Heat Treating In the House

Sean O'Hare

Sean O'Hare

Joined
Jul 24, 2003
Messages
1,183
Okay I need some advise. What do you guys think of using a heat treat oven in my basement? The only room I've got doubles as the laundry room. I'm thinking of making a metal bench to put the oven and enough space for a plate of steel to put the blades on for air hardening (only going to do air hardened SS for now). The floor in that room is concrete.

I'm thinking of buying a 22.5" Evenheat oven.

So am I really crayz for thinking of doing this?

Thanks,
Sean
 
Not at all Sean. I say, GO FOR IT! :D

There were a lot of guys that steered me away from heat-treating my own stuff back when I got started and was doing all stock-removal.

While they turned me toward Paul Bos, which is an EXCELLENT way to go (I still send Paul quite a bit of stuff)... They made it out like heat-treating was some sort of mystical thing, full of black magic and impossible for the lay person to get a grasp on.

A heat-treating oven will give you the ability to do all kinds of exploration, as well as a whole new insight to the knives you make.

Now if you start oil quenching... others in the house may yell at you! LOL

-Nick-
 
No reason not to Sean. Mine is in the garage but only because all horizontal spaces in the house are taken. No smell issues so long as you are air or plate quenching. The 22.5 inch one is a good choice because of the extra power. Usual shop type precautions - fire extinguisher and clear path to the exit. The kiln calls for some pretty generous clearances so make that bench deep - let me know if you need specifics.

Rob!
 
Sean this is exactly what I do, right down to sharing the laundry room. I put mine on a slab of slate from a pool table which I feel pretty confident with. Still, keep a fire extinguisher close by and don't go wandering off while you're firing knives!

And don't tell your insurance folks. :eek:
 
Think safety. Do you have an exhaust fan to remove heat ? Leave lots of distance from combustable surfaces. Look up wood stove regulations ,they should be fine for the HT oven too.
 
Careful!

As long as you aren't quenching, I think you would be fine. I would just clear the area out like it was a nuclear disposal site. Dont have ANYTHING near it or eventually you will drop a glowing blade or soemthing and then poof, you are burning the house down from the bottom up.....Plenty of people fire pottery or beads in their house and don't worry about it.

Don't listen to me though, I heat treated my first blade in a one brick forge that was sitting on my wood porch. I never said i was smart. I swear every time I HT a blade i forget that the heat will be blowing out the ends of my forge and still reach in with a pair of vicegrips and singe my knuckles a foot away.
 
Just to be on the safe side I'd check your home owners policy>>> If they find out you had an oven or forge that hot in your house it might not be covered if there is an accident Mine is in the garage seperate from the house. Don't call your agent directly....That's an excuse to raise your rates. By all means be careful. Murfy's law is always lurking.

Be safe
Larry
 
I heat treat in my attached shop (garage) and have had no problems. Have you tried plate quenching? I do all my air hardening steels that way now. It eliminates red hot steel laying or hanging around and I think it is a better quench.
 
yep i can go with everyone here give your self lots of space and keep it clear of lint and the like
ss at 1900 can light a lot of stuff up that means the hair on you arms too ask me how i know this little fact
all and all glad i got a kiln and i bet your going to have fun for a while using yours too
then it hits you alittle more temp or soak to see what can be done with the steel it can make you a little nuts but your already here right so a little more cant hurt
 
I'm like Brian, I don't mean to be a stick in the mud, but accidents can happen quickly and unexpectedly. Just look what happened to our buddy Ray Richards. This knife business isn't worth me losing my house, build a small shack out side the house, run a 220 line from your house breaker box to feed your oven and then if something goes bad, your only out the shack and oven. You might never have a problem but think about what your gambling with if you do.

Good luck,

Bill
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Ya Ray was in the fore front of my mind when I posted this message.

I'll have to give this more thought. The only area I can put it is in the middle of the room, which would put the door between me and the oven if there was a problem. There is also no real ventilation in that room what so ever.

I definitely think an oven would be a huge benefit to me though. I live very far north so this would make things a whole lot easier and quicker.

Anyhow thanks for the comments.

Sean
 
:D I don't think it makes much of a difference for me. If my garage goes up it'll take at least a city block with it. :eek:
 
Sean, First I want to say that it is just great to have all these resources on this Forum! Yes, there are risks in doing what you suggest, however you can minimize them. About a million years ago, I worked for a materials lab housed in a very small area. We had furnaces that we ran at over 2000 F and we also ran hydrogen, yes hydrogen through them. We had sprinklers and other means to help in safety as well as other emergency safeguards. Most of the details are lost to those many years.
I have thought many times of doing heat treating, but there are other things that I would want. A good Rockwell hardness tester, a means to hold liquid nitrogen, high temp stainless foil, and enough steel to test. The money outlay is more than just the furnace. It is much cheaper to send the blades to Paul Bos.
 
Don't forget that anything in front of the oven can ignite (like your shirt cuff- Don't ask how I know)also.You need about a foot to 18" clearance all around.Three feet in front of the door.An exhaust fan is a must.
 
Stacy, radiant heat certainly can burn things especially cotton flannel and of course lint even quicker. IIRC the code for woodstoves is at least 18" from any combustible surface [ wood etc]
 
Sean O'Hare said:
The only area I can put it is in the middle of the room, which would put the door between me and the oven if there was a problem.
Click to expand...

I took a hint from someone else on the forum and mounted my new oven on a wheeled cart (actually a rollaway) so that I can give it enough clearance when
using it without it permanently taking up space. Don't know if that would work for you though.

Dan Pierson
 
Ya I was thinking of making a metal bench on wheels so that I could move it around if I did run it inside as well. Seems like a good idea as long as the bench is very sturdy (obviously).

Sean
 
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