clay question

[jdm61]

I am about ready to heat treat the big W2 bowie that I have been working on. I have my 3 inch piece of black iron pipe as a muffle in the forge, so I will be able to soak the thing during normalizing and quench heating. i plan to us anti scale compound during the normalizing heat and would like to use the combination of clay and anti-scale for the quench. I have done this before by applying the clay, heating the blade to 500 degrees and then sprinkling on the anti-scale compound. What I ended up with was a very smooth, clean finish on the hardened part where the anti-scale was and a rough nasty finish under the clay. Is it possible to heat the blade in the oven hot nough to apply the anti scale to the entire blade, let it cool and set up and then apply the clay?

 

[jdm61]

anyone????

 

[Kiwi303]

how hot does the anti-scale packet say it has to be? up to 600F I shouldn't think theres any prolem... but youd have to wait for mete or another mettalurgist to be sure.

 

[jdm61]

500 F but some folks like to go to 600 to make sure it totally melts

 

[Fred.Rowe]

JDM

I do a triple normalizing, as per Don Hanson. The last W2 blade I heat treated, I performed the normalizing just prior to hardening. I applied the PBC
compound on the last normalizing. After the blade cooled, I applied the clay and hardened it. The blade did not warp and came out clean.

If you are concerned about grain growth, there is none at the temperatures
that are recommended for the application of anti scale compound.

Fred