Quench tank

T

tattooedfreak

Steel mutilater is more like it.
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Mar 12, 2010
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So, my local Princess Auto (auto, surplus, tools, etc for the non Canadians) has canon shell holder, steel tubes 6"d 4' tall for a really good price. The calculations say it will hold 5gal of liquid. My question is; is this a good style of quench tank and how would I heat the liquid effectively? I am currently using a 9mm ammo can which holds about 3/4 gal, so it heats easily with some scrap steel from the forge. Anyone use this style?
 
Is it round or rectangular? Either will work fine. I was looking for a 155mm howitzer round canister (round) but ended up with a rectangular canister that used to hold 2 120mm mortar rounds. as for heating up, use a longer piece of steel. ;) You will have to do it a couple of times.
 
I get out of spec gas cylinders from my local compressed gasses retailer and cut the tops off. They just give them to me free of charge.
 
I saw those, Freak. Vertical tanks work well(especially with swords) but I like the versatility of a horizontal tank. I can quench spine or edge first and the heat stratification is less of an issue.
 
I use a 50cal ammo can set atop a hot plate. I use a digital, laser thermometer to read the temperature but may switch to a dial thermometer. It's worked great so far. I'll be needing a bigger container soon for a few gallons of parks 50. I have a big .50cal ammo can I was thinking about using but am not sure
 
Its a round cylinder and with a 6" diameter it looks a little close inside but there would be more room. Id just be afraid of dropping stuff to the bottom. :-)

Rick I would like to continue using a horizontal one but I'll need something bigger, my 9mm can is pushing the limit for length on some of my knives and I have a kitchen knife that I know wont fit competely. Im going to need something bigger. By the way, do you have a line on any Parks or AAA around here?
 
I made mine out of a 6" pipe but only like 18" tall and I welded a plate to the bottom. Holds like 2 gallons or so then I bought a burner plate you plug in with a low, medium, high setting. I stick my quench tank on top and turn it on, I have a long thermometer from a turkey fryer I stick in it. But I'm only doing smaller knives.
 
Parks #50 is a "room temperature" oil that only requires heating if you are below 70F. But then again, I live in Florida so I only have to heat it up a little bit for like 3 weeks out of the year so I have things easy. ;)
JG Custom Metal Works said:
I use a 50cal ammo can set atop a hot plate. I use a digital, laser thermometer to read the temperature but may switch to a dial thermometer. It's worked great so far. I'll be needing a bigger container soon for a few gallons of parks 50. I have a big .50cal ammo can I was thinking about using but am not sure
Click to expand...
 
From what I've been able to gather, 6" is a minimum diameter tank for quenching blades of any real size (i.e., more mass than a paring knife.) On sword forums, guys talk about 8" being a more correct volume if the blade is nearly as long as the tank.

That said, oil ain't cheap, and a bigger tank is tougher to preheat as well. So I have gone with 6" myself.

I have a 40" x 6" vertical pipe tank for swords and other long blades, and a 20" x 6" tank, both filled with soybean oil. I preheat to 130 when using either- I have a long analog meat thermometer hung into the oil from a clamp on the rim, a fryer thermometer will also work but is calibrated with most of its range above what you will need, and so can be somewhat less accurate.

I preheat with a chunk of 1.5" round steel about 8" long welded to a rebar handle. I know about the right heat color to get it to heat my smaller tank to 130f in one quench, with the bigger tank it takes two. After using it for a while, I forged the end of it into a sort of carrot shape. You want to get it under the surface of the oil quickly to minimize flareup and smoking, which can cause a significant splash if the end is not pointed. Lots of swirling around and up/down movement, and within 30 seconds you'll have extracted all of the heat from the bar. The thermometer will read more accurately if kept away from the wall of the tank.

I have a bucket of Parks 50 too, which I need to make a quench tank for. I need to preheat it here in the winter, but I only go up to 70 or 80 degrees with it.
 
I use these 30 mm ammo cans. They are the perfect size and they seal tight so I can just leave the solution in them. I have one for P50, one for canola, one for alcohol, and one for brine. They hold about 2 gallons. I have a candy thermometer in the tank to check the temp. I use two old steel bars for pre-heating the oil. I usually let the bars sit in the oven until 1000 degrees, and then put them in the oil. It usually puts the oil right at 120 degrees.
[video=youtube;8yeJknGateo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yeJknGateo[/video]
 
Here's mine.

I use a mortar shell box with a warmer set to 55 degC.

The warmer is rated at 1,5 kW so it doesn't take long to heat the oil.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1450436788.284233.jpg
 
If you have 5 gallons of oil, one option is to buy something like a Bayou Classic Turkey fryer at Home Depot. It comes with its own "heating unit" if you want to use it and it is good for most blades up to about 12 inches as long as you aren't hardening the tang. the trick is that it will hold like 7 gallons, but if you do that, the oil will leak out around the handle rivets unless you seal them up with something because it is not designed to hold that much oil for cooking, so they aren't sealed from the factory.
 
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