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Bluing rust prone parts ?

mooserov

Aluminum
Joined
Feb 6, 2021
I am contemplating bluing (rust bluing) the tailstock spindle, tell me how bad an idea this is.
a little background, I live in Louisiana and the humidity here is a slow motion holocaust against good machines. I'm pretty good at rust-bluing for firearms preservation and knives, etc. and it will come out looking nice.
I've already blued up some non-critical bright steel parts that I know won't matter, but the TS spindle/shaft? I don't know if I should.

attached an example of the finish on a rod-end
 

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If it was actually a good idea then lathe manufacturers would have started doing so. There not for basic logical reasons. Visualize how a tail stocks quill is being used, the quill slides back and forth within a ground or possibly lapped bore. Tools are inserted into and held by the tapers with friction and wedging action. Exactly how long do you expect that rust bluing to remain effective under those conditions? Any rust bluing would be scratched through in a few days at most and you'd be right back to where you are now.

Proper and timely oiling of the quills O.D. should be SOP. That will look after any exterior rust. I just machine a plastic cap that friction fits the tail stocks end for use when there nothing being used in it. In my case I'm in a semi arid area, and rust from high humidity levels isn't a real issue, that cap is more to keep chips and dust out of the Morse Taper. But capping the end of the tail stock should reduce or even eliminate rusting problems. If your humidity levels are that bad in your area, then your trying to treat the symptoms and not addressing the cause. Better insulation, vapor barriers and a dehumidifier as well as regulated heat and air conditioning will treat the cause far better than trying to work around it.
 
I agree with neanderthal mach.
I don't have temperature control in my building and when we get a sudden weather change machine's will sweat.

I use a product called Fluid film. It's a lanolin-based produce that is a byproduct of washing sheep wool. It's about $40 a gallon.
I brush some on with a cheap paint brush and rub all the bare metal down with a rag. My rag gets saturated enough with it that you don't need to brush it on everything. All you need is a thin film.
A gallon last me a couple years and I use it on my tractor implements also.
You can buy it in an aerosol can for $10 a can but 4 cans would equate to a half inch of product out of my gallon can for the same $40.
The aerosol is an expensive luxury.
This is not a commercial for the product.
I'm hoping for temperature control in my shop someday. At least a dehumidifier large enough.

The product works
 
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I agree with neanderthal mach.
I don't have temperature control in my building and when we get a sudden weather change machine's will sweat.

I use a product called Fluid film. It's a lanolin-based produce that is a byproduct of washing sheep wool. It's about $40 a gallon.
I brush some on with a cheap paint brush and rub all the bare metal down with a rag. My rag gets saturated enough with it that you don't need to brush it on everything. All you need is a thin film.
A gallon last me a couple years and I use it on my tractor implements also.
You can buy it in an aerosol can for $10 a can but 4 cans would equate to a half inch of product out of my gallon can for the same $40.
The aerosol is an expensive luxury.
This is not a commercial for the product.
I'm hoping for temperature control in my shop someday. At least a dehumidifier large enough.

The product works
Fluid film is great stuff, I have a soaked rag that I rub everything down with after use and it has reduced my issues a lot. I even use it for sizing my rifle cases, I've yet to try it on my sandwiches:D.

I would steer clear of caps if you have high humidity, they tend to trap moisture inside if the machine is left unused for a long time.

I tried various substances on my machines over the years. I now just keep a bottle with neat coolant in it that I squirt on surfaces that are prone to rust and then rub it all over with my hand, no coolant contamination issues with WD40 or the like anymore.
 
I've used Brownells Oxpho Blue on many hand tools and it adds a lot of protection if kept oiled. On a machine tool I believe you might need to add a white lacquer stick fill on markings for good visibility.

The Oxpho Blue won't add anything to the dimensions and is easy to touch up as needed.
 
The bluing provides some protection against rust but a light oiling is still needed.
I always consinered the bluing on guns only being cosmetic. It does provide some protection.
I like the appearance it gives, it will wear thin on handles. As ScottL said it is easy to touch up with rebluing.
It does look good.

Wikipedia says
Bluing, is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust using a black oxide coating. It is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. Bluing involves an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface selectively forming magnetite (Fe
3O
4), the black oxide of iron. In comparison, rust, the red oxide of iron (Fe
2O
3), undergoes an extremely large volume change upon hydration; as a result, the oxide easily flakes off, causing the typical reddish rusting away of iron. Black oxide provides minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic action. In colloquial use, thin coatings of black oxide are often termed 'gun bluing', while heavier coatings are termed 'black oxide'. Both refer to the same chemical process for providing true gun bluing.[1]
 
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He wants to gun blue the tail stocks quill on both the OD & ID as a way to help prevent rusting. Because of how it's used, either surface on that quill is going to be almost instantly scratched through leaving areas of bare metal again. So that bluing no matter how it's done isn't going to work.
 








 
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