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Hey Folks,

Its a bit tricky to get a consistent, uniform blue on long slender parts like clock hands. So I made a third component for the bluing tray set, to do the job right.

Cheers,

Chris.

Files

Spare parts #9 - Making A Rectangular Bluing Tray

Making A Rectangular Bluing Tray, by Clickspring It can be a bit hit and miss getting a consistent, uniform blue on long slender parts like clock hands. So I made a third component for the bluing tray set, to do the job right. Using a scrap piece of brass left over from the frames of the current clock build, I used a shop made D bit to mill some grooves so that it could be folded into the shape of a box. The other videos that this video is related to are: "Spare Parts #8 - Making A D Bit Single Flute Milling Cutter": https://youtu.be/jlNxvnOxMCE "Home Machine Shop Tool Making - Making A Versatile Bluing Tray": https://youtu.be/8h1Uf9bkc3E If you would like to help support the creation of these videos, then head on over to the Clickspring Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/clickspring You can also help me make these videos by purchasing via the following Amazon Affiliate links: Cameras used in this video: Panasonic GH5 - https://amzn.to/2rEzhh2 Panasonic X920 - https://amzn.to/2wzxxdT Tools & Shop Products: "Solidworks 2013 Bible": http://amzn.to/2FObS1D "Milling: A Complete Course (Workshop Practice Series)" - https://amzn.to/2K2QZ97 "Hardening, Tempering and Heat Treatment (Workshop Practice Series)" - https://amzn.to/2KbZo6l Kaowool 24" X 12" X 1" 2400 F Ceramic Fiber Insulation: http://amzn.to/2pfsM3d Blue Matador Abrasive Paper - https://amzn.to/2IAFiBT Dormer A190202 Jobber Drill Set, 1.0 mm - 6.0 mm x 0.1 mm Size: https://amzn.to/2DR5fdb Dormer A190203 Jobber Drill Set, 6.0 mm - 10.0 mm x 0.1 mm Size: https://amzn.to/2ITfeTa YG1 NC Spotting Drill 8% Cobalt HSS 1/8 to 1/2" 120 Degree 5 Pc Set CNC Machine: https://amzn.to/2G7ylv6 Dykem 80300 Steel Blue Layout Fluid, Brush-in-Cap (4oz): http://amzn.to/2HGPaJJ Abbreviated Transcript: 00:03 This bluing tray set that I made in a previous video has been working well for bluing screws and other small parts. 00:20 Some of the blued parts coming up in the clock build in the near future, are quite long and thin, so a longer tray will be required when I blue them. 00:29 However the box shape would present a bit of a challenge at the soldering stage if it was made of separate parts, so I'm making it as one piece that can then be folded into shape. Now there a quite a few ways to tackle this job, but I thought I'd show you a mill equivalent of the super glue arbor you've seen me use so often on the lathe 00:54 I'm using this block of aluminium to hold the workpiece, and the first thing I'm going to do is give it a light resurface with this flycutter. The flycutter is shop made, and has quite a lot of mass in the disc, and generally gives me a smooth cut. 01:30 Acetone cleans off the surface, and a light coating of glue is enough to hold the part. Once the work is in position, pressure from the spindle holds it in place as the glue cures. 01:44 I can now machine all of the exposed surfaces in the one operation, starting with the perimeter. I've made this D Bit cutter specifically to cut the v grooves. Click the link if you'd like to see a video showing how this was made. 02:18 The cutter has an included angle of 92 degrees, which is going to help when it comes to bending everything to shape later. I also shifted the cutter across to take a final skim cut on the sides of each groove, to create a little more space for the solder to fill. 02:39 And as always with superglue, a gentle heat breaks the bond. The little corner pieces need to be removed before I can fold the box to shape, so I used a jewellers saw takes care of those, and then I tidied up the saw cut on the belt sander. 03:18 I set about forming it into the shape of a box, with some flux, silver solder and tying wire. Now that the brass is annealed, it bends easily without cracking, leaving a small gap for the solder. 04:30 The brass holds the box shape well when its cool, but it'll flex and sag quite a lot when under heat, so I used some soft tying wire to bind it all together for the soldering operation. A little more flux, and then a good measure of silver solder was placed into position, enough to form a decent fillet when it flows. 05:41 The corners came out quite close and square, but I decided it would be better to round them off, to match the curve of the bent edges. Then I took the part back to the mill, to form the thread for the handle. 06:14 Now the tray should lean comfortably on the handle when its sitting on the bench, so the feet need to be positioned slightly forward of the center of gravity to achieve this. Using a scrap rod, I decided on a pivot distance that gave a good result, and then formed the holes and threads for the feet. References: "The Model Engineers Workshop Manual" pg 94 George H Thomas The many forum posts on the subject of D Bits by John "Bogstandard" Moore Making A Rectangular Bluing Tray, by Clickspring.

Comments

Ørjan Fredheim

Chris, why doesn't the blueing tray itself become blue? And just for my understanding, what is the benefit of bending the tray over milling it out of a solid brass piece? Thanks for sharing! I see your subscription number is rapidly increasing! Well deserved. Are you sure you don't have a background in movie making or something? Your videoes are the highest quality videoes on YouTube.

clickspring

Hey Ørjan, the blue color comes from a very thin layer of oxide that forms on the surface of steel. The oxide gets thicker with temperature, and generates a color effect known as thin film interference (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin-film_interference)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin-film_interference)</a> Brass doesn't form the oxide in the same way, so there's no color transformation. The benefits of doing it in one piece is that if it was made of separate pieces, it would be very difficult to keep them all together during the silver soldering. The various bits would fall out of alignment, making getting square corners very difficult. Great to have your support mate :)

George Harris

Pushed enter to change to the next line...oops! You could make an inset lid for the top of the tray while storing it so the filings dont fall out and so you dont have to keep emptying out the metal filings. Just an idea.

Ørjan Fredheim

Thanks for you answers, Chris. I thought all the pieces you blued were made of brass, like the screws. Are they made of steel? Maybe I should watch your videoes once more from the start ;) And my second question was not clear: what is the benefit of bending the tray instead of having a big solid block of brass and milling out the inside to make the tray? Saving material?

clickspring

Yes saving material, brass is crazy expensive. The brass I used for this was a cut out left over from the plates, so it's kind of like "bonus brass"!

PJ (edited)

Comment edits

2022-03-08 03:47:10 Nice re-purpose of the spare plate, Chris! Great addition to your kit, too. Noticed the chips in the long tray are long &amp; thin, are you sorting chips too and does it make a difference in bluing the longer pieces? You never cease to amaze my friend!! Thanks for the Thanksgiving gift! Hope yours was great too!!! Congrats on the &gt;$1k, so well deserved!! ~PJ
2015-11-27 17:19:15 Nice re-purpose of the spare plate, Chris! Great addition to your kit, too. Noticed the chips in the long tray are long & thin, are you sorting chips too and does it make a difference in bluing the longer pieces? You never cease to amaze my friend!! Thanks for the Thanksgiving gift! Hope yours was great too!!! Congrats on the >$1k, so well deserved!! ~PJ

Nice re-purpose of the spare plate, Chris! Great addition to your kit, too. Noticed the chips in the long tray are long & thin, are you sorting chips too and does it make a difference in bluing the longer pieces? You never cease to amaze my friend!! Thanks for the Thanksgiving gift! Hope yours was great too!!! Congrats on the >$1k, so well deserved!! ~PJ

clickspring

Those long chips are sharp little blighters! I collected them from the v-groove machining, not sure if the size makes a difference, but the cleaner they are the better. I've heard of some people rinsing them in solvent, but I just cook them off first in the tray before use. Cheers mate!

Tom Colson

Hey Chris, what was your target web thickness for the bends? It looks like you were working pretty hard to get the sides bent up!

Tom Colson

Huh...I guess that goes to show that with only a few mm of lever to work with, even thin sections take some oomph to bend.