Smoke & Fire N Hot Steel...Arrrggghhh!

R

RobertHankins

Joined
Jun 10, 2001
Messages
1,385
Yea, Smoke then fire then drop the hot steel on fire on the floor...Home HT doesn't get any better than this:mad:

Anybody got a solution for flare ups when HT Carbon steels?
I am using a 3gal quench tank with Texaco HT oil.
Man am I getting tired of praying I won't start a fire some day!
 
Robert I dont get the flames when quenching. I use Texaco hydraulic 32. Are you using ATF or what? Their hydraulic oils have a flame retardant additive. Or You may need to wear a flameproof suit :D
 
Bruce is correct. Try a different oil. Also make sure you have a lid to quickly set on the tank. I do my heat treating Outside. The three stooges could have made a full time living just doing skits about my heat treating FU's.

My favorite is the flaming volcano of death that I keep doing even though I know better. Recipe= use a small (2" or 2.5") pipe filled with burned motor oil, to quench a sword blade. Guarenteed to keep you laughing for weeks.:o
 
cool Peter
That's what I use most of the time
but I use exht pipe with steel plates welded
to the bottom for a stand to keep them from tipping over.
for anyone that wants to do it is way..
I have different sizes for different jobs I use veg. oil
and heat to about 135F
using welding gloves and vice grips,
if you put it in fast enough you wont
get much flame. just don't over fill the tubes
with oil, the volume
of the steel and expansion of the oil can over flow the oil.
I love this job_ :D
 
Hey Robert I just did some research on mineral oil. Turns out that hydraulic fluid is, guess what, a light mineral oil with additives like Bruce mentioned, to prevent foaming and to retard it's flameability. The medicinal/veterinarian grades are extra pure. Some other mineral oil (petrolatum) products are petroleum jelly and parafin! Commercial oils specifically for quenching are also specific grades of mineral oil. The hydtraulic fluid is cheap and Sam's carries it in five gallon buckets, I intend to try some soon though I've had good luck so far with plain veggie oil.

On a side note, I just finished heat treating four knives and for the first time used some Goddard's Goop (my recipe was equal parts parafin and lard with about a quart of ATF added and quite a bit of salt too) and it seems to have worked great! The blades hardened up nicely and it was very interesting using a solid quench. It does flare up a lot especially on the 4" blade I quenched in it but burns out quickly. The other two blades I quenched in 140 degree veggie oil.
 
For knives Robert, I'm still convinced that you cannot beat Crisco. It won't flame either. If you pull the same trick someone just told you about, and heat a rod to put in it prior to quench, it comes right up to quenching temp.

gives a great edge and is super easy to store.
 
Crisco? Hmmmm... don't see why it wouldn't work.

I use a mix of vacume pump oil, esentialy heavy mineral oil, with about a 1/3 by volume used DOT 3 ATF, and a little used cooking oil. It flames up on the big blades, but dies down pretty quike. My quinch pan is the bottom out of an old keroseen heater, and I heat it with an old double hot plate. This seems to be a slow quinch.

I've tried a version of Godard's goo, but I got some thing out of whack because the quench was way to fast and I warped several blades till I went back to my old mix.

Only had trouble once, my Father's Father's Day gift was a sort of Gurka/short sword/machete with and 18" blade forged from 5160. On the second quench the blade sliped out of the tongs and fell sideways into the quench. The blade had an interesting U shape.:o
 
I still use a motor oil and ATF mix, for quenching stainless, in a 5 gal. bucket. I get alot of flame-up but, I cut a piece of sheet metal with about a 3" hole in the center to cover the top of the bucket. That way the flames have very little to go crazy. Knock, knock... haven't had a problem yet (and my workshop is in a 100+yr. old bank barn). As far as the Goddard's Goop, I love it for edge quenching 1095 and 5160. I don't use it for anything longer than 10" and you do have to be careful about quenching thin blades. I just leave the smaller blades a little thicker than the stainless before HT and haven't had a problem since. I've never added extra salt to the mix though (I figured the lard had enough in it). Anyone else play around with the "Goop" method?

J.
http://www.mountainhollow.net
 
Nope, I'm not kidding Robert. Plain old Crisco or the generic sister to it. Best quench I've ever found for knives. Not swords but for knives up to a foot or so, it just wins the blue ribbon. Now this is for carbon steel. I'd have to go back to my notes for SS because that was just playing anyway to see if I could do it at home. But for real steel try Crisco.
 
peter, i think you have a new ad, campain brewing here. i can hear the jingle in the backround! :cool: . oh by the the way, the knives of mine that you were complamenting on sharpness and edge holding(in a diff, thread) are made from those non REAL steels!:p :p :)
 
Just went to a friend's house a couple weeks ago, and heat treated a few blades with him. He uses mineral oil as a quench; it works great and does not flare up. Doesnt smell too good, but who cares?
 
Hey Y'all,

I will have to try the crisco out. I have been edge quenching 1095 and 1084 in bacon grease(strained). You have to keep it covered to keep animals out of it, and it catches on fire, but it gets steel very hard and it smells good when it burns:)

I have also been using Goddards goop. I make mine with equal parts bacon grease, ATF, and canning wax. It works very well for hardening. I have found that animals(read mice and coons) do like to eat it, don't know if it kills them afterwards or not. I think it works better after it has warmed up to a liquid though.

HillbillyChuck
 
are made from those non REAL steels!
Click to expand...

Well Laurence, I guess you have to keep the wives happy. Can't have them buffing carbon steel knives after washing them.:footinmou
 
You know Laurence, I think I've found a perfect avatar.
:footinmou :footinmou :footinmou :footinmou :footinmou
seems to fit!
 
do you remember the old commercials Loretta Lynn used to do for Crisco on the Country Music shows? I can see it now, Loretta thrusting a red hot Khukri into a pan of Crisco and saying.."hit ull do ya proud!" ;)
 
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