quenching 1084

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Can I use 5w30 full synthetic motor oil to quench 1084? I plan on HT tomorrow.
 
You will have much better results with a good cooking oil like peanut oil heated to 120-140.
 
Ok thanks guys. Is it because motor oil is slower? If so I would guess full synthetic would be quicker than conventional but I know nothing about quenching.
 
do not use motor oil, it is slow, the burning fumes are extremely toxic, it will flash up etc, use vegetable oil (canola, soybean, peanut etc) preheated to 130 degrees f, preheating will actually thin it enough that the convection will speed heat absorption. besides, vegetable oil is cheaper than motor oil

-page
 
sunshadow said:
do not use motor oil, it is slow, the burning fumes are extremely toxic, it will flash up etc, use vegetable oil (canola, soybean, peanut etc) preheated to 130 degrees f, preheating will actually thin it enough that the convection will speed heat absorption. besides, vegetable oil is cheaper than motor oil

-page
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Especially synthetic $$.Peanut or canola works great.Although i do know a couple of old school blacksmiths that swear by it.(synthetic motor Oil)
 
Well I was going to use used synthetic motor oil from my last change. However, long story but I went to my grandfather's house to do the HT. He was a record setting trucker, meaning he drove his truck and trailer from 18 till the company could no longer insure him because of his age. Which set a company record. He never had a chargeable accident in many millions of miles. He almost always repaired his own rig, being mechanically inclined. He grew up on a farm and used a forge all the time. He has a well equipped shop at his house, and well we had a great time spending the day together. On to the blade, he wanted to try water thinking it was easier on the steel than oil. Well I knew better thinking it would shatter when it hit the water, well it was fine. To the naked eye anyway. Well it skated a file and I was ready to take it home to temper it in the oven well he wanted to take the warp out of the blade first. So I told him it was as brittle. As glass. He didn't think so, so he tapped it and it snapped into. Bottom line I had a great day with my 82 year old grandfather and we both learned a little more about metallurgy. I think he more than I. :)
 
Great story and a great day sounds like. Another good thing to look at is the grain size on the break.
 
If it looks like velvet--good,if it looks like salt--bad.
Stan
 
What Stan said .it should look almost smooth inside.I always learn more from the ooppses than anything else. I just some times get tired of all the learning LOL.
...steve
 
It actually looks pretty smooth, definetly doesn't look like salt at all. If I had to describe it, I would say it looks most like velvet. I guess I got lucky. I also quenched it tip first into a tin can. Not edge first.:confused:
 
I am confused because mine seemed to turn out great with cool water quenched in a tin the size of a soup can and plunged tip first. Did I get lucky or should I definitely use oil next time?
 
1084 may not be as much of a problem, but with 1095, waiting until you get home to temper may cause you more problems.
 
I was taught by the old timers I guess. I generally use used motor oil to quench my blades after a junk piece is used to heat the oil. Take the blade out before the oil stops rolling and wipe it down, then sand/polish enough to see the blade. I draw temper the blade with the back down and watch the colors run. Right before the color gets to the edge, say a centimeter or two, take it out and quench it to stop. Between the forge and your quench the color will run down, and if you aren't careful it can run past what you need for your hardness. It's basically trial and error. There is a reason the blacksmiths had their own secret recipes for their own super quenching solution. Half the time I just use my blacksmith's black solution to do blades if it is sitting out, which probably slows it down too much, but I can't tell the difference.
 
brokenanvilforge said:
I was taught by the old timers I guess. I generally use used motor oil to quench my blades after a junk piece is used to heat the oil. Take the blade out before the oil stops rolling and wipe it down, then sand/polish enough to see the blade. I draw temper the blade with the back down and watch the colors run. Right before the color gets to the edge, say a centimeter or two, take it out and quench it to stop. Between the forge and your quench the color will run down, and if you aren't careful it can run past what you need for your hardness. It's basically trial and error. There is a reason the blacksmiths had their own secret recipes for their own super quenching solution. Half the time I just use my blacksmith's black solution to do blades if it is sitting out, which probably slows it down too much, but I can't tell the difference.
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Welcome to Bladeforums.
Please notice the date that the last reply was made to this thread. We do not encourage necroposting here. Also please read where the more experienced and metallurgically informed have strongly recommended AGAINST using motor oil especially for a steel like 1084 which wants a fast quench. Commercial quenching oils are best, canola heated to 130f is an accepted substitute that will work but not as well, mystery goops have been debunked here a long time ago. Please take any relevant questions discussion points etc. to a new thread (some of the people who posted on this one are no longer active on this forum and it is not fair if something they said gets brought up and they cannot respond)

As I said before consider yourself welcome and among friends, this may have come off a little harsh, my lunch break is almost over Hopefully one of the mods will lock this thread

-Page
 
Welcome to Bladeforums Brokenanvilforge. As Page pointed out, this is a two year old thread.
Thread locked.
 
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