[TheForge] S1 Heat Treating

[bamablacksmith at comcast.net]

To quench H-13,  I bring up to critical temperature after forging, then let it air cool in front of fan. The better the air circulation the better. Ive had really good success with that method.

Ive thought about using compressed air from my compressor (the air cools as it expands) but I havent had a chance to try it. When I attempt it, I'll shoot the air, end on at the working end, to ensure even cooling and that will make the working end harder than the struck end... hopefully.

mike


> A while ago George Dixon posted a procedure for quenching H13 and/or S7 in salt 
> water.  It shocked me but I did try it on an S1 punch that I was using for cold 
> work in my flypress and it held up much better than air quenching it had.  I had 
> good luck with several punches afterward and gained confidence, but of course 
> when quenching some punches I put a lot of work into it bit me.  When cleaning 
> them up I realized that most of them cracked.  I think I can get the one time 
> hot impression I need from them (although I wanted to use them after this 
> project, of course)  but I'm wondering what I might do next time.
> 
> I think the problems may be related to the "care" I was taking to heat them 
> slowly in the gas forge and let them soak a bit.  Typically, I just use a torch 
> to heat the little 5/8 diameter x 2" long punches.  Some punches I heat treated 
> afterward weren't in the forge nearly as long (10 minutes vs. 20 or 30 mins) and 
> didn't crack.
> 
> Ed
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