Belgian 1889 Project

[browningautorifle]

Ended up having to drill all the way through the bolt sleeve before it would come loose.

Bummer, at least it's done. You'll have time to sort that detail out I think. Looks like this might take a minute... Guess you're right about the electrolysis, the only other things to do would be glass bead blast and then hand polish before bluing. Not sure that's the direction you're headed though. It'll never be perfect anyway unless you remove about the top third of the metal.

Yes, it'll be fine.

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[Aragorn243]

So do you bake them in an oven? Not sure the barrel will fit in there. Might go on a quest today.

I don't have the ability to bead blast. Wasn't planning to re-blue but might end up going that route, depends what it looks like minus the rust.

[browningautorifle]

Bake them? For the electrolysis? It just goes into the bath out in the shop... Only thing goes in the oven should be a Pizza...

[Aragorn243]

There is a big warning on the link Hooked posted about baking them to prevent them from becoming brittle due to hydrogen infiltration. In any case, I believe I had a successful quest. Look this stuff over and let me know. Only manual charger I could locate, nearly all are automatic these days. Lowest setting is 2 amp. Is that too much? I think most guys were using 1.5 amps, not a huge difference but wanted to check. Also, is there any inherent dangers here, gasses, small children or pets being electrocuted, etc? I can return what I bought, the wire and rebar I had here at the house.

[browningautorifle]

There is a big warning on the link Hooked posted about baking them to prevent them from becoming brittle

We have guys here that have done this very thing, I'm surprised they haven't come along. I'm going to have to find the thread so you can PM some people...I think.

[browningautorifle]

Here's the thread I was looking for... https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=48590

[Aragorn243]

Only one other fellow mentioned the metal becoming brittle, says not to use on barrels and receivers. Frankly, not being a metallurgist but being kind of common sensecal, I don't see how hydrogen could get deep enough into the metal to make anything but the surface brittle if even that. It would seem to me that the fellow writing the advice may have confused the initial creation of the steel rather than electrolysis. I followed the links through to the Surplusrifle forum and seems lots of fellows have done this to barrels and receivers and none mention baking afterwards.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Only one other fellow mentioned the metal becoming brittle, says not to use on barrels and receivers. Frankly, not being a metallurgist but being kind of common sensecal, I don't see how hydrogen could get deep enough into the metal to make anything but the surface brittle if even that.

I agree, and electrolyse all metal parts except springs, where any embrittlement could cause an early failure. For springs, I use 0000 wire wool, oil and elbow grease.

As for electrolysis, the link provided above by BAR pretty well covers it all.

[#1oilman]

Hydrogen does penetrate the metal, we see this in pressure vessels, it can cause blisters in the steel and lead to separations, we use what is referred to as a "Hydrogen Bake Out" much like a stress relieving process although I can't picture this occurring during the electrolysis procedure

[cipherk98]

Ah, the Christiana Mall Cabelas... I thought it was the worst store I'd been in until I bought a gun at the Hamburg location. Is the SL8 still sitting there in the Gun Library?

Good thing you got to this gun before me. With the 1916 cleaned up I need something else