RepackboxMidSouth Shooters SupplyLoad DataLee Precision
Reloading EverythingPBcastcoTitan ReloadingRotoMetals2
Inline Fabrication Wideners
Results 1 to 17 of 17

Thread: Prussen blue

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Southern France by way of Interior Bush Alaska
    Posts
    5,286

    Prussen blue

    I have a mini lathe that I am going to be tearing down to try and improve the carriage to cross slide functioning. I have ordered a surface plate and scraper, but have heard that today a lot of people use a water based product, that is a lot easier to Clean up than oil based traditional prussien blue. Can someone tell me what exactly it is called and where I can find some? Is it a Dykem product?
    Thanks

  2. #2
    Moderator


    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Just outside Gun Barrel City, Texas
    Posts
    9,430
    You can probably find it on amazon.
    Or, certainly McMaster-Carr will stock it.
    In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
    In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.


    OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
    This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
    EVERYONE!
    Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Southern France by way of Interior Bush Alaska
    Posts
    5,286
    The problem is I’m not sure what the name of it is. That’s what I’m asking help with.
    I found something called canode 2243. It that the best stuff to get for what I am wanting to do?

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Northwest Ohio
    Posts
    14,420
    I always used Dykem Prussian Blue I believe the number is 109. The benefit to this is it never dries and as your pattern gets finer the blue gets thinner showing the more prominent high spots. The never dry is a pain as it dosnt feel wet and it gets everywhere if your not careful. a very light coat applied to the plate or straight edge is all you need. A ball from a cotton or flannel rag is what I used to apply and spread it. For the plate I would fold up a length of rag about 3-4 times to about 2" wide and then roll tightly on itself keeping a flat side. Then a piece wrapped over for a smooth flat surface.. electrical tape works good to hold it all together and makes a cleanable surface. hen new it will spread the blue to thinly for roughing unless your very careful once used and "charged" it works great, start with a small dab or 2 of blue then just keep using the ball to spread and thin.

    The canodes are water soluble and easier to clean up but they also dry quickly making it harder to pick up spots. I also dont like the color transfer with them. But they used them a lot in die cast.

    The inking needs to be read as you scrape. Stone the part, clean your plate of straight edge. windex, alcohol, or plate cleaner. Apply a tin coat of blue bigger than the part. gently set the part side to be worked down and lightly rub it back and forth. lift up when finishing or a heavy coat of blue it may vacuum to the table and be difficult to lift.When you see your pattern the wet greasy looking spots dont touch or very lightly. the blue dry looking spots hit a little harder. the ones that look like an island a bight silver point in a ring of dry looking silver blue are the highest points hit these the hardest,These are the bearing points.

    Once each pass is done clean and lightly stone to remove sharp edges and the light burrs or you will scratch and ruin the plate or straight edge.

    Each pass should be from a different direction to get the cross pattern desired. then when close to finished a flaking scrapper is used to make the "gull wings" or oil pockets removing the very highest points.

    I ground my blades for my biax scrapper with a 2* positive angle and 1" radius.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Southern France by way of Interior Bush Alaska
    Posts
    5,286
    Thanks Country Gent. You are always there with a wealth of knowledge when needed.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    North central Ohio/Roane County, W.Va.
    Posts
    1,419
    Red lead is real good for spotting if you can find it. Prussian blue is pretty much your best bet currently. I spread mine with a printers brayer and remove the excess with a piece of gauze. If you can find a copy, Machine Tool Reconditioning by Edward F. Connelly is the best book by far on the subject of scraping. I found out exactly what it means to "chase your tail" if your not paying attention. Good luck with your project.
    “Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
    ― Mark Twain
    W8SOB

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Southern France by way of Interior Bush Alaska
    Posts
    5,286
    Machine Tool Reconditioning by Edward F. Connelly must be a pretty good book. Amazon has it, but it costs $465. Unfortunately, that’s over my budget.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Northwest Ohio
    Posts
    14,420
    That book can be found in most college book stores that have the apprentice classes. I got my copy at the local college. It is very good and true old school information.

    Thank you Greg for the compliment.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Switzerland of Ohio
    Posts
    6,308
    I worked for several years in machine tool rebuilding, where scraping was the norm. Coat one side with Blue, the other side with Red. Will make the high spots on both stand out.

    We took a shop rag, rolled it into a tight cylinder, then folded that double to make a "mop". Run a big rubber band around it to keep it together. I think I may still have one or two packed in Baggies.

    Another way to make a mop was to fold up felt weatherstripping.
    Cognitive Dissident

  10. #10
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    North central Ohio/Roane County, W.Va.
    Posts
    1,419
    Machine tool Publications, 92.95 + 6.80 shipping. www.machinetoolpublications.com
    “Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
    ― Mark Twain
    W8SOB

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Southern France by way of Interior Bush Alaska
    Posts
    5,286
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Michel View Post
    Machine tool Publications, 92.95 + 6.80 shipping. www.machinetoolpublications.com
    Thanks a lot! I just ordered it. It seems a lot more reasonable than the others I’ve seen on sale. I hope it’s a regular book and not just photo copied pages.

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Switzerland of Ohio
    Posts
    6,308
    Looks to be same as the copy I bought 50+ years ago.

    The truly definitive book on the subject is Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy, by Wayne R. Moore. Unfortunately not published in any quantity, and copies are extremely spendy today. I see two listed on Alibris, at about a grand each.
    Cognitive Dissident

  13. #13
    Vendor Sponsor

    W.R.Buchanan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Ojai CA
    Posts
    9,871
    I have had a tube of Dykem Prussian Blue in my tool box for 40+ years. The last time I used it was when I had an altercation with an annoying co worker who came to my house and wouldn't leave until I Physically had to throw him out at 2 AM on a work night.

    I got to work before him the next morning and coated the inside of his Hard Hat Band with the Dykem Blue and by noon he had a nice 1" wide dark blue band across his fore head which lasted for days! He was pissed but couldn't do anything about it!

    Best use for the stuff I ever found, and I still have what's left of that tube in my tool box. We got plenty of mileage out of that episode.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Northwest Ohio
    Posts
    14,420
    Works great on the ear piece of a phone to.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    North central Ohio/Roane County, W.Va.
    Posts
    1,419
    Blends good on black toilet seats....... So I've heard
    “Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
    ― Mark Twain
    W8SOB

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
    Scrounge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    OKC Metro
    Posts
    1,433
    Quote Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE View Post
    I have a mini lathe that I am going to be tearing down to try and improve the carriage to cross slide functioning. I have ordered a surface plate and scraper, but have heard that today a lot of people use a water based product, that is a lot easier to Clean up than oil based traditional prussien blue. Can someone tell me what exactly it is called and where I can find some? Is it a Dykem product?
    Thanks
    I don't remember what it is called, but check out the videos by Richard King, the guy who does scraping classes, and I'm pretty sure he'll tell you what to use. Scratch that, I looked, because I'd forgotten what it was called: https://www.artcotools.com/Canode-Bl...tting-Ink.html Stuff made of gold, apparently, but if you can do the things that Mr. King can do with it, it has to worth it!

    Bill

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    Scrounge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    OKC Metro
    Posts
    1,433
    Quote Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE View Post
    Thanks a lot! I just ordered it. It seems a lot more reasonable than the others I’ve seen on sale. I hope it’s a regular book and not just photo copied pages.
    The link Jeff Michel gave you is the publisher. It's not a photo copy. I have PDF of that, and two or three of the books by Wayne Moore. Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy is still in print, too. http://mooretool.com/publications.html It's spendy, but at least the the guy who wrote it gets some benefit from it if you buy from his company, and it's not nearly as expensive as the copies uscra112 mentions.

    I'm not nearly good enough at machining to need this stuff yet, but hope to get there one day, so I've been collecting...

    Bill

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check