[TheForge] Hammer heat treating/stainless coloration

Fri Apr 13 19:56:24 EDT 2007

Nice hammer Frosty!  The advantage of using your hot drift to temper  is of 
course the fact that you get a higher temperature temper in the area around 
the eye.  This results in  a tougher steel in this area.  I still prefer 
using a oven to temper for woodworking tools because it is fool proof and 
very repeatable.  Both color tempering and oven tempering can give very good 
results.  We teach both in our class on woodworking tools at the Folk School 
but I find that those new to heat treating get better results using a oven 
temper.

Last year we had a nice hammer similar to yours crack from the eye because 
of the way we quenched it.  This hammer was made from 1080 or so the student 
said the material was.  We re-made the hammer from 4140 and oil quenched and 
it came out great.  He is using it today as his main forging hammer. 
Sometimes when we heat treat we know why we getting a crack -- sometimes I 
think it is that we just didn't hold our mouth right.

Dave Smucker
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Frost" <frosty at customcpu.com>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 2:46 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Hammer heat treating/stainless coloration

>I just uploaded a pic of a turning hammer I heat treated yesterday. The pic 
>shows the temper colors fairly well, though the hammer is farther into the 
>purplish than it looks.
>
> It's 1 3/4" X 3 3/4" forged from a Ford truck axle. I heated it to 
> critical slowly in the door of my forge, turning frequently till 
> non-magnet and just a bit beyond. I then stood over the quench tank witing 
> for the magnet to just start to like the steel again and quenched in 
> warmish water.
>
> I tempered it with a steel "drift," I forged specifically for the purpose, 
> heated to high orange and tapped into the eye. The colors began to run 
> late in the second heat on the drift and the colors you see are about 
> midway through the third application. I then tapped the drift out and 
> quenched in water.
>
> I have a little finish dressing to do, the edges on the faces are a bit 
> too sharp and need a little more radius. The rounding face may get more 
> radius but I'll decide on that after using it for a while. I'm going to 
> leave as much of the temper colors as possible cause they're purrty. 
> <grin>
>
> The eye is drifted for a Hoffi style slab handle rather than a regular 
> oval shaped handle.
>
> Anyway, this is how I did it.
>
> Frosty
> -------------------------------
> If it ain't forged
> it ain't real.
> Wrought iron is.
> The FrostWorks
>
> Meadow Lakes, AK.
>
> http://www.artmetalradio.com/
>
> From: "David E. Smucker" <davesmucker at hotmail.com>
>
>
>> Most old ball pien hammers are 1060 or so, some maybe a 1045.  It is 
>> unlikely that hammers will be alloy material.  So you have a medium 
>> carbon plain steel --  most would say is water hardening.  But -- if your 
>> friend is making thin edged tools then you can get by with a oil quench 
>> if you only heat the cutting surface and area directly behind it for heat 
>> treating. Slowly heat the cutting area to just above the critical 
>> temperature -- just above non-magnetic and quench in oil.  Keep the tool 
>> in motion while in the oil.  Remove wipe clean and right away put in an 
>> oven at 375 to 400 F for 1 hour.  This is the tempering step.  I use the 
>> kitchen oven -- having cleaned the tool of oil with a little 409 or some 
>> such cleaner.  Others use a toaster oven they pick up for $ 5.00 at the 
>> local thrift shop.  (keeps the wife happy)
>>
>> If you want it a little harder you can water quench -- but you are more 
>> likely to get a crack. Still I have harden many wood working tools using 
>> water or brine.  But you must temper -- don't try to get by without it or 
>> the tool will be very brittle. I teach a class at the John C. Campbell 
>> Folk School on making woodworking tools.  Out of 12 students making edged 
>> tools from 1095 maybe 1 or 2 will have cracking problems when quenching 
>> in water -- it most cases it is because they heated too fast and or heat 
>> the tool too hot and then quenched.
>>
>> If you want to practice on something first, get some W1 or water 
>> hardening drill rod and make a scriber and / or center punch.  Follow the 
>> above heat treating and when it works for you do the same thing with the 
>> wood working tools you have a bunch of time into.
>>
>> Dave Smucker
>> Brasstown, NC
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>> From: "Robert J Hill" <wskewinu at mac.com>
>>
>>
>>> Hello all.
>>> I have a few questions.  One of my coworkers is making some wood carving 
>>> tools from ball pien hammers.  I also have a cross pien that tends to be 
>>> softer than I would like.  What would be a good method for heat treating 
>>> these tools?
>>> My other question is in regards to heat coloration from welding on 
>>> stainless.  Scrubbing the colors off with Scotch-Brite pads and wire 
>>> brushes only goes so far.  Any recommendations for an easier way?
>>> Thanks,
>>> Rob Hill
>>>
>
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