D2 steel hardening/tempering

C

cwhittington

Joined
Sep 6, 2002
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106
Howdy- I got a great deal on a big grader blade and it's likely to be D2 steel. I'm new at this and was wondering if I could just forge, oil quench and temper to straw color with D2 or will that ruin it? I know it's an air quenching steel and calls for a specific
heat treat but since I'm new at this, I would rather not have to attempt the prescribed treatment unless I have to to get decent results. I read that D2 needs to soak for long periods at high heat to anneal and I'm not sure I could pull that off either(2100 degrees for 20 min. or something like that) and it would be great if I didn't have to pay bucks to send it out for treatment. Any help would be very much appreciated- Thanks!
 
I'm not sure that you can forge D-2. Since it is an air hardening steel it will work harden as soon as you take it out of the fire. And I don't think that you can oil quench an air hardening steel, it would be like air quenching an oil hardening steel. The mollecular structure will not form properly and you will have a blade that is not good for anything. If you are just starting out you should start with some more forgiving steel like O-1 and save the D-2 for when your skills improve. If you have a chop saw or a circular you can use one of those cutoff wheels and cut it doen to smaller pieces, which would be easier to work with and anneal. If it will fit put it in a charcoal barbecue grill. Heat it up till non magnetic, put the cover on and let it cool slowly. It will be nice and soft when it is cooled, just make sure to keep it flat.
 
cwhittington,
Like Striper said, you would be best to start with something else. You can forge it, but to do it right you will need to learn some basic forging technique first as well. It is more finicky (sp?) than say 10xx and you should really use computer controlled temps come time for annealing, hardening and tempering. Naturally, in a pinch it can be done, but I do not feel to any optimum level. My two cents.

-Jason
 
You may want to check your grader blade. the last one I checked for a friend was 1085. I am lucky enough to work in a foundry and can run samples on the spectrometer. Drop me a line and maybe I can check it for you. Paul
 
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