Quenching Oil?

D

Dt_Trainer

Joined
Nov 8, 1999
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103
Can some of you give me some suggestions of some brand names of Quenching Oil that work good. I am currently using 1095 for my blades and I want oil that I can heat up to about 150 Degrees and then quench in.

How about other alternatives.

Should I use brine, or could I use old transmission fluid?

Pros / Cons??

Jim
 
Ok forgot to mention I have never bought this stuff before.

Atf is a brand name? Can I get it at a farm supply store?
 
ATF is auto trans. flude go to Wall Mart or K Mart
and by the chepest you can find or find a auto
repair shop and get them to save some for you. Gib
 
LOL

Boy it's been a long day. Yea now I know where I have seen ATF before. The Garage!!!

Totally thinking knives and not cars.

Thanks guys.

Anybody ever use Goodards Goop quench??
 
When I am hardening blades I want to use an oil that has known cooling properties. For 5160 and 52100 I use Texaco Type A quenching fluid. This is a slow quench and does what I want. You can purchase equivalent oils from other bulk distributers, all you have to do is ask for a slow oil or Texaco Type A or an equivalent oil to Type A. Youi will receive specifications as to the cooling rage the oil manifests at what temperature. These are ASTM specs and very specific.

It is possible to learn the properties of other oils, but to me at least it is only one specific unknown that is unnecessary.
 
Ed,

Do you have a good source for smaller quantities of Texaco Type A? I asked Ed Caffrey about it and he said they would only sell him a 55 gal. drum.

Also, is there much difference between Type A and straight veterinary grade mineral oil?

Thanks,

John
 
you can get chevrons equivelent in five gallon containers. Bill Buxton may be able to give more specifics than what I have. My bucket says ISO 22 on it. It also says that the oil is used in low pressure hydraulic systems.
 
I bought a 55 gallon drum, it cost somewhere around $300. I hord it, love it and would not sell one drop. I have a consistent oil and don't want to run out. After some of the hassels I went through with oils that varied I would have spent more.
I hear the Brownells Inc is considering offering Texaco Type A for sale. but have not spoken to them recently. The veterinairy mineral oil comes in heavy and light grades. I bleieve that the heavy grade is Texaco type A, but no one labels it as to type. What ever you get, I would suggest getting an honest label and ASTM specifications. That way you know what you have and can get more of the same if you need to, or change oils with a plan knowing where you have been and some idea where you want to go.
 
A friend of mine that recently retired from Otis Elevator Corp. gave me 10 gallons of Texaco Type A. He said they use it in elevators because it has a flame retardant in it. I suggest finding some and using it instead of ATF which is flammable. :eek:
 
I changed to chevrons magnum quench oil, after talking to Bill Burke, Bill's using chevrons Iso 22 light duty oil, but I couldn't get it from my local distributor, so I went with the magnum quench, it too is ISO22 but has a few more additives and was made just for the quenching process. It is great stuff, absorbs heat real well with very little in any fire. Just an example, quenching an 8" blade in ATF I'll get fire and the ATF temp will raise 30-40degrees, quenching the same blade in magnum quench, I get no fire and the oil temp will raise only 10-15 degrees. Cost was $25 for 5 gal. and they delivered it to my door. Couldn't beat that. I know all steels react differently
to the quench but I've quenched 1095,L-6,5160 and 52100 in this stuff with good results.

Happy heat treating ;)

Bill
 
Last summer I built a new quench tank and wanted to
use Texico type A, Tryed the local distrubter and he
tryed to get it, the company told him thay could not
sell it to him. I have tryed other sources and no
one has it or can get it. K&G were trying and having
trouble getting it, I don't know if thay ever did or
not. It all boiled down to be more trouble than it
was worth so I used ATF it may not be the best but
it is the best I can get and I can afford it. Gib
 
When I learned to make knives under Mr. Ogg I took on all of his old ways in heat treating. He used a very special blend of motor oils for all of his quenching needs. He never preheated his oil before quenching. Well, he did but the way he preheated it was to heat the shop (in the winter) and work on knives until his thermometer showed room temp in the bucket of oil. He used a standard galvanized water pail full of oil. Always a full blade quench. The one thing that he was particular about was the source of the oil and it's history. He only used really nasty used oil from oil changes from a local filling station. So you can imagine what it looked like. He claimed that used motor oil was more acidic and lower in viscosity for a faster quench. Was he wrong? I don't think so. Is it the best out there? No, probably not.

Well, when he passed on he left all of his knifemaking equipment to me. Including his quench bucket full of oil. And that's what I used until I went to the ABS school. Now I've gotten kind of fancy. I use a large old electric skillet full of BRAND NEW Wesson sunflower seed oil. I can preheat the oil in just a few minutes and do edge quenches till the world looks level with very little smoke. And the smoke from petroleum based oils is said to be carcinogenic, so that's a good thing. And it's non-toxic too and smells good to boot! I once had a beautiful Old English rooster get doused in my oil bucket in the shop (I forgot and left the lid off). Try as I might I just couldn't save him. The oil killed him deader than hell. No fancy quench oils for me. When I wear out the oil I'm using now I'll probably get a whole 5 gallon bucket of used deep frying oil from Hardees. But that's just me :D
 
I use olive oil on 1095 and L6 and O1, and a mix of motor oil and ATF for 5160 and 52100. Haven't worked with much else.
I use brine for japanese heat treating, but that's a different animal.
 
I have never changed the oil in my quench tank for the simple reason, I know what happened the last time I used it and know what will happen next time I want continuity not change. I do add to it as required and take care to keep it from becoming contaminated.
 
Looked all over for some Texaco Type A today--no luck. So I went with veterinary grade mineral oil. On the good side I finished up an edge quenching rig as described by Ed Fowler--thanks Ed--complete with adjustable limiter plate and candy thermometer. Got a good triple quench on a couple of 5160 test blades.

John
 
OK, I have been using regular old used motor oil. What steels is this good for, and not so good for? I'm new at this, is it more carbon in the steel needs a faster oil? Or the other way around?
Thanks
 
The lower the carbon, the faster the needed quench. I have heard tell and its true I's sure that with a superconcentrated solution of red devil lye and water you can harden mild steel.

The hotter the oil, the quicker it cools the steel due to the relationship of viscosity to cool rate. Water is just the opposite, the cooler the water the quicker it cools. After youi get a feel for your steel, you can adjust the quench rate by varying the temp. of the oil. This is a fine tuning adjustment that requires a lot of practice.
 
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