TheGreenMan Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I was looking to mess around with color case hardening a bit. I am hoping someone has a local (to Cincinnati, OH) source for bone black/bone charcoal. Or an online place that isn't prohibitively expensive on price and shipping. I think I can just use the wood charcoal for grilling from the local hardware store though I will probably need to crush it to a smaller size, and it may be more expensive than in bulk. But at least it is available close. Brownell's sells both but for $120 for 125 lbs. of the bone black and $44 for 10 lbs. of the wood plus shipping.... They say that they have bone black in 10x28 sieve size and wood in #6 size. But to crush the wood charcoal to the correct size I need to know the size. What inch size would those be? As a geologist I use mesh size too. Would a #6 sieve equal #6 mesh at about 0.13''? I cannot find a picture of their product to even guess. As to 10x28 sieve size ..... no clue. Maybe they mean most of the material is caught on a #10 to a #28 mesh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Try calling a paint manufacturer, bone black used to add black to paint. An art supplier will carry graphite, best of either bone black or charcoal. Make a tumbler and use bearings for a ball mill to crush your charcoal if you go that route. #6 is kind of coarse for case hardening isn't it? You don't want ANY oxy to get to the steel so why have any more porosity than necessary? Also the more complete the contact between the steel and carbon the more uniform the carbon migration. No? Were I attempting to make blister steel I'd mill to -200 for that reason. And mill the charcoal, lime and toss in something with a little cyanide say peach pits, at the same time for a uniform blend. That's just me though and I don't know what you mean by "color?" case hardening. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bill Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Color case hardening was used on firearms. Rarely today, best guns only. See turnbullmfg.com to overindulge in eye candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 The idea is to create a mottled surface and so coarse materials are considered a feature and not a flaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Start saving your bones after dinner, and make your own. Old leather bits that are charred charred also work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Thanks for the link Bill, that is some eye candy. Now coarse material makes sense for the visual texture, Thomas. It's not so much a case hardening for hardening sake as patination. Okay, now I'm on the page or at least dipping a toe in the puddle. Does the bone have to be carbonized, would raw bone work? Would the generated hydrogen cyanide be good or bad? Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreenMan Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 For a partially exhaustive ramble through the trials and tribulations of color case hardening and some experimentation of different techniques here is a 31 page thread about it: http://www.marlin-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3732&sid=5f79e004accccedbd5a49cb0bf4e9fea Very nice, if long, read. After doing some looking it seems that the 'finer' size of charcoals is what I am looking for. The pieces look to be around 2mm-ish to 10mm-ish in size. The patterning of the color doesn't seem to be a direct result of the size of the charcoal. The small size may just be a good way to limit the initial oxygen content in the crucible? The color seems to be more effected by the ratios of stuff packed around the metal, the amount of turbulence in the water used for the quenching/shielding around the metal, the temperature of the water and the oxygen content of the water. At least that is what I get from reading the posts at the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 An old time gunsmith told me that "Leather gives red; bone gives blue." I haven't tried it, so I can't say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreenMan Posted February 16, 2016 Author Share Posted February 16, 2016 I found a source on Amazon for bone charcoal. It is about 1/2 the price of what the gunsmithing sites sell. It is marketed as a fertilizer. Since it was cheap I ordered some to check it out. According to the seller it is 100% bone charcoal. Looking at it now I have it it seems to be finer than what I have seen in the few pictures I found online with a decent amount of 'dust'. I have not run it through a sieve. Once it gets warm again and I can work on getting my new kiln up and running I'll test it out on a few scrap pieces of low carbon steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graveyard Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 ive spend some time on line hunting for bone char. i found some at a feeder supply called southern states cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 On February 15, 2016 at 11:56 AM, TheGreenMan said: I found a source on Amazon for bone charcoal. 16 hours ago, graveyard said: ive spend some time on line hunting for bone char. You guys do know that blacksmiths make things? You have a high temp energy source right? You can get bones? (Go to a farm, go to a butcher shop, save your t-bone inedible bits from the grocery store, find a chicken and...) This is a craft where time spent DOING is worth 10x time spent looking at a screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 1 hour ago, Judson Yaggy said: You guys do know that blacksmiths make things? You have a high temp energy source right? You can get bones? (Go to a farm, go to a butcher shop, save your t-bone inedible bits from the grocery store, find a chicken and...) This is a craft where time spent DOING is worth 10x time spent looking at a screen. I was waiting to see who'd ask why they're asking here. You don't really want a forge HOT fire, following a charcoaling technique works better. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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