Books for heat treating

H

HotPajamas

Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
3
I have a small head that has no heat treatment on it. I want to try the process on it but not sure what the steps are or what to look for exactly. I have read some stuff on here and watch youtube videos of it but they don't give good info on how to do it.
 
It'd be VERY important to know,Exactly,what alloy you'd be trying to heat-treat.

If you don't,than all bets are off.

Different alloys respond to HT in very different ways,and applying any old median sorta an HT schedule to an unknown material can vary as widely as to go from no noticeable effect at all to catastrophic fractures running throughout the entire forging.

Since you sound like you're not totally informed on the issue,whence does the diagnosis comes from?Who has figured that the object hasn't been HT'd,,and how,and by what means, has that someone come to this conclusion?
 
More to the point of your question...Books,or internet sites,could only tell you how if you ask about a specific alloy.(And right they are,as,again,it gets pretty diverse).

But,if you Must for some reason,you Can ghetto your way through it.
(i've heat-treated two axes today,one bladed with 1095,the other with god knows what.I did it without a pyrometer;using waste oil as a quenchant,and oxidation colors as a tempering gauge(and20 years of experience in such foolishness).The result is good enough for Me,but is it Good?...No,sir,it is NOT.)

So,again,if you Must,for whatever exotic reason,do something like this,than you can presume that whatever your axe is Really made of is similar to AISI 1080 or W1....Just look up the HT for these two,or the like,and follow instructions.It'll tell you everything you need to know.
 
Keeping in mind all the warnings which Jake just gave you, all true, some general principles can be applied which may or may not improve your heat treat. Try reading 'The Complete Modern Blacksmith' by Alexander Weygers. It may help you to understand the variables and processes. I have been able to successfully heat treat some tools using using the guidance of that book. I've also ruined a few tools.
 
It can be heated treated but i didn't see lines like the other heads i own. No i have not tested it with a scale to make sure it has been. I mostly want to read up on the process so I could experiment with this head.
 
Last edited:
I tried heat treating this head. Quenched in my pool. No affect
PicsArt_11-09-09_36_19_jpg-733691.JPG
 
Whiskey_Jim said:
I tried heat treating this head. Quenched in my pool. No affect
Click to expand...

Do you KNOW that you had it past critical T?...(for many alloys it's past mag,for a few-WAY past magnetic).

And,how long did it take from heat to your pool?(anything over a second/second and a half,will not work great).

Last common oversight:Are you SURE it didn't harden?The decarb layer may be several thou(several tens in some cases),even picking at it with a new file tip can fool a fairly experienced person.

(but i likes Garry's version of events!:)
 
jake pogg said:
Do you KNOW that you had it past critical T?...(for many alloys it's past mag,for a few-WAY past magnetic).

And,how long did it take from heat to your pool?(anything over a second/second and a half,will not work great).

Last common oversight:Are you SURE it didn't harden?The decarb layer may be several thou(several tens in some cases),even picking at it with a new file tip can fool a fairly experienced person.

(but i likes Garry's version of events!:)
Click to expand...
I can confirm it is not harder than a ballpeen hammer
PicsArt_11-20-09_53_01_jpg-745764.JPG
 
Throws good sparks on the grinder but it still ate the metal fast. Way more than mild steel but rebar threw sparks out of the top of the grinder which the head didn't at all.
 
Whiskey_Jim said:
Throws good sparks on the grinder but it still ate the metal fast. Way more than mild steel but rebar threw sparks out of the top of the grinder which the head didn't at all.
Click to expand...

I've had ok luck chopping up chineseum axes and using them for parts(to blade things).
I've not run into a problem in a few years.Jokes aside,i don't think they'd economise on steel composition.Steel's cheap,they've other means to cut costs.
Spark-testing using rebar as analog is weird,as US rebar is not a simple,straightforward issue,and may contain carbides of assorted elements that in contact with your specific abrasive create funkier-than-usual spark....(at least look up the number and see what exactly rebar you have,it's not all created equal;but in any case,strange choice of analog).

Working with junk is always just that,what's there to say.Guessing game at best,not worth the fuel.

IF you're still willing to experiment,yes,up the heat,soak it at crit for a minute/minute and a half,and quench Immediately,as in have the quench tank within couple feet to forge.

IF you're looking to actually get a tool out of the deal,you'll have to Normalise now,after all these trials,too.(no big deal,just more fuel).

I doubt that it actually lacks C,it'd be likelier that the composition is more complex,that it uses Cr or Moly or something else to cause it to be deep-hardening,that'll take your soaking time Way up(it's 30 minutes for O1,for example...).

But the guessing-game can go on forever,with junk...:(

Good luck anyway,you've a decent heat-source there,lots Can be done!:)
 
I'll give it a good soak and immediate quench. Fun to play with but the old heads are perfect. Best head i have is marked cast steel and harder than an angry mother in law.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top