Mete: Hottest quench for A-2?

[F. Allin Kahrl]

I'm using a nice circulating drawing oven for tempering and am wondering if I can use it to speed up the quench on some heavy A-2 parts. I'm not terribly worried about distortion. Is there a temperature I can set it at to quench, then ramp it up to tempering temp when the parts are cool enough?

Thanks

-Allin

 

[mete]

Give me some more info - Heavy ? What is the size and shape .What is the application ?Why do you need it fast ?

 

[F. Allin Kahrl]

The parts are sort of rough cutting dies made from 1/4" stock in rectangles about 1 1/2 x 5. To try and fit more in the furnace I've been wrapping them on edge in bricks about 10 deep. Since the parts have holes through them, I figured they'd still cool fast enough to harden, and they do. The problem is that they don't cool fast enough for me to get them austenitized, quenched, and tempered in the 8 hours at a time that I have access to the equipment.

I've been letting them cool in still air, still wrapped, until I can pick them up with bare hands and transfer them to the drawing oven. If there's any way I can shave some time offa dat, it'd be great.

I'm shooting for 60 HRC with a 500º temper.

Thanks again.

-Allin

 

[mete]

You're wrapping them together in groups of ten? and you still get the desired hardness ? Are you worried about scale ? If not take them out of the foil and separate them to quench ,you'll get scale but not too much.