It has to be absolute bare steel. Did you leave the original Myford black where it still existed? Did you get any rust off? Iv'e never used Blackgates, but did you thin the blacking too much if it specified it? Even your inside surface looks patchy so I have to suspect your cleaning. Never handle it directly at all during or after cleaning it up; use two bits of wire in opposite holes and dunk it with them. The blacking needs to be in one go, over the whole surface, and there is no harm in leaving it in the oil at the end for longer. Hope that gives some clues.

Dennis

Edited By DMR on 18/08/2017 02:17:32

I agree with DMR and Robbo. I've never used the Blackgates product, but I have used most of the brands sold by gun shops. The surface must be as shiny as possible, and absolutely clean – even a small fingerprint can ruin the result. And, as DMR says, give the item a really long soak in oil – if you don't, rust will start very quickly.

Was the G96, this stuff?

http://www.g96.com/products/gun-blue-creme/

Has 'elf n safety not hit all that good stuff on the head?

Does anyone still offer a small-scale commercial service accessible to the amateur? I will soon have a bunch of tee-bolts I'd like to treat…

Cheers, Colin

Nice cannon MIck. Is it a model of a particular gun? Also, how did you do the flare on the muzzle and the reinforcing rings?

Ta,

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 18/08/2017 16:28:04

Thanks, Dave. It's a late 18thC 24-pounder, which I think first-raters like Victory carried on the middle gun deck. It was made from a set of drawings by a US engineer, Jerry Howell who used to sell copies for what seemed a reasonable sum at the time. It was supposed to be based on one on USS Constitution, and I anglicised it by changing the cascabel button and a couple of other details I can't remember.

I wish I could think of a neat and simple way to add the rope ring above the cascabel. I made little form tools to shape the reinforcing rings, and did the muzzle swell with 'fingernail' form tools, followed by lotsa work with a half-round file and then lots more with wet-and-dry emery!

Looks like the absence of a rope loop is to be expected on cannon made before the introduction of the Blomfield pattern in 1794. **LINK**

Given that ships of the line could spent years laid up in ordinary, I suspect that the earlier Armstrong pattern (typically confusing that two different Armstrongs a century apart gave their names to guns) would have remained in service throughout the Napoleonic wars.

Brian

I too like the heating and quenching in oil method for small items and have tried a few different oils with reasonable results. I tend now to use cheap supermarket rapeseed oil which usually works fine but have often wondered if there is a better oil out there. I seem to remember people advocating used car engine oil but the health and safety people said that was a no no as there were lots of nasty things in that. Has anybody found a safe oil that is better than rapeseed oil?

Doug

I use whale oil to quench silver steel in after heating to carrot red and holding for a minute or so, threading tools shown were so treated.

Emgee

I think whale oil is an even bigger no no than old engine oil ,but there may be a synthetic equivalent out there. Whether it is any good at blackening is another matter.

Doug

Edited By Douglas Johnston on 21/08/2017 08:45:55

Hi Duncan

Bought a used kiln for hardening metals about 30 years ago, the 1/2 gallon of whale oil was included.

Douglas, is there a safety issue with quenching in whale oil ?

Emgee