# Screw Bluing Fixture (unfinished)



## Nick01 (Aug 1, 2016)

So im putting together another tool based off clicksprings video on youtube...heres todays progress.

The ferrule was turned from a 5/8 brass plumbing flare, and mounted to the lathe with a matching male threaded insert. The internal threads were then turned down.

The handle is 1" OD oak turned down to match the ferrules OD.  The hardest part was getting the taper on the handle to match the one in the ferrule without a great way to measure it.

It was stained red mahogany and will be laquered tomorrow when I turn it a few brothers for future use.


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## Randall Marx (Aug 2, 2016)

Looks good, Nick! Thank you for sharing it with us. I really like the flare nut turned into a ferrule (pun intended).


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## Nick01 (Aug 7, 2016)

Thanks Randall, I'm still very new to machining so it's a learning process for sure.  
Today I spent some more time on the project....

I cut a piece of 1/4 x 3" flat bar stock down about 2" long, cleaned up the edges on the mill and sanded the face down with 320 grit.




Next I layed out the positions for the holes to be drilled and secured it on parallel bars in the mill.  Even got to use my home-made scribe!! First time!!!




I drilled out the first set of holes using an 1/8" center drill, then opened them up to the proper size before moving onto the next.




And I got some practice on the precision end of things as well just to push myself along....this one's kinda blurry as it's taken through a loupe.




After the holes were all drilled I cleaned up the burrs...and lucky me, one of the holes I couldn't get started with the center drill came out on the back side all wobbly...



I tried re-drilling it-didn't work
I tried drilling it again from the back side-didn't work
I tried using a 45 degree countersink to touch up the surface-didn't work
Fail.
This to me seems like the perfect excuse to invest in some more tools...must not tell wife...

Once the holes were all drilled the bulk of the piece hit me and I decided some material had to come off to make it more visually slender, but I also had to keep enough material around the holes to retain the heat so I came up with this.


It's very technical I know, don't be intimidated by it!
Threw it on the mill again and took off the front two corners and got a crazy idea...


	

		
			
		

		
	
 Yep, I even decided to try my hand at beveling.  I know it's a tool, it's not for decoration, and it should serve its purpose and nothing more but I couldn't help myself.  


Once I take the rest of the material off the back side I will finish beveling the top side, drill and tap holes for the handle and two feet then call it done...after I turn up the feet.   

Oh and I threw some finish on the handles I turned up and they came out great.  Ironically I chose to use red mahogany to stain them, and that's the one very specific color the acrylic sealer I got says not to use it with.  Warnings not heeded!!




I'll upload more tomorrow evening.


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## Nick01 (Aug 7, 2016)

Minor update on beveling progress and the rear corner removal...


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## Nick01 (Aug 11, 2016)

Well here it is in all its glory.  The two large holes closest to the handle were going to be for feet, but the tap and die sets I have apparently don't go that large.  For now I'll just say it's for weight savings as this little thing is quite heavy.




I learned a bit along the way and aside from the tap holes being an obvious mistake I have only 3 takeaways for future tools

1. Stain handles BEFORE adding the ferrule (cleaning and polishing the brass without marking the wood is nearly impossible)
2. Cut rod to length, turn down and taper BEFORE epoxying it to the handle (handle almost didn't fit into the chuck to do so in my case)
3. Don't drill holes to tap BEFORE you have a tap and die set  (don't get me started on the metric/imperial s#!t show of holes and tap/die sizes or their availability)


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## Nick01 (Aug 12, 2016)

One more trick up my sleeve...



In the future I may add a small removable divider to the tray as its 3.5" OD and that would allow smaller pieces to be blued without heating up as much empty space and swarf.


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## Randall Marx (Aug 12, 2016)

These look really good, Nick. I guess I missed something, though. How are they used?


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## dlane (Aug 12, 2016)

X2 ^


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## Billh50 (Aug 12, 2016)

I think he took it for granted we all knew how it was used. I know I didn't know.


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## Randall Marx (Aug 12, 2016)

But it took an idiot like me to actually ask! Guess I'm good for something this time!


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## Nick01 (Aug 12, 2016)

Sorry guys.  I forgot I originally posted this under members projects and not the clocks and horology forums.

Bluing steel screws and some other misc. parts in both watch and clock making is a common practice.  These tools both serve to do the same task just with different size and shape parts, to temper the steel.

Essentially these are "holders" for the pieces being blued.  The plate has multiple holes for different sizes of screws, whereas the tray when filled with brass shavings surround an oddly shaped part to help heat it evenly.  The tool is held over an oil lamp (or a propane torch in my case) until the steel tempers and starts to oxidize.  For a quick idea of the process and how it works keep reading....




Once a screw for example has been turned, oil hardened and polished, it needs to be tempered.  Heating the steel evenly oxidizes the surface at the same time it tempers the steel. Tempering it takes away the "brittleness" that hardening gave it, but allows it to retain its strength.

It's the oxidation of the surface that causes the steel to look blue as the thin layer of oxidation causes the light to refract. As the steel is heated, it will go through multiple colors, straw, brown, purple, dark blue, light blue, then finally a gray silver.  If you've ever welded, you can see this coloration in the steel around where you welded based off the temperature it reached.


Tempering screws this way in horology is done for 3 main reasons

1. Once the screw has reached the blue color the steel has been appropriately tempered relieving the internal stress and reducing brittleness without compromising the strength of the steel. The color acts as a temperature gauge during the process

2. The oxidation of the surface acts to protect the part from scratches and blemishes as well as surface rust or degradation over time

3. For aesthetic reasons.  The blued steel stands out against the brass plates and wheels of the clock.  This was originally only done with high end or handmade watches and clocks, but not to those from factories so it served as a sign of craftsmanship as well.

Blued steel screws can be found in many other places as well.  On antique/vintage firearms, knives, etc. 
Modern  firearms typically use a cold bluing process or a type of finish applied to get the blue color.  It creates the same surface oxidation but is not a replacement for tempering the steel.  Thats not much of an issue though  as "most" gun parts are also not handmade, and the ones who do handmade their parts should be familiar with the difference.


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