Suggestions for taller quenching container?

Col Defender

Col Defender

Joined
Nov 11, 2011
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So far I've quenched all my blades in an ammo can w/canola oil. But now I have a blade that's too long to go in the can. I'd like to have some sort of upright tube to take a longer blade, 4"wide or less, but also not so large that I need 5 gallons of oil to get the required depth - 16" at most.

Would 6" PVC Pipe work or must it be metal? Other ideas? And it would be handy if the whole container would sit on my hot plate just long enough to warm up the oil. Then. for safety, it could go onto the floor.

Thanks

Steve
 
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A lot of guys take a 4inchx48ish pipe and weld it to a plate
I would never quench in plastic. One wrong move and you have 5 gallons of oil on your shop floor.
 
Metal is better. If you have a compressed gasses store near you, check with them. O2, CO2 and other gas cylinders go out of spec after a certain number of years. The store should have a variety of out-of-spec cylinders on hand in various sizes. Ask them if you can take one off their hands. The place near me just gives them to me. Then cut to the length you want with an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. You might have to clean up the inside a bit if there is some surface rust but they make excellent quench tanks.
 
I just got a 4" piece of exhaust pipe 31" long for $20. Might work. Check your local muffler shop they probably have 5-6".
 
I have a couple of the large steel ammo tubes. I got em from an army surplus dealer. I can't remember what they're made for but they are about 8" in diameter, 22"-23" deep, & hold about 4.5 gallons of oil. They also have airtight lids which helps extend the life of the oil. They are basically perfect for vertical quench tanks. I think I gave $20 each for them. If you'd like, I'll try to take a pic for you.
 
Muffler pipe from a tractor trailer service shop has 4, 5, 6" pipe



If you spend the $, you can do it all in stainless.
 
Don't use PVC or any type of plastic... too many things can go wrong.

Why does it have to be vertical?
Why don't you want to use 5gal of oil?(did I read that wrong?... you should be using 5 gals for knife sized projects, anyway.

You can construct decent quench tanks cheaply by folding steel salvaged from furnace ducts. My first tank was 6" x 36" x 8" deep... no welds... took me about an hour to make.
 
I don't make swords, so the perfect size is an old (condemned, you can get them at dive shops) scuba tank with the valve end cut off, in a stand of my own making.
I got a whole batch to make bells with, one was aluminum and didn't sound like anything, but it's a great oil tank.
Personally, quenching vertically works much better, with agitation I rarely get distortion. Horizontal works for plenty of smiths.
 
I went to the Steel yard and rummaged through the scrap cuts found a square tube 4" X 4" X 30" tall and welded another piece of scrap "C" channel for the bottom cost me $10...fabbed up a flip cover with an old cabinet hinge to snuff out any flame. Don't recall the volume but probably couple of gallons max probably less. I bent a couple pieces of 1/4" rod welded to the sides for handles easy to move around. Scrap steel can be reasonable...
 
Go to the scrap yard or a welders supply and get an old 240cu.ft. gas cylinder. Cut the too off, weld a 24" square plate to the bottom for stability, and fill it up with oil. Make a cap to cover it when not in use from a coffee can, paint can, or a plastic sand pail. Use an immersion type drum heater to warm the oil if it needs it.
 
elementfe said:
I don't make swords, so the perfect size is an old (condemned, you can get them at dive shops) scuba tank with the valve end cut off, in a stand of my own making.
I got a whole batch to make bells with, one was aluminum and didn't sound like anything, but it's a great oil tank.
Personally, quenching vertically works much better, with agitation I rarely get distortion. Horizontal works for plenty of smiths.
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Fire extinguishers and air cylinders work too
 
Some great ideas here guys - so thank you! Clearly plastic is out. But I may have found a solution at least for a while in the barn. An old helium tank once used for filling balloons. It's already empty and has a fairly good base. Any safety issues with cutting off the top? It would do for maybe a 16 " blade and is free!
 
Remove the valve and cut the top off. Helium is inert, and no risk.

On tanks that had oxygen or flammable gasses, remove valve, fill to overflowing with water, drain, and cut off the top.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Remove the valve and cut the top off. Helium is inert, and no risk.

On tanks that had oxygen or flammable gasses, remove valve, fill to overflowing with water, drain, and cut off the top.
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I would add, do not use an acetylene tank. Less because it contained a flamable gas, more due to the presence of the stabilizing material at the bottom of the tank.

I thought I would state that, because people that work with flames could likely have Oxygen and Acetylene tanks around.
 
Col,
If you ever get to Liberty MO I just scored about 12 foot of 6" pipe off a construction job. You can have some if ya want. But ya gotta pick it up.
I plan to use it for the same thing.
 
If it is actually 8" in diameter then it may be the propellant can for an 8 inch howitzer. The ones for the 155mm are 6 inches, but I think they are taller I remember you mentioning those a while back and I looked for some on line. They weren't all that easy to find. For the older 155mm ones, there are apparently two sizes, a smaller one for the green bag change and a larger one for white bag.the white bag canister may be like 34 inches tall.
Another option might be the two round canister for the 120mm mortar. It is rectangular and built like a traditional rifle or machine gun ammo can with the locking lid, but it is 11 x 5.5 x 31. Gives yo a bit of room to swish the blade around. The major advantage is that everyone on the internet seems to have them for sale for $20, including Midway.
Darrin Sanders said:
I have a couple of the large steel ammo tubes. I got em from an army surplus dealer. I can't remember what they're made for but they are about 8" in diameter, 22"-23" deep, & hold about 4.5 gallons of oil. They also have airtight lids which helps extend the life of the oil. They are basically perfect for vertical quench tanks. I think I gave $20 each for them. If you'd like, I'll try to take a pic for you.
Click to expand...
 
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I think the interior is about 6" in diameter and the flanges are about 8" so they must be howitzer cans. I looked at the rectangular mortar cans but went with the round ones because the mortar cans wouldn't hold but about 3.5 gallons. I like the idea of having ~4.5 gallons of oil when quenching multiple blades. I find them deep enough for vertical agitation for most blades. Like I said they are about perfect for my use. I would be glad to get you one or two but the shipping would probably be more than the tubes. LOL If you want to get some locally, I suggest calling your local pawn shops and see if any of them have an idea where to get them. Who knows they may have one or two collecting dust in their warehouse.
 
Sitting on the side of the forge area, I have an aluminum military container for some type of rocket. It is rectangular .. about 12X8X50+". The top end is hinged, and seals tight. I plan on making a stand for it and filling it with 15 gallons of quench oil. Sword quench tank on steroids, for sure.
 
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