Opinions on steel that I can heat treat at home

Crag the Brewer said:
are you heat treaters at home inside or outside?
any in a house/basement?

or only outside/garage/barns/etc with tall ceilings?
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"IF" you're talking about with the forge, I'd NEVER even consider running a forge in a basement - just not enough ventilation for a forge.

OTOH, if you're talking about with an oven - no problem at all in the basement.

If you had a really good vent hood to put the forge under to pull the nasty CO and stuff outside it might be ok.
 
Ken H> said:
"IF" you're talking about with the forge, I'd NEVER even consider running a forge in a basement - just not enough ventilation for a forge.

OTOH, if you're talking about with an oven - no problem at all in the basement.

If you had a really good vent hood to put the forge under to pull the nasty CO and stuff outside it might be ok.
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Oven.
But I was concerned with flare ups during quenching of oil hardened steels?

Seems like a bad idea, I'd probably do it outside with the power cord going through a window?
 
Flare ups very rarely happen if you quench the whole knife deeply enough... At least that's been my experience.

The only time I get flare ups is when my tongs get hotter that than they are supposed to and I don't dunk them far enough into the oil.

The oil isn't just gonna burst into flames if the whole knife is below the oil. There's not enough O2 to support combustion.

Lots and lots of smoke though.
 
Hey C Craig Daniel I'd be will to heat treat some blades for you if you want. I don't have a Rockwell tester so wouldn't be able to give you an exact number and I don't have a Dewar (I use dry ice, and if done correctly there is little difference) other then that I have all the equipment needed to do a proper heat treat.
Anyway just thought I'd put the offer out.

Also I have a couple gallons of Parks 50 I need to sell if your interested.
 
Really none of this stuff should be done in the same enclosure you live in!!!



It's not the flare ups, it's the smoke you need to worry about... A.McPherson pointed that out already.

Oil should be several inches deeper than your entire blade. I use couple tongs, I always try to use cold tongs to remove the knife for the quench, you'll find that if your oil is deep and your tongs are cold....you'll eliminate a lot of the smoke. I can't say for sure, but I'd bet it reduces smoke by 50% or more.
 
Bunker Hill Blades said:
Hey C Craig Daniel I'd be will to heat treat some blades for you if you want. I don't have a Rockwell tester so wouldn't be able to give you an exact number and I don't have a Dewar (I use dry ice, and if done correctly there is little difference) other then that I have all the equipment needed to do a proper heat treat.
Anyway just thought I'd put the offer out.

Also I have a couple gallons of Parks 50 I need to sell if your interested.
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I have 25 blades that were sent for heat treatment and were received on November 14, I have called twice and the heat treater has not called back. I would use you to heat treat no problem at all. Send me a message on the parks 50.
 
I usually plan on at least a month for heat treating a batch of blades from either of the 2 places I use. Many also close down for a few weeks during the Holidays/New Year, too.
 
Keep a tight-fitting cover on your quench tank of #50 and it will last for many. many years and thousands of blades.
 
why is nobody using thermocouples in forges? you can put the TC on the blade, if it glows the same color it's the same temp.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
Oven.
But I was concerned with flare ups during quenching of oil hardened steels?

Seems like a bad idea, I'd probably do it outside with the power cord going through a window?
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I don't do a lot of carbon blades, but those I do HT is inside using the oven and a 6"X6"X24" vertical quench tank filled with Parks 50. I've never noticed any problems with excess smoke. some smoke, but not that bad. The small 6"X6" opening really helps to cut down on smoke I'm sure. I don't think I've ever had a flare up - maybe but not much of one. Nothing as spectacular as the ones shown on FiF.
 
Seedy Lot said:
Your wife will have a fit if you oil quench in the basement, nasty smoke.

I have only had flare up issues with large thick knives or axe heads.
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But with air quenching steels, ok inside?
 
outlandish710 said:
why is nobody using thermocouples in forges? you can put the TC on the blade, if it glows the same color it's the same temp.
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Lots of folks have thermocouples in their forges. BUT, you can't lay it on the blade and check temps. The direct flame exposure will skew the reading. The corrosive nature of the high temp flames will also make a short life for the probe. You place the TC is a ceramic sheath. The sheath is usually inserted through the side of the forge like a burner tube. This protects the probe from the flames.

I don't know if trying to read the temp by comparing the glow would work or not, but I tend to doubt it.
 
stainless hull heats up faster, ceramic lasts longer.
I use a coke forge so I can't comment on the direct flame thing. I'd try to avoid that by using a muffle or maybe a ribbon burner. Can you write a bit more about why checking for glow color when the TC is placed directly on the steel would not give accurate results? Is it because the flame in a gas forge distorts the color? that too might be solved with a muffle.
 
You didn't mentiuon using a muffle. With a muffle, a TC can be placed on the blade and give a fair reading.

The issue on judging color is that your eye is a rather poor device to tell color shades when working around bright flames and such. In a muffle it could be a bit easier, but still not high accuracy as far as pinpointing exact temperature.
 
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