Aluminum quench plate questions

Danbo

Danbo

Joined
Nov 28, 1999
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Looking around for some aluminum quench plates to do some air hardening steels. I will not be plate quenching multiple blades; maybe a couple at a time. So, do I REALLY need aluminum plates that are 2" thick? Or, can I get by with 1" thick plate? And, how wide do I need here? If my blades are 2" wide, max; do I need plates that overlap a bit, or is 2" wide plate enough? My oven is only 18" deep and it's not likely that I'll be coming anywhere near a blade that long, so how long do these plates need to be? Also, what type of aluminum plate? Searching around, I see at least 3 different types of aluminum plate being sold. 6061, 5083 and 2025. Does the aluminum type matter for plate quenching?
 
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1" should be fine with an inch or two beyond the outer dimensions. 6061 can be found in hardened condition so it might hold up better for being banged around. Otherwise their conductivity is similar.
 
mine are 1"x 6" x 14" , I will plate quench 2 at a time , that way the plates sit flat , they will rock with only one blade in there unless you use the woodworkers vise trick .
 
I'm curious how a flat block quenches the edge of a beveled knife? Simply draws the heat away so fast through the spine it equalizes?
 
mgysgthath said:
I'm curious how a flat block quenches the edge of a beveled knife? Simply draws the heat away so fast through the spine it equalizes?
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Most people will profile and drill their blades and do the actual bevel grinding after heat treat.
 
ONeill said:
mine are 1"x 6" x 14" , I will plate quench 2 at a time , that way the plates sit flat , they will rock with only one blade in there unless you use the woodworkers vise trick .
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Mines are also roughly the same size and it works great. I do one knife at a time and made the woodworker's vise thingy for lack of a better term. ;)
 
Patrice Lemée;10174336 said:
I do one knife at a time and made the woodworker's vise thingy for lack of a better term. ;)
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What's the woodworker's vise thingy? Some kind of pivot to allow one of the jaws to match the blade bevel?

What do you do on a saber grind, or something with a shinogi-ji?
 
lazlo said:
What's the woodworker's vise thingy? Some kind of pivot to allow one of the jaws to match the blade bevel?

What do you do on a saber grind, or something with a shinogi-ji?
Click to expand...

A quick release woodworkers vice with the plates mounted to it . The plates are still flat , you just use the vice crank to put pressure on the blade . I just put weights on my plates .
 
I'm not sure where you live - if there is a metal supply house anywhere nearby, you might be able to pick up some remnant pieces really cheap. I think they're running about $2 per lb at Industrial Metal Supply in SoCal. I picked up several pairs in different lengths for about $20.

Some of those blocks were 3/4" thick - they're great for thin pieces like paring knives, but thicker metal heats up the aluminum more. If you are doing one or two knives at a time, I would think 1" would be plenty. If you are treating 10 or more in row, you might want more plates, thicker plates, or both.

Some folk blow air between the plates to help cool things off quickly - I'm not sure whether that helps or not.
 
Just scored a set of 6061 aluminum plates that each measure 1.5" thick x 6" wide x 18" long. Should cover anything I need to make. :thumbup::)
 
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