24 replies to this topic

[TSMGguy]

Hi, PK (and others: thanks; an excellent thread here!)

My WH M1 is with you now for some of your magic. A blued M1 bolt is with it, requested to be burnished to 'bright bolt' appearance. It sounds as though, metallurgically, this bolt will now be identical to the originally un-blued bright bolts, and will appear so to the eye. Is this a fair assessment?

My M1928A1 came with all of its original internals, and is in nearly unused condition. I obtained a Savage-made blued bolt to use for shooting. It was NOS, in the wrap. Soaking overnight in Lime Away removed the blued finish, and I burnished it to the best of my ability with a steel wire brush and steel wool, but it still does not have the almost aluminum-bright appearance of the original 'bright' bolt. With a light coat of oil, it appears gray. One would never confuse one bolt for the other! I am not trained in metellurgy, and it was this appearance that led me to believe that the later, blued bolts, were of a different steel composition. Sounds as though I was not able to deep clean the bolt, and some blue has remained, preventing the bolt from gleaming like its untouched original counterpart.

[gijive]

Where did anyone get the idea that the "bright" bolts were supposed to look like nickel or chrome plated parts? They don't appear that way at all. There is an old term to describe silver colored jewelry as nickel colored. I believe this is how the the original unblued bolts were probably described years ago, i.e. "nickel colored" or "nickel" bolts. The other unfinished parts in the gun are also described as "nickel."

I don't profess to know anything about metal, but I'm sure the higher nickel content of the steel gives it somewhat of a more silver color. I have never seen one, however, that shines like a chrome plated hupcap. I don't think that was the intent.

[gijive]

Good explanation PhilOhio. Maybe I missed the point of the earlier post.

[PK.]

The Lime-away, especially with a long exposure, may have etched the surface- this would make it appear more gray.

The fact that the blue bolts and bright bolts are in the same range of hardness and the bright GI and blued GI were all made within a relatively short span of years would indicate that the alloys are likely the same.

[timkel]

I should have posted this pic in the very beginning.
A so-called nickle bolt.