Name of powder to harden parts

[fox fire]

for the life of me I cant think of the name of the powder thats used to harden parts, I know it can be bought from Brownells but couldnt remember the product name to do a search.
 
Anyone
 
thanks in advance.

[Smokin Joe]

Used to be called Casenit.
They and Midway have their own brand now.


http://www.midwayusa.com/product/119479/cherry-red-surface-hardening-compound-1-lb

[Ranger99]

use to get it from d.g.w.
not sure if they carry it anymore.
they don't carry some of the things
they used to since turner k. passed on.

[tacklebury]

Brownell's has their own too:
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/color-case-hardening/surface-hardening-compound-prod27119.aspx

[fox fire]

Thanks guys, for some reason case hardening came to mind but was a dud whne I done a search, need to harden a small part for a .22 & thats all thats needed to complete it.
 
Thanks again.

[oldred]

Unfortunately Casenit is no longer available (it had an insignificant amount of cyanide but the EPA went berserk over it!) and most places now sell a product called "Cherry Red" which does OK but does not seem to go as deep as Casenit using the same process. I use a method for "Cherry Red" that will easily get a case .020" or more deep and I have even gotten as much as .050" in just a very short time. If the suggested method of simply heating the part to Cherry red and applying the product then heating again is used a hard case will result but it is usually VERY thin and prone to wear-through. What I do is to pack the parts into a small steel box along with the Cherry Red powder then heat the entire box to red hot, keep it this hot for at least a minute and the case will be about .010" to .015" deep and two minutes will get it about .020" or more deep. This is done almost the same as a carbon pack for case hardening but it works in a fraction of the time!



BTW, do this outdoors if possible because this stuff STINKS when heated!!!!

[Ranger99]

good thing to know. . . .


when you refer to steel box, is
that like a altoids box, or a thicker
plate steel box. . .or?

[oldred]

when you refer to steel box, is
that like a altoids box, or a thicker
plate steel box. . .or?

I make my boxes out of 1/4" steel and I think a "tin" box would be too thin, they don't have to be fancy just reasonably air-tight with a loose fitting lid. For small parts such as hammers, etc I use a box about 4"x4"x1" with a lid that has a small lip tack welded on the inside to hold it in place on the box but it's not fastened down. I heat the box to red hot and hold it there a couple of minutes (less for thin parts) then turn it upside down over the quenching tank so that the contents are dumped into the water lid and all. I have done a lot of parts this way, gun parts, machinery parts and tooling and I find that it works quite well.