Guys and Gals,
I’m in need of hardening 4 blades using the induction or gas forges, but find out it is not possible to oil quench inside the building. Suggestions on how to overcome this issue? We can’t use the gas forges until there is a gas tank storage unit purchased and am in serious need of getting at least 1 blade done for my godson’s Marine graduation in April.
Given the effort to set up for knifemaking in general, it might be worth discussing the aquisition of a heat treatment oven with the Committee Chair of Metal. This might have some crossover attraction with the Machine shop as well. Most of the harder steels have very specific temperature profiles that have to be met to harden and temper them, and these wouldn’t really be possible with an unregulated forge.
Last night I saw a “New” kiln in the blacksmith shop that has a programmable controller that appears to be perfect for this, which is hardening stainless steel (SS). Not really what is needed fro carbon steel which needs to be quenched in oil, for the most part.
I presume this is the kiln in reference here, inside the Metal Shop, next to the PlasmaCAM:
We have the kiln, but anything other than water quench is the challenge.
I agree once we get propane storage, one of the small propane forges could be kept available and an oil quench performed outdoors.
Also it was brought up at the Metal shop meeting last night that this furnace is being used for fused glass and uses the same circuit as the plasma cutter. When the furnace is plugged in the Plasmacam is unavailable. The furnace cycle for fused glass is approximately 12 hours.
PLEASE DO NOT UNPLUG FURNACE it will damage the load of glass inside.
They both appeared to be functional during my class (though I was paying roughly zero attention to the kiln).
Also, it’s mildly disturbing to ask 1689 members to put their PlasmaCAM plans on hold for 12 hours while 1 member is running a glass project. I forsee much infighting…
Laying the issue of oil quenching in the building aside, I would argue that you’d have a hard time (pun intended) getting the slow even heat you’ll want using the induction forge. A better bet would be to come to the Intro to Blacksmithing and Open forge class next month and use the gas forge (or even better: the coal forge if it is being used) and the oil tank from the Blacksmithing trailer to quench the blade.
We did three (I think) blades last Sunday…
The next class is pending for 8 April @ 10:00am. It should be up on the calendar Saturday evening.
If you’re just wanting to do the quench, there’s no need to sign up for the class - just show up at least an hour before the class end time (e.g. show up before 1pm if possible). That way you should be able to get the work done before the end of the class and allow time for the forges to cool down before being stored away.
That kiln could mean some very good things for those of us that are into knife making. A kiln that can reach 2000F + degrees and has a programmable controller is what is needed for heat treating stainless steel and D2 steel. The good news is that quenching is done without oil or water. Just a pair of thick aluminum plates.
I do have a set of stainless steel 154CM blades that I need to heat treat.
Thom