Classic Books: Part Three, Metalworking

At this point in our review of Classic Books we initially reviewed the general gunsmithing books and followed with several books on working with wood (October 2009 and February 2010, respectively.) We will now conclude with working in metal, specifically, with books on metal working and metal finishing for the gunsmith. Like all the other classics in this series published in the World War Two era, these books were first printed long ago and original copies are rarely found. Advanced Gunsmithing by W. F.

Vickery was first published by Samworth in 1940. Firearm Bluing and Browning by R. H. Angier was printed in 1936. Fortunately, subsequent editions on both books have been published since the original dates and, in fact, Angier’s book is currently available through Stackpole (StackpoleBooks.com, My copy of Vickery’s book is a Wolfe Publishing reprint from 1988.

Advanced Gunsmithing In the frontpiece of Advanced Gunsmithing, Vickery described his book as follows, "A manual of Instruction in the manufacture, alteration and repair of firearms in-so-far as the necessary metal work with and machine tools is Concerned." A very succinct and accurate summary of the next 400 pages and twenty chapters to follow. The author has restricted the scope of Advanced Gunsmithing to barreling, chambering, action and the other related metal working operations involved in those components.

It was Vickery’s intent to do a companion book on stock work, but, to my knowledge, this never happened. It was also the author’s intent for Advanced Gunsmithing to accompany another volume titled Elementary Gunsmithing, by Perry Frazer. Frazer’s book was published by Samworth in 1938, however, I have never seen a copy. In addition to developing skills in the metalworking mentioned, Vickery also urges gunsmiths to be willing to give some time, at a small profit, to experimental work to fulfill a customer’s desires.

Instead of the typical initial purchase of shop equipment and assorted hand tools, the author discusses the first metal working power equipment to get: A lathe. As everyone making chips with a lathe learns, this basic power tool is only a fraction of the cost of tooling up and the list of accessories is nearly endless.

Lathe chucks area natural accessory, but the author also provides details on mounting a protractor on the headstock, a micrometer carriage stop, milling attachment (if a mill is not available) and a tool post grinder. A drill press and a disc grinder complete the author’s machine recommendations. Of course, there are also a wide range of reamers and drills necessary as well to accompany the power equipment.

The initial chapter on metal working technique is called "Barrel Changing." Here, the author covers working on rifles, pistols and shotguns, handling each type differently, with respect to work on removal of the existing barrel and then reinstalling a replacement. A careful reader will pick up some interesting pointers on working with square threads on the Springfield, Krag, and Enfield rifles. There are also some illustrations on detecting crooked barrels by looking at shadows in the bores.

In the following two chapters, Vickery reviews chambering, boring, and reaming tools, then rifling tools and the rifling of barrels. A final chapter on the related topic of barrels is reboring and rechambering. This information takes eighty pages. The author then moves on to chapters covering topics as diverse as action work, sights, shotgun repairs, dealing with .22 and other rimfires. These chapters, about thirty pages each, are taken to provide review, analysis and fixes for the issues involved.

More assorted but briefer chapters follow in subjects as diverse as revolver and pistol work, cleaning, clearing, and lapping barrels, working with hand tools, firing pins, soldering and brazing, forging and welding, and heat treatment. Bluing gets over twenty pages of descriptions, but as we will see there is much more to say on this subject. The author concludes with discussion of both cartridge case and bullet dies. Most major metal working operations for the gunsmith are covered in some detail by Vickery.

As time has passed there are now more fixtures and vises available for this kind of work, many of which were non-existent in the author’s era.

Above left and Also, he did not deal in model-specific work for the most part, but used generic categories in discussing procedures. Still, Advanced Gunsmithing has much to contribute to any gunsmith’s library. Firearm Bluing and Browning R. H Angier’s book, Firearm Bluing and Browning preceded Vickery’s Advanced Gunsmithing by several years. Indeed, Vickery’s chapter on Bluing, in his own words, is limited to technique and shop practice in polishing and bluing the metal work.

Angier is left to describe the various formulae of bluing and, by one count, lists nearly 300 choices!

In his preface, Angier states, "Browning of irreproachable quality in no way depends on completeness of equipment or even on special manual skill, but above all on patience and the care taken in carrying out the very simple stages of the process: these pre-assumed, results in every respect equal to those charac terizing the work of the finest luxury gun makers are obtainable with the simplest domestic means." Although Firearm Bluing and Browning is not a huge book (the actual length of Angier’s book is only about 150 pages!) it is very comprehensive.

The book has seven sections but the meat of the material is in section II, "Browning Process;" section III, "Preparation of Bluing and Browning Solutions;" and section IV, "Browns/Blues Instructions." Like the difference between red and white wine — where the color is created as a by product of when the skins of the grapes are removed from the process — the difference between browning and bluing is based on steps taken to process the formation of rust which has been artificially created.

If the rusting process is essentially left to itself the result will be a brown appearance, however, if the rusting process is modified by the subsequent action of boiling water or steam the result is a black finish. Angier moves quickly to provide a process suitable for a small scale shop. This process has seven steps and some of the steps may be repeated several times, so the complete process may likely take several days.

To avoid a lengthy delay and maintain production volumes in a large factory, the author provides a second process suitable for large scale production and complete results within a single day. Of course, the devil is in the details and Angier goes in to great detail on how to handle each processing step, with precise instruction on how to proceed and, equally important, things not to do. The first step is degreasing, typically in boiling water with perhaps a five percent (Continued on page 22)

caustic lye solution and then rinsed again in a similar bath. A second step is derusting, denickelling, pick ling, and matting. The third step is applying the solution followed by the fourth step, rusting. Typically, in small shops, this process is be allowed to occur naturally. In large factories the procedure can be accelerated. Darkening, as produced in the US, is created by a second boiling. Scratching, a sixth step, removes some of the loose rust by wire brushing either by hand or mechanical means.

A seventh step, neutral izing, is not always needed but is necessary to prevent after-rusting when using certain solutions. An optional eighth step, retouching is sometimes used but many will prefer to omit this as the results are frequently erratic. A final and absolutely required step is fixing or, as some would call it, finishing. In this step, the object of the preceding efforts is oiled to prevent any further rusting action.

In addition to oiling, Angier suggests specific alternatives such as waxing and lacquering may be used for the same purpose. Nearly twenty pages are taken up with instructions and procedures for the processing steps. Angier then moves on to preparations of solutions. Readers who enjoyed chemistry in their educational background will feel much at home with this material. Others would likely prefer to purchase their materials from either Brownells or Dulite.

In the prewar period when this volume was first published people were, by necessity, far more self-reliant and likely used a formula to assemble their own solutions. Also during that time what passed for safety is far different than today. I would not be surprised to learn some of the materials listed are no longer available to anyone, except perhaps on the most limited basis. Even if available, the safety equipment likely required to handle these materials is likely cost prohibitive for smaller shops.

Nonetheless, the author provides about thirty pages of material for those who dare to proceed. Angier then provides the largest chapter of the book, a section on solutions and working instructions. Much of the material in this chapter would best be described as a wide variety of formulae. Two main groups of the formulae described are those with iron-free browns and those that contain iron. Within these two groups are additional subgroups such as metallic salt 1 through formulae with 2-3-4-5 metallic salts.

This chapter is concluded with information on combined browns, (seven distinct formulae using two or more browns in succession) and collective browning with twenty formulae useful for groups of parts treated all at once which can not be brushed due to surface features and other miscellaneous methods. A final finishing process is described by Angier. He refers to what was known at the time as phospha tising.

Unlike all the proceeding processes, this procedure was not intended for metal coloring, rather, it was used for its greater rust-proofing abilities compared to other coloring processes. This process was widely used on military small arms of World War II. At that time it was also known as parkerising, based on the name of a licensee in Detroit, Michigan.

As a final note, I would suggest in the strongest manner that anyone interested in proceeding with these materials and processes carefully consider all of the potential safety issues and hazards! In a small shop, if ventilation is not available, initial mixing and experimentation should be done outside. These procedures are not the sort of thing to be attempted in the basement or inside your house!

Appropriate safety equipment should be included as well with a combination of safety goggles, face shields, gloves and aprons. AG