Heat Treat listing?

WinDancer

WinDancer

Joined
May 15, 1999
Messages
720
Anyone know of a list of common steel types and heat treat/quench info?
For common items like files, saw mill saw blades, auto leaf springs, auto coil springs?
If not, interested in putting together a list of same?
Dave
 
Well thats a hard question to answer as all of the material you listed could be any # of steel types so unless you have the steel tested to find out what kind of alloys and carbon content it has anyone would be just guessing as to how to heat treat the said material.

Bob
 
One of the places that I find usefull for this type of info is here.

At work I use the Machinery's Handbook. You can purchase an online version or from your local bood store and it will point you in the right direction.
 
.Thanks, Mike.
I am not building a Mars rocket so exact isn't one of my requirements.
I will start a list here for the most common items that I can find info about and see what folks think and opinions.
I remember coming across bits and peices here and there- I would like to see such a list.
Feel free to chime in here with sources for info or personal experience ...
Dave
 
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Dave,
I would caution you not to start an online list of steel types and HT specs.

While I realize that you are not looking for exact, many are. The second problem comes from those who will look at that list in the future ,and say, "Dave said all saw blades are L6 and should be HT at 1475F..." Serious misinformation gets started this way.

The information you want is already out there if you run a search for it.

If you just want a guess and pray HT:

Anneal by bringing to non-magnetic and bury in ashes or vermiculite overnight. ( might work, might not, but usually gets it softer)

Normalize - Heat to non-magnetic and cool in the air. Repeat one or two more times.

Hardening - heat to a bit above non-magnetic ( about 1450-1500F) hold for a minute or two, quench in canola oil. (this will work for most carbon steels and many alloy steels. Perhaps not perfect, but will usually get it hard)

Temper at 350F for two hours, cool to room temp. Repeat temper at 350F for two more hours. If edge is chippy, re-do at 375F and if needed, again at 400F.

If all the above procedures do not get the knife hard, the steel is probably not a simple carbon, or low alloy steel.
 
Stacy has really covered it quite well, in that if you don’t have chemistry there really are no specific heat treatments there is only “heat to non-magnetic and slow cool to anneal”, “heat to just above non-magnetic and quench to harden”, “and temper until a given color or edge holding”. There are no heat treating specs for “spring steel”, “file steel”, or “saw blade steel”, there are only specs for W2, 1080, 1095, O-1, L6, 5160, 52100, etc… and you will find a few of those on my site here:

http://www.cashenblades.com/info/hardening.html

I kind of keep a mental list of some of the most outrageous things I have ever heard bladesmiths say and the statement that has ranked near the top for many years now with me went something like “it is more important to know how to work a steel than it is to know what steel it is”:confused: I have never been able to find a logical toehold anywhere on this pile of pabulum, it is the equivalent of saying it is more important to know what direction your going than it is to have a compass:confused:. Oh, you will find many smiths willing to say that they nailed the heat treatment of an old saw blade but pure luck was also a major factor in the equation. For some that chance factor is a major part of the fun, for others it is just one more source of stress and aggravation. When EMS get a call for a medical emergency that they really have no way of properly identifying they take vitals, give O2 and make the patient comfortable in order to at least stabilize things until people with the tools and knowledge to actually diagnose the problem can really fix things. This is the minimum of care to keep things from taking a turn for the worse, but just because the patient didn’t die doesn’t mean that it was equal to the care at the hospital. We can make a blade that will not outright "die" without knowing exactly how to treat it, but that is not the same as giving the steel the specific heat treat it needed.
 
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