I've rust blued them with the bead in place,,those that I could not remove.
Mid rib beads are tough to remove as there isn't much to get hold off. The front beads that are taper fit (Fox), I use a side cutters with any taper ground off the blades on the outside edge. That allows the edge to close under the bead right at the rib.
I gently close the cutters and with a thin piece of cardboard (match cover) under the cutter pivot head on the rib, use that point to lever the tool down and lift the bead out of the rib.
It can be used to remove the smaller mid-rib beads also. But only if they are a tru round headed bead. Some are just a peg.
Even so you have little to grasp and pull and they are easily damaged.
The edges of the tool are for holding and lifting,,not for cutting!
Anyway, if you leave them in place,,
Just be careful around them when carding. The slow rust blue soln I use (LaurelMtn) doesn't seem to bother them at all though they will come out of the whole process a bit yellower and darker than when they started. Sometimes that's good on an older gun.
I've used Hot Rust Blue (Mark Lee) and with no problems either. You just have to remember to keep any artificial heat far away from those ivory beads if you use such in the rust blue soln appl process. The high temp will crack them and they char also,,quickly!
The hot water tank trip does not effect them in either process.
If you want to clean the bead(s) up afterwards of their darker yellowing appearance from the process, a small bit of 0000 steel wool with some oil on it and gently twist-polish the bead and it comes back to life quickly.
