Aeb-l heat treat mistake

A

AJ Morocco

Joined
Jan 26, 2013
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38
I heat treated 3 blades in aeb-l
I fillowed the instructions per AKS.
Ramped to 1995 for 5 min
Air cooled to room temp
Into alcohol dry ice for 30 min

All the blades came out soft! Can bend them by hand

Can i salvage them?
 
1995F its a tad high, but should work, how long you left the blades at that temperature inside the oven? how long it took them to cool down?

Always check with a file before going on with the HT, there is no point in going forward if they are soft.


Pablo
 
The big question is how long where they out of dry ice slurry when you checked for bend? Now they'be been out a while, will a file cut (try on tang) easy?
 
They were 5 min at 1995
I think it was too long for that high a temp.
Any idea what causes the softness? Too high a temp.?
 
Ok i just checked the blades again. Two are still soft, but one is good! I cannot bend it and a file will only barely scratch it!
Looks like one made it, and its the best of the three.
 
Ok there is a miss print on AKS with the heat treat info for this steel. I was too hot for too long.
 
Heat Treating Information:

Preheat: Heat to 1560° and equalize.

1920°F Austenitize: Ramp to 1940°F and hold at temperature for 15 minutes. Oil or plate or air quench as quickly as possible.

1975°F Austenitize: Ramp to 1995°F and hold at temperature for 5 minutes. Oil or plate or air quench as quickly as possible.

Cryogenic Treating: To get the most from AEB-L you must cryo. Cool to -95 °F. No soak is required.

Temper: Temper immediately after hardeneing or cryo. Temper at least 2 times for two hours each time. Use the table below to achieve desired hardness.

AEBL-TC.gif


I think the 1995F temp is correct. It does need to be quenched rapidly.
 
AJ Morocco said:
Ramped to 1995 for 5 min
Click to expand...

^ what does this mean? Taken literally it means your ramp rate took 5 min to get the oven to 1995. Did you hold them at 1995 for 5 min once the oven got to temp? Once the blades got to temp? The real question is, how hot did the steel get and for how long. What you're describing can be caused by an inadequate soak.
 
I ht 2 aebl blades at 2075F 10 minutes soak + LN2/cryo. Aust temp was very close to over heated, managed 63rc AQ hardness. 2x 2050F got to 64rc. 4x 1950F-2000F maxed out at 65rc. 4x 2100+F 58rc.

See my post on thread 'soak time'.
 
bluntcut said:
I ht 2 aebl blades at 2075F 10 minutes soak + LN2/cryo. Aust temp was very close to over heated, managed 63rc AQ hardness. 2x 2050F got to 64rc. 4x 1950F-2000F maxed out at 65rc. 4x 2100+F 58rc.

See my post on thread 'soak time'.
Click to expand...

So you have to do multi quench to gain maximum hardness with AEB-L?
 
Did you quench the blades? Or just let them air cool?
 
I've always used the 1995 temp, and had good results. I have also always plate quenched the blades.
 
I did air quench to room temp then into alcohol dry ice for 1 hour. Sounds now like my temp was low compared to bluntcut's sucessful ht. Maybe oil quench is better? I have a piece left, so i will try with oil quench and a higher temp for 10 min soak.
 
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