[TheForge] Ed- heat treating S-7

[Ed F]

----- Original Message -----
From: "George Dixon" <george.dixon@mindspring.com>

> I use S1 and S7 for both hot and cold chasing tools and chisels.
> I teat them the same way;

You use them both, both hot and cold work with the same tempering?  If
that's correct it's much more versatile than anything I've heard of before.

> I forge them at a dark yellow   as in just after orange
> I forge them as little as possible to form the blank prior to cold stock
> removal
> After the forged blank has been belt sanded or filed to shape I take it
> back to yellow to normalize it, as in removing stress induced by forging.

I've learned to stick it in vermiculite at this point.  Do you do that or
air cool it?

> The less stress induced by forging, the less normalizing needed

What do you mean by "less normalizing"?

> The finished blank is taken back to yellow and quenched in brine (salty
> enough to float a spud)

Yikes!  Does that help it hold an edge or something?  What's wrong with air
cooling it (and wouldn't that make the tool tougher and safer)?

> For treadle hammer tooling, I heat treat the entire tool....except for a
> half-inch on the end so it will not spall when struck.
> G Dixon

How do you avoid heat treating the last 1/2"?