[TheForge] re quenching mild steel in water to cool it

[Catherine Jo Morgan]

Francis Whitaker taught us to avoid quenching mild steel in water unless
we were making something we wanted to be a little springy. He told us
that it did add a little spring to the steel. This seems to contradict
the idea of quenching it making the steel more prone to break, but it
does seem to have both effects. I learned to my sorrow (being stubborn
and not always believing Francis the first time) that if a piece needed
repeated heats and forgings in the same place - making a very small
neck, for example - it was much more likely to crack if I quenched it in
water.

Usually work can be organized to avoid this, by working on several
pieces at once so that by the time you need to handle a heated place on
one piece, it's air cooled ok.

Catherine Jo Morgan
Morgan Sculpture
Iron and mixed media vessels
cjmorgan@hemc.net
706-754-3812

online artist journal: http://radio.weblogs.com/0120691/