Revolver sight Blackening..Calcium Carbide.

[Anthony333]

Hi people,

I am in need of some advice or ideas of where i can buy Calcium Carbide in rock form ....( in Australia )
My club members have got about 10 burners , yet no one can seem to locate the rock form of Carbide ?
Any ideas ??????????????
Thanx folks,
Anthony

 

[growr]

You might try old time blacksmiths or your welding supply shops. Many old time welders had acetelyne generators and used calcium carbide to generate the gas to weld with. This was before they just went and got another bottle with acetelyne already in them.
Another idea is with mining supply companies...they used to use calcium carbide as well. Now for may years however.
Hope it works for you
Randy

 

[THE ROLLING STONES]

Anthony333,
Try a hardware store.
THE ROLLING STONES

 

[Triggernosis]

Let me make an alternative suggestion - it was taught to me by one of the U.S. Army team members. Just light a styrofoam coffee cup on fire and wave it underneath your sights to blacken them. Works just as well as the calcium carbide lambs and does't cause rust like the CaCarbide will. Just watch out for the hot dripping styrofoam!

 

[scooter123]

From the sound of it, sooting the sights seems to be a rather short lived solution. I would think that some flat black paint would provide a more permanent solution, however it won't be quite as non relfective as soot.

BTW, on the off chance that you want to heat blue or black your sights, this can be done with an Oxy/MAP or Oxy/Acetaline torch. However, you will have to remove the sight blades in order to do this. What you do is use an excess oxygen flame and heat the part until it just starts to show a very dim red in very low lighting, then cut off the fuel and cool the part with pure oxygen. This will produce a black oxide finish, however it's not a procedure that can be used for any heat treated part because the heat required will fully temper any hardened part.

 

[Triggernosis]

Yes, sooting the sight is definitely a temporary solution, but for target shooters, nothing beats a freshly-sooted sight on a bright day.

 

[Anthony333]

Thats right , soot rocks ! I use camphor and it produces an acceptable soot, but is messy and not as good as a carbide burner ( which i now have ) ...
Thanx for all the ideas thus far
Ant