Labour cycle factory, case hardener & iron worker

[Acat]

Hi. My grandfathers occupations were the above. Can anyone tell me what they were please? Thanks

 

[Alberta]

Labourer in cycle factory speaks for itself.
Case hardening was a process to harden the surface of iron by rolling it in another substance such as charcoal.

 

[BernardR]

Here is a link to a simple explanation of what is involved in Case Hardening Ginger - https://www.technologystudent.com/equip1/heat2.htm

 

[izzy eckerslike]

As mentioned above, case hardening was to make the outer skin of iron and steel parts as hard as glass whilst the inside remained soft and therefore retained strength. Used for moving parts of machinery, guns and all sorts of parts. Many gunsmiths had secret recipes involving various forms of carbon often including bone dust, this left a lovely rainbow effect on gun parts and the process involved 'soaking' the parts at red heat for many hours according to the depth of hardness required.
I still have a tin of Kasenit from when I did gun making and it's a black powder and you just dip red hot parts into it and it fuses all over the metal. It's not now possible to buy it in the UK as it's rather toxic :redface:

EDIT:

KASENIT No.1 contains Potassium Cyanide and Sodium Cyanide as well as Carbon.:explode:

 

[Acat]

Hi Alberta, Bernie & Izzy - thanks for your replies. I did wonder if iron worker & case hardener were the same. As he worked in a cycle factory, would anyone know if there are any records available for cycle factories, so that i may check if any information is available for employees. Much appreciated for any help you can give.