Making a rust box for bluing

[Sharps40]

Well, trucks in the shop, it dropped OD so only 4 on the floor instead of 5. Maybe home with all five gears early next week, but in the meantime.........

Making up a rust box for bluing. It should work fine and will allow me to control the bluing, year round and not having to hassle with tubs full of water and temps, etc. Free, since the Boy left a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" MDF laying out in the shop for a year and I have plenty of paint left over to spiff it up and make it water resistant.

But, here it is....in its new home, the under stairs closet. Away from kids and no worries, steady temps and we'll control the humidity with a hotplate and a pan o water!

Just over 60" high so I can brown and blue muzzleloading barrels with long tangs too!

I trapped some outside air when bringin it in. An hour later, its still reading almost 70% humidity inside. Free cigar box humidity indicator installed in the door so I can monitor the moist. Self closing hinges and the knob are from the junk box and used the last of the glue in the old bottle for assembly with some left over kreg screws.

Shelves are removeable and the bottom is drilled for a hot plate power cord.

By switching shelves around or removing them I can change the size of the humidity chamber. Small for short projects and tall for long projects.

And joy of joys, there be power under the stairs in the closet....just gotta add a light with power outlet and I'll be in business.....well, after its painted and bolted to the wall stud, etc.....Guess I'll try bluing Mr. Belly Gun in here when the time comes. It'll be nice not to have to wait for summer humidity in the garage and be out of sight and away from greasy exploring fingers that spot the finish, etc....

 

[Sharps40]

One project leads to another.....so.....

An alternate closet in the hall will be converted for hanging jackets. This large understairs closet, since it has power, will be converted to a firearms work area. Rust bluing, minor assembly, cleaning and maintenance. GoodWife will be glad to have 90% of this work moved off the kitchen table.

For now, the first coats of good kitchen and bath paint inside the rust box.

Next job will be to set up the additional closet for jackets and then measure this one, dung it out and get a blueprint made up for the lighting and work spaces as well as ample storage for ammo and supplies.

 

[Sharps40]

Some progress.

Carding bench.

Now I gotta work out the shelving plan to utilize the storage space further back and around the bench and rust box.

 

[ken s]

much too nice! HA. I use American bluing solution, a cardboard box with a wire hanger rigged across it. I hang the piece on a wire, then suspended from the wire in the box, and put a dish of boiling water under it. the cardboard box keeps it damp, and I've got amazing results on Colt guards, etc.
boiling the part changes Iron Oxide to Ferris Oxide. boil in a stainless pot using distilled water for 16 minutes. do this about 5 times and you have a factory blue to be proud of....
On the screws. I put the screw in a drill, polish it on 400 emery, then put the running drill on the high speed buffer. (look for an old dishwasher motor, 3000 rpm)
once polished, and cleaned well, I heat with pliers and a map gas torch. watch the blue, it happens suddenly...Nice deep dark BLUE color. Then quench in.
COD LIVER OIL. go to your drugstore for a couple of bucks.
It is the same blue as COLT used in the 1860's. They called it a 'fish oil blue'.
deep, blue, strong, and really easy.

Ken

 

[Sharps40]

Me too. have used garage, bathroom/tub/shower, cardboard boxes with coffee cups full of hot water, under sink cabinet with a cast iron pot full of hot water, glad to have a dedicated rust box for rusting and fume bluing now. Prolly find some other uses for it too. But for now, figgerin out the storage plan and then I'll paint it all and get the shelves lighting/power up and running and it'll be a good bluing, cleaning and tuning place.

 

[Sharps40]

Another frigid NC day below 50F and I ain't goin outside cause its dayum cold.....so, repurposing supplies for the gun bluing and maintenance area under the stairs. So far, so good. Everything has been free, right down to the glue, screws, brackets and paint. Can't beat that price!

Dunged out and the initial supplies shelfing installed next to the Rust box. Finally, even a place for my cleaning rods and stocks/barrels, etc in the waiting.

Carding and cleaning bench with shelving for in use supplies, parts and I suspect I'll be adding peg board and task lighting on this wall.

Standing back a bit, plenty of overhead and shoulder room for me and I believe I have a good swivel stool that will make hobby life just grand. Just gotta get rid of the kids junk from under the landing area and build up the rolling carts that I'll slip in and out of there for ammo and loading supplies storage......be nice to get some of the master closet back!

 

[Ronniet]

I use Bob's Rust blue. http://www.rustblue.com/
Also I use the PVC pie to humidify and then to steam with , so I don't use distilled water.
I have not sent anything out to be blued in years.
I have beautiful blue on all my guns.
Good luck on your project, stay warm
Ron

 

[Sharps40]

test running it now. 90 percent humidity and warm. the lil crocpot is workin great in there.

 

[Sharps40]

Spent the first money on the rust, maintenance and cleaning room today.

$13, Amazon for a Procter silex small crock pot. $4.65 for a switched lamp plate with power outlet. $13 for three battery powered LED Pucks for task lighting.

Started out with a test run of the damp box. Sealed the door with left over stick on foam door sealer, installed the crock with a pint of water. Started with ambient humidity, 35%.

While waiting on the humidity and temps in the rust box to come up, I installed the LED pucks above the work bench. Nice, batteries, no additional wiring to run. Quick and easy and 1/4 the price of three 110 volt pucks.

Overhead, I added a switched light fixture with power outlet. I already have the wire run tubes to install and tidy up the wiring over to the crock pot. I'll get that done after the rust box first test drive.

In under an hour, I had 75% humidity inside and opening the door, the inside was noticeably warmer than the ambient temps in the house. I came back about 4 hours later and the humidity had stabilized at 92% and still plenty warm inside. Opening the cabinet, the walls were moist but it was not raining inside. Next I'll have to polish up and rust blue a hunk of old gun barrel and some other parts to see if there are differences in rusting speed and grain size from bottom to top. I am predicting easy success!