color. It has functioned just fine in the revolver for over 20 years. The polishing step before hardening is critical to remove any scratches in the steel that will act as stress concentrators that will cause the spring to fracture at the scratch. The second polishing is purely for cosmetics when finished.
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And the first time you do something like that, and it actually works; you are so very proud of yourself-----and with good cause!
Ralph Tremaine
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