I have used aluminum black a lot. The key is to build it up slowly. Brush or dip it and let it work for about one minute. Rinse, dry, and repeat as many times as it takes to get the color you want. It works great but proper application is a must.
If you have ever crawled under a truck with fencing wire, Robogrips and a screaming determination not to spend 50 dollars on fancy aftermarket shit you don't ABSOLUTELY need, then you understand why that level of determination makes this dude a hero among men. Or at least, very, very broke men.
8:30 that caliper that goes to cad is the most amazing thing that wasn’t mentioned at all I have ever seen! That was actually incredibly. Saves so much time.
Tony, I'm absolutely not a machinist, and I have very little interest in ever doing this kind of thing... But I always watch your videos as soon as I see them because they're always very funny and well produced. I absolutely love your content!
I second this. While I do have some interest in machining and CNC. I don't really have intention to start doing it. But Tony's videos are genuinely some of the most funny (in a clever sort of way,) and well edited on this website. The edit and visual gags are unlike anything else as well. Always keeps me coming back.
I have to give a 1+ to this, the way tony does his content is extremely digestible. Thank you tony for the hours and hours of content you have given us.
I’ve had pretty good luck with this stuff and cold bluing on steel parts. When restoring my Hardinge HLVH, I cold blued the various handles and such and the results were fantastic. The key for all of this stuff is the surface preparation. I know it goes against the grain for most guys, but following the instructions can be beneficial!
You're in luck, I'm a chemical engineer with 27 years in the field. It looks like this is a solution of cupric sulfate and maybe nickel sulfate dissolved in an acid solution, probably fluoboric and phosphoric acids. As for that orange colored patch you were wondering about, I think that's probably boogers.
The real info's always in the comments. The channel host just provides the entertainment whilst we mutually grope around in our intellectual darkness searching for the light switch of enlightenment.
The USB caliper insertion scene is confusing….You only rotated the usb once. Usually you try one direction, realize it’s wrong, rotate it… then realize that’s wrong too. Finally rotating it back makes it fit since that was the correct orientation to begin with 🤷♂️
USB ports live in a 4+t dimensional space, hense the need for the double rotation. As a time traveler, Tony apparanly can see (or at least peak) in the additional space dimension, and thus needs fewer rotations to insert a USB.
Loved the cmm beeps as you took measurements, and of course getting the usb backwards on the first try 😂. As a career machinist who now spends way too much time in a recliner, I find your videos strangely comforting as I watch all the familiar machines, tools and chips being made. Thanks Tony. Keep ‘‘em coming.
63 year old old guy here… I haven’t been this entertained by a video in a long while. The nasal pellet drop made me fall out laughing!!!! Great video. Subbed
Love the patina on the finished parts. Much cooler than bare or coated. Your humor is dimensional. It builds up measurably and consistently time and time again.
My absolute favorite part of This Old Tony is that he doesn't explain his jokes at all. They are like an inside joke between him and himself and we happen to 3rd wheel our way into them lol. I guess at this point we are more like the 1.09millionth wheel.
ToT was one of the first machining channels I watched. I was probably a dozen or so videos deep before I started to think "Hey, wait a minute..." I think it was using the rotary welding platform to 'pop' nuts from ball bearings (Like microwave popcorn) that finally convinced me :D
Hey Tony, I've worked in metal finishing (anodizing, electropolishing, plating, passivating). Let me know if you ever have a question about different finishes. I have known some shops to use electropolishing to clean off very small burrs. Also, that chemical can release HF and could be the reason for the odor... toxic in small quantities. -Robert
Can you tell me how this solution works? Is it replacing aluminum with copper or/and nickel at the surface and that's what is causing the blacking process? Thanks
Hi Robert I need to paint some oxidized aluminum on my bicycle could you please give me some advice on surface conversation and prep prior to painting?
Let me recommend to avoid "other metals" in the reaction. I noticed that you use a metal cup and a metal stick (welding wire?) to dunk the part, which can easily ruin the intended chemical reaction. Unless explicity required in the instructions, I suggest glas or plastic for this purpose.
@@SergeantExtreme That's a very good description of yourself. Stainless will resist weak, room temperature acids, such as this very dilute solution, and cupric sulfate with ease.
Great video, thanks Tony. Applying the solution you really need to get it to a high shine. By running the parts through a tumbler you’ve created massive amounts of tiny pits which has increased the surface area. This gives the acid more areas to attack rather than a smooth shiny surface. 😊
The finished product looks very similar to what we create in a steel pipe mill I work at that also runs standard sizes of aluminum pipe, we use a process called ‘bright finish washing’ where it’s dipped in sulphuric acid tanks, washed in sequences of phosphate and rinse tanks, then dried and left to cure leaving it with a black and almost rusty look at certain angles, pretty much exactly what you have here. It’s meant or designed to look tinged but prevents rust, and is also perfect for oil dipping as the oil tends to hold better on the slightly pitted surface to hold up in outdoor uses.
Pro-tip: Pneumatic paint shaker. $220 from the usual scumbags. Get some empty paint cans and your blasting media. Much more violent. Violence and deburring are almost spelled the same. They both have an E after all. 30 seconds and everything is smooth and happy. Alternatively, if money is no issue(no really, these hurt to price out. My 5 gallon mixers are over 10 grand), get a Radia Speed Demon. It's more of a radial vortex mixer than a shaker. They're smooth and gentle but they work like a hot damn. Think "rock tumbler on steroids".
I tried anodizing aluminum for the first time recently, and really liked the results. The process was a bit scary, using both sulfuric acid and lye, bit it was not too difficult, and made the parts look better, as well as making them more scratch resistant, and move more smoothly against each other. Since it was for a project -- a large format camera -- where some of the parts will slide against each other, all of these changes were improvements. The acid, as well as the dye I used, can be used again and again, too.
Why are you using lye? if unattended it will etch into the Alum. part clean your parts with soap and hot water l did it for 10 years at work in the machine shop made alum. fixtures that were to be in the medical assembly line.
@@lberthelon I'll second this one... I work with a lot of drills and saws, dealing with putting holes and cuts in extruded copper and aluminum, and even something as moderate as sodium carbonate (I use it for degreasing and neutralizing acid etching on steel...) will attack the aluminum chips, given enough time...
@@lberthelon Because this was my first time doing this. I made mistakes, and wanted to strip the anodizing from a part to try again. I learned lots of lessons as I did more, and found that my poorly anodized parts were mostly because of my wire connections. After I figured out a better way to get current flowing, the lye was no longer necessary. I'm just a self-taught guy out in his garage.
@@lberthelon Oh, and believe me, I did NOT leave it unattended! I never left a part in the (weak) bath for very long; nor did I need to. But it stripped the flawed anodized layer smoothly and evenly. I cannot tell from looking at them which parts were stripped and re-done.
Got to love that USB plug to Caliper adapter. If only I could go back in time, and buy 2 or 3 of them... you know, for the oncoming zombie pop-can apocalypse. Sorry that the "anodizing" didn't quite work out for you. I have been thinking about your issue with cleaning up the part. Could you create wire brushes in different sizes on the CNC to follow the same pattern for cleanup?
I have a set of calipers from iGaging with Bluetooth. It acts like a BT keyboard and actually works really well. I just go to dimension a part in SOLIDWORKS, fusion360, excel, whatever... And push a button on the calipers and it sends the dimension over and pushes enter.
@@dtroy15 Wow... I hadn't been keeping up! So, calipers from iGaging with Bluetooth... How good is the software for bringing in dimensions to the target software? Does it auto-copy to the clipboard or something else?
@@marcfruchtman9473 it just acts like a Bluetooth keyboard. No special software required. You can even use it on your phone, as I do to record dimensions in excel for tolerancing analyses etc. Just like a Bluetooth keyboard can send a "9" to your computer when you hit the 9 button, the calipers can send a "9" to your computer.
The thing is that Kind of product usually creates a thin layer of oxide at the top preventing from rusting by insulating the part from the air. If you apply with a brush, it set a thin layer of product and it will consume a little of the metal part(on the upper layers). BUT if you dip it, you allow the reaction to go deeper in the metal and it won't really stop to consume metal unless you remove it. It breaks binding of metal grains which produces heat. You could try to airbrush it or just apply with a brush as you mentioned. Great video thanks!
Tony, I'd like to thank you for lifting my spirits through a rather tough time. If I need a smile or chuckle, which is often, I'll play one of your videos. Your humorous presentation gets me to giggling, and I learn things to boot!! Thank you Tony!!!
If in doubt, try polishing the parts instead- blacked parts may look more 'pro', but polished parts look gorgeous. Bonus points if you make any more airgun related parts and accessories :)
Tony. Not sure if you get a alert when a new comment pops up. This is the first time I have ever commented on a CZcams video. Rough times for me right now. Your last video was 2months ago. The only reason I open CZcams now is if I am not looking for a video of someone attempting a fix on something I am attempting fix, so I can see and learn from there mistakes and for seeing if you have a new upload. Your videos are incredably entertaining, with lots of info, you do a wonderful job. I hope all is well for your family at this time in the year. Looking forward for more if you can find more inspiration. Thank you for all the videos you have done they are top notch! If CZcams ever had a contest for most outstanding CZcamsr you would get my vote, i tell all my freinds about you, but most of them do not do the interwebs so well. I am thankful for you and wish you and your family happy holidays
Don't want to use the lathe so you get it on the milling machine such that you need to use the lathe to make a tool so you don't have to use the lathe. I love you Tony. So much. I do this kind of thing all the time and no one understands.
Harbor freight rock tumbler is what I use to clean debur small parts it will run all day and all night. Which is about the time you need to have any effect.
The machine shop i used to work in had one that was old as hell and had been "fixed" over and over again with parts from harbor freight and from the hardest stainless and titanium, all the way down to really REALLY soft brass wouldn't take but a few minutes, the titanium obviously took the longest (around an hour) but the brass and aluminum only was maybe 5 minutes before they were perfectly smooth on all edges that would slice you like a razor before hand
So I discovered your channel as an older (49😳), yet aspiring (taking classes for certification) machinist. Now I know why my kids love CZcams. People like you. Thanks man.
Hey Tony! Speaking of CNC - Any update on the Y-Axis Ball-screw? Specifically the nut? Did you find what caused it to destroy itself again and again? Really curious!
EVERY SINGLE TIME I’m laughing when watching your videos. It’s really enjoyable to watch these, I really appreciate the effort to make them. This 5 and a half teeth mill 😂😂. A unique channel I’m a fan of! Congratulations from France 🇫🇷 !
Something else to try is applying the blacking solution pretty quickly after machining/sanding. The idea is to get the solution on the aluminum before the surface of it (the aluminum) can form a thick(-ish) oxide layer.
Read through the MSDS for Aluma Black and it looks like it's removing the aluminum oxide coating from the part with acid and replacing it with a new passivating layer that contains selenium as well as maybe nickel and/or sulfate.
@@nathanschley2088 and Jason: Machinists don't make decent guesses on any topics which are not front and centre machining. They just make absolute, massively improbable, wild ass guesses (although they don't own up to that, even to themselves). If you doubt what I'm saying, just launch into a political discussion on a machining forum (and stand back)...
@@UnitSe7en It's not really off topic, just poorly presented. When you have someone who is an expert in a topic (machining, in this case), that doesn't mean they're an expert in other topics (chemistry, in this case). Often they themselves don't realize the extent of what they don't know. So you have to take that part of what they're saying with a grain of salt. It's most obvious with politics since there's a lot of misinformation out there and people tend to just accept wild claims that fit their worldview. Another example I see all the time in my field is software developers and IT. A lot of developers learn the basics of IPv4 and will talk like they have a deep understanding of networking. Then you throw them a problem that involves some simple routing or layer-2 stuff, and they fall apart. I prefer a coworker that is aware of his ignorance than a more knowledgeable coworker who tries to cover it up.
Home anodising is really easy, I'd suggest you try it out, all you need is some sodium hydroxide to clean the parts first, removes the thick oxide layer, some lead oxide eletrodes, sulphuric battery acid, and a PSU with the right current and voltage (12-96 volts depending on how durable you want the finish. A hardcoating finish will not look as nice but be super duper durable, but 12-16v is fine for cosmetic finishes). Run the parts in the acid with the lead electrodes, it'll etch them. Buy some coloured dye on ebay, make up a coloured bath, dunk the parts, then remove them and add them to boiling water to seal the surface and turn the oxide into a kind of hydroxide on the surface. You can google yourself for a more detailed walk through and techniques.
@@minigpracing3068 its just good ole lye, get some for making pretzels! Or get some to unclog your drain. Maybe even get rid of a stump in your back yard
Hey thanks so much, you inspired me to buy a mill a few years ago. Long story short 3 years later and one month in i think i can say i found the best job ive ever had good smart people. Basic cnc mill im being trianed now this week, just made my 83rd part today only 3 mistakes still saveable.
I think it might depend on the specific aluminum alloy, too. I've used that stuff on two different projects (both made from random mystery aluminum), and it worked fantastically on one of them, and about like it did for you on the other. The only difference I can think of is maybe they were different flavors of aluminum.
So to recap, making machined metal parts turn black by applying blue makes them look cool, apart from when you don't read the instructions (and who does?) at which point it makes them look crap and you end up doing more work to remove most of it so they just end up looking dirty. Seems like a legit use of workshop time.
I did an aluminum DL-44 blaster with Birchwood Casey aluminum black. Dunking resulted in flaking and a rough finish like you got. I had to apply it using a q-tip and rubbing fairly hard to get a nice finish. What I suspect was happening, was that the surface of the aluminum was oxidizing and flaking off, whereas when rubbing it with a q-tip it was maybe penetrating the surface a bit. I had to rinse and reapply several times. The smoother the finish, the harder it was to get it to take the black. The finish is more like parkerizing than bluing and a lot more work than bluing steel.
Cold blue adds a Black Oxide porous layer to steel/iron that then allows Oil to soak into it. That's what adds the rust protection is the oil not the oxide layer. However having the oxide layer can help stop red oxide forming (rust)
I'm working on an unfinished aluminum lower reciver that I want to make black and thought your video was promising. After watching it I think I will try a differant finish. Thanks for making it!
When I made the Air rms S410 magazines 20 years ago from 6061 Aluminum I found that drilling the holes undersize then cutting the side groove and finishing with reaming the holes to size worked best.Then if any burrs were found using a Exacto #11 knife tip worked best to remove any Burrs. I made about 500 of these magazines and probably had 10 or so that needed the #11 blade. I left the wheels brite machined and used fine Glass Bead for the covers & bodies. Thy were then professionally Anodized black with Brite Dip and came out great.
Almost spit my coffee in the 5 1/2 flute cutter machining. Nice job making that, I always end up with 5 or 6 flute when trying to make that 5 1/2 flute. It’s harder than most people would think.
Tony, you are a genius sir! Your skills of machining almost hold a light to your comedic presence in all of your videos. I mean...taking the time for the caliper USB trick is just awesome! Keep it up buddy!
That was a very cleverly disguised... projectile accelerator :D +1 for avoiding overzealous censorship. I'm glad you showed the franken-cutter in action, I was worried you would leave it out when you showed the finished parts first. That bluing bath looked like it was just dissolving the parts :P
This gives me childhood memories of shooting cans in a friend's backyard with pellet guns. One of the things that I love in adding character to these videos is the editing. The non-linear timeline, the USB calipers, they're all fun stuff added to an interesting video.
Hey Tony! Not here to pressure you to post, just hope you and your family are well! I aced my material science exam at university and was reflecting on how much your stress/strain video helped lay the foundation for that. Thank you!
If you get to build a tumbler, I recommend adding a water intake and a drain. You really need to flush out the residue regularly. Otherwise it forms a paste. Flushing and cleaning is half of the job.
I have been binging on old episodes for the past week. Lamenting at the lack of newer content. It was like discovering the Beatles in 1980. Great to see a new video. Same great content and education combined with fantastic humor and creativity.
I used to make Vibratory deburring machines and if you want to do a make shift home version of that the lathe is perfect. there are various centrifugal tumblers that have a similar action to that. Although a container that would can seal with some water and house hold detergent will go a long way, and yes glass bead is incredibly aggressive for aluminum. A medium cut small plastic media with with water and house hold detergent in the lathe id say between 150 and 300 rpm for maybe 20 minutes would do the trick.
Oh my goodness that had me laughing! And yet, no matter your hobby or profession, we can all commiserate when things just don’t turn out the way you expected. Thanks for the laughs! You’re still better at machining, filming, presenting, and a host of other things (I’m sure) than me - but man, it’s fun to watch.
Hi TOT. We hope all is well and wich you and family a Merry Christmas! I agree with others below. We miss you and hope to see more videos of the Maho and if you have resolved the crunchy bearing issue, what you decided about the acme Z axis etc. I am retrofitting two Shizuka BANDIT conversions. One ST-N and one AN-S. Your videos were very helpful. Thank you!
Fantastic, thank you Tony, especially seeing as I’m also an air rifle guy. I gotta say you really leave those machining channels that don’t use time travel…playing catch up…
Every time you upload my day gets a little brighter and my days have been really dark as of late. Thank ToT! Your editing and commentary is so subtle and so good and it gets me giggling every time.
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the added beeping sounds to the caliper and "uploading" the model in straight from it via USB. You fooled me for a second and I was questioning my existence so thanks.
Funny thing about that "beeping calipers". On my project backlog, is making an adapter for cheap calipers with a data port to act as a Bluetooth keyboard, so I can hit a button and enter the dimension right into cad. 😁
Although I’ve never played with blackening aluminum, I have done plenty of oxidizing of brass and copper. In that case, having either too high a concentration or the oxidation solution at too high a temperature results in a non adherent oxide layer. And, non linearly, or in reverse order, the tumbler for de-burring might have been improved by adding soapy water. It allows the abrasive media to better flow around and through the parts. But the somewhat less than hermetically sealed lid might be a little issue here. My first attempt at “distressing” brass parts was in a one gallon paint can, lined with thick glowed cell foam, and filled with sharp rocks on a lathe. Now I have dedicated machine with a rubber lined hexagonal drum, roughly 1.2 cubic meters.
This isn't an oxidizer. it's an etchant that simultaneously performs a copper selenide deposition and a phosphate conversion. It's basically fake black oxide, made of a copper and selenium matrix, with a little nickel phosphate for wear resistance. It etches the existing oxide layer, then because of the consumption of that oxide layer, the solvent potential of the solution goes down and deposits the mixed matrixes onto the surface which used to be covered in aluminum oxide (or not, it tends to work better with freshly milled parts because it acts as a primer in a way.) Continued application dissolves the existing matrix which repeats the process, allowing you to "layer", even though it is nondimensional. Best applied with a brush or carefully applied with cotton swabs. It is pretty much identical to Gun Blue or Cold Blueing solution, except for it's slightly chemically different. Both are copper selenide reactions, NOT true oxidation. They don't form a real oxide layer.
Good to have you back on the somewhat-regular, Tony! I thoroughly enjoyed this one... as always! To be clear, though, that's absolutely not meant to say that the trademark ToT level of quality is in any way boring or unappreciated.
Cold blue also works on Brass and Copper. It’s great for adding a patina to parts. I used this for some steampunk projects using some plumbing fittings.
As a stain glass maker, I’ve had a number of different chemicals that will change the color of the lead or solder. I like the green finish best, but it depends on the piece, and a black oxidation finish looks great on some parts.
It's possible that putting the aluminum and the solution in a stainless steel container created galvanic corrosion on the aluminum, since aluminum is way at the other end of the galvanic series. It might have had different results in a glass or plastic container.
Never been a big fan of using cold blue on larger parts, it's a very thin layer and not really resistant to wear or rusting. But I've never heard of it being used on alumin(i)um... I did some digging and it seems like alumin(i)um bluing is dark magic and should not exist. That's not a joke, Wikipedia says "Aluminium (Al) and polymer parts cannot be blued, and no corrosion protection is provided". I'd be careful, Mr Old Tony, this knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands
Aluminum should naturally oxidize with the surrounding air, creating its own oxide coating. Since bluing, both hot and cold, add a protective layer of oxidized metal, I think cold bluing is only to pass aluminum as blued steel. Aluminum is/was notorious for its oxidization (Hence thermite being a relatively modern invention) so naturally it never needed bluing in its relative recent modern usage.
Cold bluing is NOT bluing. It's a selenium dioxide coating. It's cosmetic. _Actual_ bluing is a black oxide (iron) layer, not _on_ the surface, but _in_ the surface (the topmost molecules). Black oxide is _stable_ unlike _Red_ oxide, also known in the "body and fender" trade as "cancer" -- because it is very _unstable_ -- growing and growing, spreading and spreading, eating its way into the steel. That's why steel is blued -- to have black oxide instead of red oxide. Even so, it's not a "force field" -- especially if there are any nicks, scratches, and so forth on the surface. That would be enough for red rust to gain a foothold. Before the advent of hot salt bluing, people did "rust bluing" -- which is still a superior form of bluing. It's pretty simple. You brush the part with an acid (they sell "bluing acid" for not very much money), to promote the rapid formation of an even, velvety coat of red rust (from atmospheric humidity), and then you dunk the part into boiling water for a while. The boiling water (water being "hydrogen rust" so to speak -- an oxide of hydrogen) will convert the red rust into black "rust." You then brush away all surface "rust" (now black) with a file card, brush with acid, and repeat. After several iterations, the part will get darker and darker, until it ends up with a deep, lustrous black. BTW, the main corrosion resistance provided by bluing is via the microscopic pitting it creates on the surface, which will retain oil when you coat it (and rubbing it in with a rag helps). An even better treatment in that regard is Parkerizing, which can be gray or black, and will be _visibly_ rough, able to hold more oil due to the coarser texture.
I'm weird Tony, I like to leave my stuff with the milled look or if I really feel ambitious I will break out the polish! The warden has a bird usually because I bring my trinkets in the house for the final cleaning. Outstanding video as always!
I know this is an older video, but you can use a woodruff cutter to cut a groove on a mill/cnc; I had to do that in school for my toolmaker apprenticeship.
I've used Birchwood Casey's Brass Black extensively on, aherm, brass parts, and it works great. Generally, I'll laser engrave a design into the part, blacken everything, then sand or Scotchbrite the surface to bring up a contrast. However, I find their aluminium black dreadful. As you saw here, it fizzes, and aggressively eats the surface, causing extensive pitting. If you try to sand off the surface afterwards, you'll end up seeing a whole load of little black pits/pinholes. Not a good solution.
I was thinking about how much nicer, tougher, and "non-dimensioner" Cerakote would have been for those magazines, but either way it was an interesting and hilarious video anyway. I love this channel!
@@craigm5511 it adds a LOT more than that. It's marketing. I even discussed this with their senior reps this year when I met with them. Their take is that you remove material from the part when blasting and add it back when coating. It's a give and take that is not exact and can be very misleading. I don't think you actually understand the measurements you gave and how small they really are and how that can not, and will not be achieved uniformity with the use simple hand tools. Average droplet size factoring in the VMD(aka DV0.%x10) of the nozzle and knowing that cutting the droplet size in half results in 8x as many droplets you will see that come out, and with the average droplet size being 30μ (1-120μ VMD) You can see how the advertising of 8-25μ is misleading. Just one droplet can be .005" while others are so light that it requires a second pass which send out more droplets ect ect... So the point is you need to know what you are talking about and not just type marketing phrases as a truth. You won't see consistent 1mil coverage on any part done by hand. And the smaller parts as well as more corners and curves only makes things worse.
Thank you for spending your money and experimenting so I don't have to learn the hard way. Your adventures ...or misadventures, have saved me countless hours on my hare brained ideas. Especially my attempts to make a better wabbit twap. Keep up the good work brother.
I've just started learning machining a few weeks ago at school and your Channel has taught me way more on how to do stuff than my instructor has You will probably carry me through my career lol Edit Just cut my first threads today and they came out really well only I cut too much and it's a bit loose but work well
The aluminum blue looks a lot like sodium hydroxide. I’d bet that’s all it is. Technically thickens the oxide layer, but it’s not going to protect them from anything. The gas is hydrogen. Smells… sharp?
You won the prize for the best humor on CZcams!! At least as far as I'm concerned. I'd check that with the little lady but then I would need that time machine....
you could do the same, probably even better effect with warm sodium hydroxide. Ive learned this bad way, when i put some aluminium woodworking tools for washing into ultrasonic cleaner bath with sodium hydroxide in it. They came out perfectly blackened
@@praetorangel8967 it cannot be removed, it was actually not my own tools, it was customer tools, so we ended up compesating him for new tools. Old ones wasnt destroyed, it was literally just diffetent colour but customer is always right...thing is, i just forgot what ratio of sodium hydroxide and water there was, but im sure it was 70°C temperature of the mix
This channel still stands as having the best and most clever editing that I have ever seen on youtube. I am so glad you got Colin Furze as your secret santa that year. Seeing him geek out over your videos made my roommates and I immediately leave that video and watch yours. We've since watched every video you post the moment we see them.
I have used aluminum black a lot. The key is to build it up slowly. Brush or dip it and let it work for about one minute. Rinse, dry, and repeat as many times as it takes to get the color you want. It works great but proper application is a must.
How robust is it over time and with weathering when used outside?
@@101rotarypower Anything used outside in the weather should be painted. Bluing, blackening, browning, etc., will not do well in the weather.
@@billmcleangunsmith heck, paint really isn't up to real weather
If only there was an available paint that actually bonded to aluminium
That's my experience also. If you clean, clean, clean the part and apply it that way it works pretty well and lasts *well enough*.
The effort you went through to not need a $50 brass tumbler is honestly commendable.
He made the video to pay for it
Great winner, Batman! We got a botycat here!
@@datadavis Yeah, pretending to be Civvie, on a video irrelevant to Civvies content. Tsk tsk.
If you have ever crawled under a truck with fencing wire, Robogrips and a screaming determination not to spend 50 dollars on fancy aftermarket shit you don't ABSOLUTELY need, then you understand why that level of determination makes this dude a hero among men.
Or at least, very, very broke men.
@@fapangel7771 Shit, bailing wire is one of the best exhaust hanger that exists. Second only to coat hangers.
The world needs a caliper like this. Usb-c if possible.
I mean, you already have that, also calipers with wifi
I saw him going for it and was like, fuuuuu. If it where that easy.....
they do exist. mitutoyo makes them
@@ABVollen kinda hard sacrificing a kidney to get one though :D
they exist lol
8:30 that caliper that goes to cad is the most amazing thing that wasn’t mentioned at all I have ever seen! That was actually incredibly. Saves so much time.
i think he is making in cad himself
@@topherc100 Naah, you can see where he plugs in the USB to transfer it. Pretty sure you can get 'em on Aliexpress.
@@mchamster7 i cant tell when you guys are being serious or trolls!
its called poe's law!@@coffeeoutlaws7783
I've seen calipers with Bluetooth actually
Tony, I'm absolutely not a machinist, and I have very little interest in ever doing this kind of thing... But I always watch your videos as soon as I see them because they're always very funny and well produced. I absolutely love your content!
same here
Me too!✌🏻
THanks Unfunk!!
I second this. While I do have some interest in machining and CNC. I don't really have intention to start doing it. But Tony's videos are genuinely some of the most funny (in a clever sort of way,) and well edited on this website. The edit and visual gags are unlike anything else as well. Always keeps me coming back.
I have to give a 1+ to this, the way tony does his content is extremely digestible. Thank you tony for the hours and hours of content you have given us.
Tony, thank god your alive
But in which timeline…?
I was also a little worried.
*you're
Yer
Eur
I’ve had pretty good luck with this stuff and cold bluing on steel parts. When restoring my Hardinge HLVH, I cold blued the various handles and such and the results were fantastic. The key for all of this stuff is the surface preparation. I know it goes against the grain for most guys, but following the instructions can be beneficial!
Tony - thanks for another great video. I can't get enough of them!
You're in luck, I'm a chemical engineer with 27 years in the field. It looks like this is a solution of cupric sulfate and maybe nickel sulfate dissolved in an acid solution, probably fluoboric and phosphoric acids. As for that orange colored patch you were wondering about, I think that's probably boogers.
the boogers make sense if he's been keeping his pellets in his nose so far
The real info's always in the comments. The channel host just provides the entertainment whilst we mutually grope around in our intellectual darkness searching for the light switch of enlightenment.
You got me good. 😂
@@dMb1869 stop it. I'm gonna piss myself!
@@steelwheelsminnesota damn, well said.
The USB caliper insertion scene is confusing….You only rotated the usb once. Usually you try one direction, realize it’s wrong, rotate it… then realize that’s wrong too. Finally rotating it back makes it fit since that was the correct orientation to begin with 🤷♂️
Magic touch, he only needs to try twice. Us mere mortals can only dream.
Otherwise known as
Wrong, wrong right
he is learning from his past mistakes.
USB ports live in a 4+t dimensional space, hense the need for the double rotation. As a time traveler, Tony apparanly can see (or at least peak) in the additional space dimension, and thus needs fewer rotations to insert a USB.
Yes. You have a 50 percent chance of getting it right the first time. And an 80 percent chance of not realizing it is right.
Loved the cmm beeps as you took measurements, and of course getting the usb backwards on the first try 😂. As a career machinist who now spends way too much time in a recliner, I find your videos strangely comforting as I watch all the familiar machines, tools and chips being made. Thanks Tony. Keep ‘‘em coming.
63 year old old guy here… I haven’t been this entertained by a video in a long while. The nasal pellet drop made me fall out laughing!!!! Great video. Subbed
I haven't laughed so hard in a while.
Love the patina on the finished parts. Much cooler than bare or coated.
Your humor is dimensional. It builds up measurably and consistently time and time again.
@koko ko No, you don't just walk around and promote your channel under others videos. FU!
My absolute favorite part of This Old Tony is that he doesn't explain his jokes at all. They are like an inside joke between him and himself and we happen to 3rd wheel our way into them lol. I guess at this point we are more like the 1.09millionth wheel.
What jokes?
Yeah, if you have to explain...
ToT was one of the first machining channels I watched. I was probably a dozen or so videos deep before I started to think "Hey, wait a minute..." I think it was using the rotary welding platform to 'pop' nuts from ball bearings (Like microwave popcorn) that finally convinced me :D
Hey Tony,
I've worked in metal finishing (anodizing, electropolishing, plating, passivating). Let me know if you ever have a question about different finishes. I have known some shops to use electropolishing to clean off very small burrs. Also, that chemical can release HF and could be the reason for the odor... toxic in small quantities.
-Robert
Can you tell me how this solution works? Is it replacing aluminum with copper or/and nickel at the surface and that's what is causing the blacking process? Thanks
What solution is used?
I'm having some issues anodizing, do you mind helping me please
Hi Robert I need to paint some oxidized aluminum on my bicycle could you please give me some advice on surface conversation and prep prior to painting?
Tony your content is unlike anything else on CZcams. This channel is a real gem. I hope you know how many people are in love with what you’ve created!
Let me recommend to avoid "other metals" in the reaction. I noticed that you use a metal cup and a metal stick (welding wire?) to dunk the part, which can easily ruin the intended chemical reaction. Unless explicity required in the instructions, I suggest glas or plastic for this purpose.
Was about to yell about Al on steel in that setup. Sadly he didn't use a plastic container for reference. Ah well...
looks like stainless steel which is unreactive
What kind of plastic? HDPE or PTFE?
@@executive Oh to be a young, naïve apprentice again.
@@SergeantExtreme That's a very good description of yourself. Stainless will resist weak, room temperature acids, such as this very dilute solution, and cupric sulfate with ease.
Great video, thanks Tony. Applying the solution you really need to get it to a high shine. By running the parts through a tumbler you’ve created massive amounts of tiny pits which has increased the surface area. This gives the acid more areas to attack rather than a smooth shiny surface. 😊
excellent point!
Would walnut shell media, or corn cob media have been better at both light deburring, and preventing surface pitting by the "sand"?
The finished product looks very similar to what we create in a steel pipe mill I work at that also runs standard sizes of aluminum pipe, we use a process called ‘bright finish washing’ where it’s dipped in sulphuric acid tanks, washed in sequences of phosphate and rinse tanks, then dried and left to cure leaving it with a black and almost rusty look at certain angles, pretty much exactly what you have here. It’s meant or designed to look tinged but prevents rust, and is also perfect for oil dipping as the oil tends to hold better on the slightly pitted surface to hold up in outdoor uses.
Pro-tip: Pneumatic paint shaker. $220 from the usual scumbags. Get some empty paint cans and your blasting media. Much more violent. Violence and deburring are almost spelled the same. They both have an E after all. 30 seconds and everything is smooth and happy. Alternatively, if money is no issue(no really, these hurt to price out. My 5 gallon mixers are over 10 grand), get a Radia Speed Demon. It's more of a radial vortex mixer than a shaker. They're smooth and gentle but they work like a hot damn. Think "rock tumbler on steroids".
I tried anodizing aluminum for the first time recently, and really liked the results. The process was a bit scary, using both sulfuric acid and lye, bit it was not too difficult, and made the parts look better, as well as making them more scratch resistant, and move more smoothly against each other. Since it was for a project -- a large format camera -- where some of the parts will slide against each other, all of these changes were improvements. The acid, as well as the dye I used, can be used again and again, too.
Why are you using lye? if unattended it will etch into the Alum. part clean your parts with soap and hot water l did it for 10 years at work in the machine shop made alum. fixtures that were to be in the medical assembly line.
@@lberthelon I'll second this one... I work with a lot of drills and saws, dealing with putting holes and cuts in extruded copper and aluminum, and even something as moderate as sodium carbonate (I use it for degreasing and neutralizing acid etching on steel...) will attack the aluminum chips, given enough time...
So far my home shop anodizing works beautifully on scrap but on parts mixed bag of OK to horrific
@@lberthelon Because this was my first time doing this. I made mistakes, and wanted to strip the anodizing from a part to try again. I learned lots of lessons as I did more, and found that my poorly anodized parts were mostly because of my wire connections. After I figured out a better way to get current flowing, the lye was no longer necessary. I'm just a self-taught guy out in his garage.
@@lberthelon Oh, and believe me, I did NOT leave it unattended! I never left a part in the (weak) bath for very long; nor did I need to. But it stripped the flawed anodized layer smoothly and evenly. I cannot tell from looking at them which parts were stripped and re-done.
Got to love that USB plug to Caliper adapter. If only I could go back in time, and buy 2 or 3 of them... you know, for the oncoming zombie pop-can apocalypse. Sorry that the "anodizing" didn't quite work out for you. I have been thinking about your issue with cleaning up the part. Could you create wire brushes in different sizes on the CNC to follow the same pattern for cleanup?
One of his best funny moments in a long time, imo!
I have a set of calipers from iGaging with Bluetooth. It acts like a BT keyboard and actually works really well.
I just go to dimension a part in SOLIDWORKS, fusion360, excel, whatever... And push a button on the calipers and it sends the dimension over and pushes enter.
fully expected him to fail, flip it over, fail and flip it over again to the first side for success, like anything you try to plug in to a usb
@@dtroy15 Wow... I hadn't been keeping up! So, calipers from iGaging with Bluetooth... How good is the software for bringing in dimensions to the target software? Does it auto-copy to the clipboard or something else?
@@marcfruchtman9473 it just acts like a Bluetooth keyboard. No special software required. You can even use it on your phone, as I do to record dimensions in excel for tolerancing analyses etc.
Just like a Bluetooth keyboard can send a "9" to your computer when you hit the 9 button, the calipers can send a "9" to your computer.
The thing is that Kind of product usually creates a thin layer of oxide at the top preventing from rusting by insulating the part from the air. If you apply with a brush, it set a thin layer of product and it will consume a little of the metal part(on the upper layers). BUT if you dip it, you allow the reaction to go deeper in the metal and it won't really stop to consume metal unless you remove it. It breaks binding of metal grains which produces heat. You could try to airbrush it or just apply with a brush as you mentioned. Great video thanks!
Tony,
I'd like to thank you for lifting my spirits through a rather tough time. If I need a smile or chuckle, which is often, I'll play one of your videos. Your humorous presentation gets me to giggling, and I learn things to boot!!
Thank you Tony!!!
If in doubt, try polishing the parts instead- blacked parts may look more 'pro', but polished parts look gorgeous. Bonus points if you make any more airgun related parts and accessories :)
I spent a good long time thinking about my first burning question, and I gotta be honest, I've never thought about it like that before
I'm glad to see you back. I hope things are well with you and your family. Your videos are some of my favorites.
Tony. Not sure if you get a alert when a new comment pops up. This is the first time I have ever commented on a CZcams video. Rough times for me right now. Your last video was 2months ago. The only reason I open CZcams now is if I am not looking for a video of someone attempting a fix on something I am attempting fix, so I can see and learn from there mistakes and for seeing if you have a new upload. Your videos are incredably entertaining, with lots of info, you do a wonderful job. I hope all is well for your family at this time in the year. Looking forward for more if you can find more inspiration. Thank you for all the videos you have done they are top notch! If CZcams ever had a contest for most outstanding CZcamsr you would get my vote, i tell all my freinds about you, but most of them do not do the interwebs so well. I am thankful for you and wish you and your family happy holidays
I agree with everything you said!
Don't want to use the lathe so you get it on the milling machine such that you need to use the lathe to make a tool so you don't have to use the lathe.
I love you Tony. So much. I do this kind of thing all the time and no one understands.
Harbor freight rock tumbler is what I use to clean debur small parts it will run all day and all night. Which is about the time you need to have any effect.
@vladviking Darn skippy it works. I use 2 for use on casings to make more things to shoot things with.
The machine shop i used to work in had one that was old as hell and had been "fixed" over and over again with parts from harbor freight and from the hardest stainless and titanium, all the way down to really REALLY soft brass wouldn't take but a few minutes, the titanium obviously took the longest (around an hour) but the brass and aluminum only was maybe 5 minutes before they were perfectly smooth on all edges that would slice you like a razor before hand
So I discovered your channel as an older (49😳), yet aspiring (taking classes for certification) machinist. Now I know why my kids love CZcams. People like you. Thanks man.
"That looks gross, but rather promising." Yeah, I've heard that one before.
Hey Tony! Speaking of CNC - Any update on the Y-Axis Ball-screw? Specifically the nut?
Did you find what caused it to destroy itself again and again? Really curious!
Same!
depression
@@Lu-db1uf my kind of humor
Never get too nosy about another man's screwing and nut issues.
I also would like to know.
Always a treat when a new video drops. Thanks a lot Tony.
EVERY SINGLE TIME I’m laughing when watching your videos. It’s really enjoyable to watch these, I really appreciate the effort to make them. This 5 and a half teeth mill 😂😂. A unique channel I’m a fan of! Congratulations from France 🇫🇷 !
Something else to try is applying the blacking solution pretty quickly after machining/sanding. The idea is to get the solution on the aluminum before the surface of it (the aluminum) can form a thick(-ish) oxide layer.
Read through the MSDS for Aluma Black and it looks like it's removing the aluminum oxide coating from the part with acid and replacing it with a new passivating layer that contains selenium as well as maybe nickel and/or sulfate.
The SDS lists both nickel and copper sulfate and both copper selenide and nickel selenide are black, so that's a decent guess.
@@nathanschley2088 and Jason: Machinists don't make decent guesses on any topics which are not front and centre machining.
They just make absolute, massively improbable, wild ass guesses (although they don't own up to that, even to themselves).
If you doubt what I'm saying, just launch into a political discussion on a machining forum (and stand back)...
@@Gottenhimfella really off topic. Nobody cares that you argue politics in other forums.
@@UnitSe7en It's not really off topic, just poorly presented. When you have someone who is an expert in a topic (machining, in this case), that doesn't mean they're an expert in other topics (chemistry, in this case). Often they themselves don't realize the extent of what they don't know. So you have to take that part of what they're saying with a grain of salt.
It's most obvious with politics since there's a lot of misinformation out there and people tend to just accept wild claims that fit their worldview.
Another example I see all the time in my field is software developers and IT. A lot of developers learn the basics of IPv4 and will talk like they have a deep understanding of networking. Then you throw them a problem that involves some simple routing or layer-2 stuff, and they fall apart.
I prefer a coworker that is aware of his ignorance than a more knowledgeable coworker who tries to cover it up.
@@jeffspaulding9834 Nicely put. 👍
Home anodising is really easy, I'd suggest you try it out, all you need is some sodium hydroxide to clean the parts first, removes the thick oxide layer, some lead oxide eletrodes, sulphuric battery acid, and a PSU with the right current and voltage (12-96 volts depending on how durable you want the finish. A hardcoating finish will not look as nice but be super duper durable, but 12-16v is fine for cosmetic finishes). Run the parts in the acid with the lead electrodes, it'll etch them. Buy some coloured dye on ebay, make up a coloured bath, dunk the parts, then remove them and add them to boiling water to seal the surface and turn the oxide into a kind of hydroxide on the surface. You can google yourself for a more detailed walk through and techniques.
Pool chemicals pH- work well too, and easy to get without people thinking you are cooking drugs in your basement.
@@minigpracing3068 its just good ole lye, get some for making pretzels! Or get some to unclog your drain. Maybe even get rid of a stump in your back yard
One question, what kind of dye do you have to use? Is it some stuff specifically for anodizing?
@@CatNolara I've heard of people using Rit fabric dye for anodizing
@@CatNolara it's typically an inorganic pigment based dye suspended in water and the pigments get trapped in the pores.
Hey thanks so much, you inspired me to buy a mill a few years ago. Long story short 3 years later and one month in i think i can say i found the best job ive ever had good smart people. Basic cnc mill im being trianed now this week, just made my 83rd part today only 3 mistakes still saveable.
I think it might depend on the specific aluminum alloy, too. I've used that stuff on two different projects (both made from random mystery aluminum), and it worked fantastically on one of them, and about like it did for you on the other. The only difference I can think of is maybe they were different flavors of aluminum.
well, it could very well be that one of them was aluminum and the other was aluminium
@@andresaofelipe hahaha
To this day, every time I close my no-slam toilet seat I can hear Tony whispering “rotary dampers”… and I absolutely love it
You know you really ought to chase him out of there, the neighbours are starting to talk.
So to recap, making machined metal parts turn black by applying blue makes them look cool, apart from when you don't read the instructions (and who does?) at which point it makes them look crap and you end up doing more work to remove most of it so they just end up looking dirty.
Seems like a legit use of workshop time.
Guess the can was half empty..
honestly the worn pitted look might be cool.
I did an aluminum DL-44 blaster with Birchwood Casey aluminum black. Dunking resulted in flaking and a rough finish like you got. I had to apply it using a q-tip and rubbing fairly hard to get a nice finish. What I suspect was happening, was that the surface of the aluminum was oxidizing and flaking off, whereas when rubbing it with a q-tip it was maybe penetrating the surface a bit. I had to rinse and reapply several times. The smoother the finish, the harder it was to get it to take the black. The finish is more like parkerizing than bluing and a lot more work than bluing steel.
That last line was hilarious. “You can’t tell me these don’t look like $0.25 parts from a yard sale” lol genius
Cold blue adds a Black Oxide porous layer to steel/iron that then allows Oil to soak into it. That's what adds the rust protection is the oil not the oxide layer. However having the oxide layer can help stop red oxide forming (rust)
I'm working on an unfinished aluminum lower reciver that I want to make black and thought your video was promising. After watching it I think I will try a differant finish. Thanks for making it!
It works great if you brush it on, dipping not so much
When I made the Air rms S410 magazines 20 years ago from 6061 Aluminum I found that drilling the holes undersize then cutting the side groove and finishing with reaming the holes to size worked best.Then if any burrs were found using a Exacto #11 knife tip worked best to remove any Burrs. I made about 500 of these magazines and probably had 10 or so that needed the #11 blade. I left the wheels brite machined and used fine Glass Bead for the covers & bodies. Thy were then professionally Anodized black with Brite Dip and came out great.
God bless you tony, just keep going man, we dont care how long it takes just keep giving us these golden nuggets. Love from bahrain❤🇧🇭
Almost spit my coffee in the 5 1/2 flute cutter machining. Nice job making that, I always end up with 5 or 6 flute when trying to make that 5 1/2 flute. It’s harder than most people would think.
This monstrocity was intended :D ? Why?!?
Tony, you are a genius sir! Your skills of machining almost hold a light to your comedic presence in all of your videos. I mean...taking the time for the caliper USB trick is just awesome! Keep it up buddy!
It always makes me smile when I see you post a video. I hope everything is going well with your family.
That was a very cleverly disguised... projectile accelerator :D +1 for avoiding overzealous censorship. I'm glad you showed the franken-cutter in action, I was worried you would leave it out when you showed the finished parts first. That bluing bath looked like it was just dissolving the parts :P
This gives me childhood memories of shooting cans in a friend's backyard with pellet guns.
One of the things that I love in adding character to these videos is the editing. The non-linear timeline, the USB calipers, they're all fun stuff added to an interesting video.
Thanks TJ!
Hey Tony! Not here to pressure you to post, just hope you and your family are well! I aced my material science exam at university and was reflecting on how much your stress/strain video helped lay the foundation for that. Thank you!
pog, congrats man
I always wondered about that stuff, now I'm glad I built my simple anodizing setup!
great to see you again tony , keep up the amazing work
You didn't make a mistake making that T-slot cutter, it's obviously a chip-clearing tooth!
greatness! the wit, the camera work, the editing. fantastic, run of the mill!
Great dad humor, even better filming and angles, love the macro shots. Awesome man, thank you.
Conveniently enough I bought something today that was unfinished aluminum so this is incredibly well timed.
If you get to build a tumbler, I recommend adding a water intake and a drain. You really need to flush out the residue regularly. Otherwise it forms a paste. Flushing and cleaning is half of the job.
I have been binging on old episodes for the past week. Lamenting at the lack of newer content. It was like discovering the Beatles in 1980. Great to see a new video. Same great content and education combined with fantastic humor and creativity.
I used to make Vibratory deburring machines and if you want to do a make shift home version of that the lathe is perfect. there are various centrifugal tumblers that have a similar action to that. Although a container that would can seal with some water and house hold detergent will go a long way, and yes glass bead is incredibly aggressive for aluminum. A medium cut small plastic media with with water and house hold detergent in the lathe id say between 150 and 300 rpm for maybe 20 minutes would do the trick.
Anodizing at home is actually pretty easy, I was able to do it just with stuff I found in the pool and plumbing aisles
Oh my goodness that had me laughing! And yet, no matter your hobby or profession, we can all commiserate when things just don’t turn out the way you expected. Thanks for the laughs! You’re still better at machining, filming, presenting, and a host of other things (I’m sure) than me - but man, it’s fun to watch.
Hi TOT. We hope all is well and wich you and family a Merry Christmas! I agree with others below. We miss you and hope to see more videos of the Maho and if you have resolved the crunchy bearing issue, what you decided about the acme Z axis etc. I am retrofitting two Shizuka BANDIT conversions. One ST-N and one AN-S. Your videos were very helpful. Thank you!
Glad to see you back, also you can probably 3d print those. I designed and printed magazines and speed loaders for my FX Wildcat mk3, they work great.
I really look forward to these videos. Thank you.
No cap
The filing machine finally gets some screen time
always a joy, Tony. i kinda like the aged look of the final parts! thank you for learning the hard way for us.
Fantastic, thank you Tony, especially seeing as I’m also an air rifle guy. I gotta say you really leave those machining channels that don’t use time travel…playing catch up…
Every time you upload my day gets a little brighter and my days have been really dark as of late. Thank ToT! Your editing and commentary is so subtle and so good and it gets me giggling every time.
Always entertaining and informative, This Old Tony goes down smooth.
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the added beeping sounds to the caliper and "uploading" the model in straight from it via USB. You fooled me for a second and I was questioning my existence so thanks.
Funny thing about that "beeping calipers". On my project backlog, is making an adapter for cheap calipers with a data port to act as a Bluetooth keyboard, so I can hit a button and enter the dimension right into cad. 😁
Although I’ve never played with blackening aluminum, I have done plenty of oxidizing of brass and copper. In that case, having either too high a concentration or the oxidation solution at too high a temperature results in a non adherent oxide layer. And, non linearly, or in reverse order, the tumbler for de-burring might have been improved by adding soapy water. It allows the abrasive media to better flow around and through the parts. But the somewhat less than hermetically sealed lid might be a little issue here. My first attempt at “distressing” brass parts was in a one gallon paint can, lined with thick glowed cell foam, and filled with sharp rocks on a lathe. Now I have dedicated machine with a rubber lined hexagonal drum, roughly 1.2 cubic meters.
This isn't an oxidizer.
it's an etchant that simultaneously performs a copper selenide deposition and a phosphate conversion.
It's basically fake black oxide, made of a copper and selenium matrix, with a little nickel phosphate for wear resistance.
It etches the existing oxide layer, then because of the consumption of that oxide layer, the solvent potential of the solution goes down and deposits the mixed matrixes onto the surface which used to be covered in aluminum oxide (or not, it tends to work better with freshly milled parts because it acts as a primer in a way.)
Continued application dissolves the existing matrix which repeats the process, allowing you to "layer", even though it is nondimensional. Best applied with a brush or carefully applied with cotton swabs.
It is pretty much identical to Gun Blue or Cold Blueing solution, except for it's slightly chemically different. Both are copper selenide reactions, NOT true oxidation. They don't form a real oxide layer.
@@D-Vinko so is there any real way of performing cold oxidization of aluminium at room temperatures?
The fact that the time machine lathe is still cannon in ToT lore soothes my soul more than anything on the internet
The transition to Fusion really got me... I actually tried closing a nonexistent tab for more than a few seconds before I realized it!
Good to have you back on the somewhat-regular, Tony!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one... as always! To be clear, though, that's absolutely not meant to say that the trademark ToT level of quality is in any way boring or unappreciated.
Cold blue also works on Brass and Copper. It’s great for adding a patina to parts. I used this for some steampunk projects using some plumbing fittings.
Cold Blue for steel or aluminum ?
@@jesseherman2453 Steel blueing. TOT mentioned it only works on steel, but it works on other metals.
As a stain glass maker, I’ve had a number of different chemicals that will change the color of the lead or solder. I like the green finish best, but it depends on the piece, and a black oxidation finish looks great on some parts.
It's possible that putting the aluminum and the solution in a stainless steel container created galvanic corrosion on the aluminum, since aluminum is way at the other end of the galvanic series. It might have had different results in a glass or plastic container.
Never been a big fan of using cold blue on larger parts, it's a very thin layer and not really resistant to wear or rusting. But I've never heard of it being used on alumin(i)um...
I did some digging and it seems like alumin(i)um bluing is dark magic and should not exist. That's not a joke, Wikipedia says "Aluminium (Al) and polymer parts cannot be blued, and no corrosion protection is provided". I'd be careful, Mr Old Tony, this knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands
Aluminum should naturally oxidize with the surrounding air, creating its own oxide coating. Since bluing, both hot and cold, add a protective layer of oxidized metal, I think cold bluing is only to pass aluminum as blued steel. Aluminum is/was notorious for its oxidization (Hence thermite being a relatively modern invention) so naturally it never needed bluing in its relative recent modern usage.
Cold bluing is NOT bluing. It's a selenium dioxide coating. It's cosmetic. _Actual_ bluing is a black oxide (iron) layer, not _on_ the surface, but _in_ the surface (the topmost molecules). Black oxide is _stable_ unlike _Red_ oxide, also known in the "body and fender" trade as "cancer" -- because it is very _unstable_ -- growing and growing, spreading and spreading, eating its way into the steel.
That's why steel is blued -- to have black oxide instead of red oxide. Even so, it's not a "force field" -- especially if there are any nicks, scratches, and so forth on the surface. That would be enough for red rust to gain a foothold.
Before the advent of hot salt bluing, people did "rust bluing" -- which is still a superior form of bluing. It's pretty simple. You brush the part with an acid (they sell "bluing acid" for not very much money), to promote the rapid formation of an even, velvety coat of red rust (from atmospheric humidity), and then you dunk the part into boiling water for a while.
The boiling water (water being "hydrogen rust" so to speak -- an oxide of hydrogen) will convert the red rust into black "rust."
You then brush away all surface "rust" (now black) with a file card, brush with acid, and repeat. After several iterations, the part will get darker and darker, until it ends up with a deep, lustrous black.
BTW, the main corrosion resistance provided by bluing is via the microscopic pitting it creates on the surface, which will retain oil when you coat it (and rubbing it in with a rag helps).
An even better treatment in that regard is Parkerizing, which can be gray or black, and will be _visibly_ rough, able to hold more oil due to the coarser texture.
@@This_is_my_real_name are there any types if black corrosion resistant surface treatments for steel surfaces that need to be degreased and oil-free?
@@RC-fp1tl nitride/melonite/QPQ, some flavor of nitrocarburization.
no big deal, just a hint of nitric acid and a more reactive metal, in this case selenium cements/"plates" out.
I'm weird Tony, I like to leave my stuff with the milled look or if I really feel ambitious I will break out the polish! The warden has a bird usually because I bring my trinkets in the house for the final cleaning. Outstanding video as always!
I know this is an older video, but you can use a woodruff cutter to cut a groove on a mill/cnc; I had to do that in school for my toolmaker apprenticeship.
I didn't like the all black finish, but the final finish after the wire brush and scotchbrite looked pretty cool. A good, educational video.
I've used Birchwood Casey's Brass Black extensively on, aherm, brass parts, and it works great. Generally, I'll laser engrave a design into the part, blacken everything, then sand or Scotchbrite the surface to bring up a contrast. However, I find their aluminium black dreadful. As you saw here, it fizzes, and aggressively eats the surface, causing extensive pitting. If you try to sand off the surface afterwards, you'll end up seeing a whole load of little black pits/pinholes. Not a good solution.
I was thinking about how much nicer, tougher, and "non-dimensioner" Cerakote would have been for those magazines, but either way it was an interesting and hilarious video anyway. I love this channel!
Was thinking this as well, I think powder coat would do well too. Just have to be careful with the thickness of the coats being applied.
Cerakote actually adds size
@@Turbogto_guy well yeah, but between 0.0005" and 0.001" isn't going to make any difference to almost any part.
@@craigm5511 it did on a receiver I coated where the barrel slid in.
@@craigm5511 it adds a LOT more than that. It's marketing. I even discussed this with their senior reps this year when I met with them. Their take is that you remove material from the part when blasting and add it back when coating. It's a give and take that is not exact and can be very misleading. I don't think you actually understand the measurements you gave and how small they really are and how that can not, and will not be achieved uniformity with the use simple hand tools. Average droplet size factoring in the VMD(aka DV0.%x10) of the nozzle and knowing that cutting the droplet size in half results in 8x as many droplets you will see that come out, and with the average droplet size being 30μ (1-120μ VMD) You can see how the advertising of 8-25μ is misleading. Just one droplet can be .005" while others are so light that it requires a second pass which send out more droplets ect ect...
So the point is you need to know what you are talking about and not just type marketing phrases as a truth. You won't see consistent 1mil coverage on any part done by hand. And the smaller parts as well as more corners and curves only makes things worse.
Thank you for spending your money and experimenting so I don't have to learn the hard way. Your adventures ...or misadventures, have saved me countless hours on my hare brained ideas. Especially my attempts to make a better wabbit twap. Keep up the good work brother.
Always enjoy TOT no matter to subject always get a chuckle and an education Thanks for sharing. Good to see you. G W
I've just started learning machining a few weeks ago at school and your Channel has taught me way more on how to do stuff than my instructor has
You will probably carry me through my career lol
Edit
Just cut my first threads today and they came out really well only I cut too much and it's a bit loose but work well
Hey Tony, interesting topic. Did it say "non user friendly" on the bottle? That stuff looks like a nightmare (except not quite as dark)! Cheers, Jon
One of the only Creators that I genuinely miss when he’s gone, but always there when I need I’m him thank you TOT
Nice to see you back Tony! As I'm sure you know, we love your videos Hope all is well with you and yours!
The aluminum blue looks a lot like sodium hydroxide. I’d bet that’s all it is. Technically thickens the oxide layer, but it’s not going to protect them from anything. The gas is hydrogen. Smells… sharp?
Acid/base aerosols tend to smell, even if the gas that kicks them up doesn't. Close your lungs kids!
that blueing solution contains selenous acid....humans can smell toxic sulphur as well as selenium compound at very little concentrations
I checked out the MSDS for that stuff, the smell is most likely fluorine or hydrogen fluoride. The stuff is 2% fluoboric acid.😦
So to round up, it's almost a complete waste of time....lol. You legend lol.
Good to see you brother. More please.
while i was clicking on this video i was actually wondering what animals would cook if they knew how. so the intro was pretty spot-on
You won the prize for the best humor on CZcams!! At least as far as I'm concerned. I'd check that with the little lady but then I would need that time machine....
you could do the same, probably even better effect with warm sodium hydroxide. Ive learned this bad way, when i put some aluminium woodworking tools for washing into ultrasonic cleaner bath with sodium hydroxide in it. They came out perfectly blackened
I can't phrase this right but how well does the color last/does it smear off onto things that touch it/etc. when blackened this way?
@@praetorangel8967 it cannot be removed, it was actually not my own tools, it was customer tools, so we ended up compesating him for new tools. Old ones wasnt destroyed, it was literally just diffetent colour but customer is always right...thing is, i just forgot what ratio of sodium hydroxide and water there was, but im sure it was 70°C temperature of the mix
This channel still stands as having the best and most clever editing that I have ever seen on youtube. I am so glad you got Colin Furze as your secret santa that year. Seeing him geek out over your videos made my roommates and I immediately leave that video and watch yours. We've since watched every video you post the moment we see them.