I made an interesting discovery/observation some years ago on charcoal case hardening depth by accident. I was using some shim stock for blocking and after roughly six cycles of use on various rifle actions I was casing I decided to see how far the carbon had penetrated by bending (worry-ing) the shim stock until it broke. Even after half a dozen case cycles in bone and hardwood charcoal mix the skin had only penetrated maybe .005- .006 , The core was still completely soft and malleable.
Well stated Rich
Had it been water quenched directly from the forge?
Jerry Huddleston once said he could get as much as 1/32" depth on some parts, but said he wasn't sure if he get more than that, and I think he said .020 was not a problem.
I believe that depends more on the alloy. 1095 is not considered a through hardening steel. About 3/16" is what I have read from most bladesmiths for 1095, but I believe O1 is or is close to be considered though hardening because of the alloys in it. It is my assumption, in general, steels requiring a fast cooling quench are not deep hardening because of the short time involved in the quench in order to beat or lessen the formation of pearlite.
Results pending on lock kit from 1972
Tips from fellow forum members who are more up to date on this process are much appreciated
This was a lock kit minus the sear & fly I acquired years ago while actively building & restoring muzzleloading
firearms in my then well equipped shop.
Current shop is now a spare bedroom equipped with a couple workbenches, gunsmithing tools I kept & lots of hand files since
downsizing 3 years ago due to age & health issues.
Hardening & tempering process I'm using,, results pending.
I'm using a propane torch with a concentrated tip with propane as fuel & Cherry Red to do the surface hardening,
my container of Kasnit must still be packed from our move.
After making a new sear & fly that were missing, all components were fitted & polished for best function,
the springs were already tempered.
*Apologies, didn't think to take photos of the assembled & polished lock prior to hardening & tempering
All screws were heated to a royal blue & dipped in canola oil.
Photo shows parts after being heated to cherry red, dipped in Cherry Red & quinched in Canola oil.
** Toe & pan area of the frizzen was held by a wide jaw pair of vise grips to try & prevent overharding & risk of breakage where the frizzen & pan area merge.
**Lock plate TIP; To avoid warpage of long thin parts,,, hang, heat & 'quench' vertical while suspended on a wire.
TIP; The hardening compound Cherry Red leaves a hard to remove crust on parts.
On a lark I found that soaking the already cooled lock components in rubbing alcohol overnight has made removal
of the messy & stubborn crust much easier !
>Photos; show the lock's springs & fire blued screws along with blackened parts after removal of the hardening crust.
Parts will tempered at 400 degrees on a cookie sheet in kitchen oven for an hour.
Hacksaw blade.
Not a good as the original Kasenit they banned. Of course.
Who ever hardened it didn't temper it after coating and hardening the frizzen. Don't use that gunsmith again.
The metal is still soft. Harden it or buy a new one.
Why wouldn’t a resole with a hacksaw blade work?
1) They are super narrow. Can’t think of many frizzens that narrow.
Ok, but begs the question, why do so many claim how well hacksaw blades work? Personally, have a small oven and just case harden any frizzens that need help, then draw back. I know the Kasnet and Cherry Red creates no more that .001” to .002” case hardening if their instructions are followed, so almost useless for frizzens in my opinion, unless frizzen steel is hardenable. Curious why so many claim low temp soldering to a frizzen of hacksaw blades are an answer?
