What quenching oil are you currently using?

misque

misque

Joined
Jul 9, 1999
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I'm looking into using more straight Carbon steels like 5160, 1084, and 52100. I found some 1/8" flat stock at the Guild Show (I couldn't resist, had to get some) and am wondering what you gents use for your quench.
I'm wanting to follow Ed Fowler's lead and use Texaco type A but that stuff is ridiculously hard to find here for some reason.:confused:
Anyway, I'm giving up on that for awhile and am interested in what else is being used currently by ya'll.

Thanks in advance for your replies!
Mike U.
 
Chevrons super quench is awfully close to the same as texaco type A, anyway this is what I've been told and what I use.

Bill
 
Ed Caffrey and some others use veterinary grade mineral oil. This is pretty close to what Texaco A is. If you get the specs. on Tex. A, you can get the same oil from several different companies.

John
 
Chevron quenching oil. or its supposed to be. Got a 5 gal. can from Uncle Al, the knifemaker supply guy.

Checked with the local Chevron distributor, they could order the stuff but only in 55 gal. drums. Would think a Texaco distributor could do the same. Chevron bought Texaco last year so there might be some changes in what is available.

Frankly, probably try the deep fat fry oil or vet. grade mineral oil next because its easier to get in reasonable quantities.
 
I've been using Canola oil at about 160 degrees, and getting good results. It's relatively cheap and available at any grocery store.
 
Goddards goo of course.Is there anything easier and better for the price:D ;) :D
Just for those that don't know what it is...Here is the recipe:
Half and half Parafin wax and Lard (or bacon drippings) with some transmission fluid added to keep the bugs and animals out of it about a pint to a mix of 4 blocks wax with the same amount of lard.No spills when moving and will last a long time....This is what I quenched in when I did my JS test blade and passed :cool:
Like I said easy to get and not real expensive.
Bruce
 
Canola oil at 135F exactly, first couple quenches smell like you are deep frying up some goodies!
 
I bought a gallon of the cheapest vegetable oil they had at the local grocery. Not very scientific, I know, but it seems to work fine for me. If I had a permanent setup it'd be Goddard's Goop for me too.

Dave
 
Military grade instrument oil at 160 degrees.When you pull it out after quench the hardened zone stands out nicely.

Mark
 
Goodard's Goop: My mixture is 40% lard, 40% parafin, and 20% ATF. Solidifies between uses so no spills.

I heat it to 140F for my quench.
 
How do any of use heat up the oil? I put it in a pan on the stove and use a refrigerator technician's thermometer to check the temp, but this seems like a big pain in the keester. I have to keep my stuff portable though, because my shop is in the basement with no ventilation so I don't want to run the forge down there - not to mention the fire risk...

I'd sure like to hear any other ideas on heating the oil closer to the forge though, my way isn't as straightforward as I'd like.

Dave
 
Simple enough ...In the summer time I heat one 3/8 inch bar to red and stick it in the goo untill the bar is black in color,In the winter time I use two bars.No science or technical stuff for me yet.and this has been working for me for a long time:D
Bruce
 
I bought a 4 gallon container of vegetable oil at Sam's for next to nothing and have been using that mostly for the past year or so. I heat it to around 140 degrees before quenching. (I quench in a large stainless steel stock pot I got cheap at the flea market. I took an old junk electric skillet and cut off every part of the pan around the heating element leaving two flanges that I bent over to allow me to hang it on the side of the stock pot with the heating element in the oil. It takes about 10 to 20 minutes to get to 130-140 degrees, by the time I get my propane forge set up and my normalizing heats done it's usually ready.)

I also just tried some of the Godard's Goo (same recipe as Bruce E. gave, only I added some salt too because Wayne originally used bacon grease in his and I figured the salt/lard combo would recreate that.) It works great and you don't have top worry about spilling it because it's a semi-solid. I'm looking forward to using it some more.

The commercial grades of quenchants are good because you'll get the same results everytime and you know exactly what you have. They are light grades of mineral oil however, which is what hydraulic fluid is also made from. I'm sure you could find a five gallon bucket of hydraulic fluid locally, I found one at Sam's Club for about $14.00. I'd like to try that soon too. You could probably find dirty hydraulic fluid for free at some of your local businesses.
 
WOW! A lotta food for thought here.:cool:

I think I'm going to try the Goddard's Goo and see how that works for me. The different vegetable oils for quenchant are really a surprise to me. That is just too cool how the simplest solutions are often times the best. I'll definately have to get around to trying at least one of those too.

Thanks a million for ya'll's input!:)
 
To heat mine I use the same method as Bruce. Just heat a rod and dunk it. If it's still too cool do it again!
 
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