Posted by Ron Fankhauser on October 15, 2009, 4:58 pm
165.83.90.155

Hi All, I'd like to know what method was used to finish/color the screws for the lockplates on an LC Smith. I'm wondering if they were slow rust blued, case colored, niter blued or possibly another method. Any help on this would be appreciated. Thanks, Ron

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Posted by David W on October 16, 2009, 2:01 pm, in reply to "What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
68.83.121.114

Rod, most of the original screws were soft steel. I don't see reference to any being case hardened. Some say the small parts were nitre blued. If you are looking to replace a screw/s, then I would just use either Oxpho Blue or something similar giving them a few coats. Finish by gently heating with a propane torch and coat with oil and let sit and wipe clean.

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Posted by Ron on October 16, 2009, 3:49 pm, in reply to "Re: What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
165.83.90.136

David, Thanks for your help. Yes, I am planning to replace a couple of screws. In the past I have used Oxpho blue with good results but was wondering if niter bluing or some other method was more correct. And was just curious as to how the original screws were finished. Thanks, Ron

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Posted by Dewey Vicknair on October 20, 2009, 7:15 am, in reply to "What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
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The frame-related screws were case hardened with the frame and lockplates except for the toplever spindle screw, it was blued. The triggerguard screws were blued same as the guard and the forend screw were blued.

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Posted by Ron Fankhauser on October 20, 2009, 9:59 am, in reply to "Re: What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
165.83.90.208

Dewey, Thank you for the help. So, the lock plate screws were actually case hardened with the lock plates and frame. That makes sense to me just from looking at some nice condition LC Smiths but I wasn't sure. I sure appreciate the help. Ron

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Posted by David W on October 21, 2009, 3:35 pm, in reply to "Re: What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
68.83.121.114

After readng this I went and looked for information about the screws. Everything that I have read stated the screws were made from soft steel, A.I.S.I. 1020 which is a low carbon steel well suited for cold forming or case hardening. All the scews were made of such metal. In Brophy's book "Plans and Specifications of the L.C. Smith Shotgun" he states on page 11 that " most screws were made from drill rod and the heads were polished". Also the buggered screws that I have repaired by filing indicated that this screws were soft as the file cut them easily. Also if these screws were case hardened/colored the chances of them fracturing, especially the front trigger plate housing screw would be greater as more torque is applied to this one.

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Posted by Ron on October 21, 2009, 11:12 pm, in reply to "Re: What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
173.86.219.4

David, Thanks for giving this some more thought. It does seem like the screws that I have used a file on were very soft. Sure would be nice to know for sure how the original screws were finished as I am certainly unsure at this point. Ron

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Posted by Randall on October 22, 2009, 2:03 am, in reply to "Re: What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
64.12.116.208

The screw heads have case colors on them. I think Dewey is right.

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Posted by dan on October 22, 2009, 2:36 am, in reply to "Re: What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
4.242.234.197

Likewise; case colors.

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Posted by Tom Salzer on October 24, 2009, 9:55 am, in reply to "Re: What method were the original LC Smith screws finished"
173.48.183.234

Regardless of the finishing method, if you look at pg.247 of Brophy's "Plans and Specifications" you will find that ALL the screws were made of soft [mild] steel.

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