iron worker dies and punches

[Nelson44]

Hello it’s me again,
I have some about 30 old iron worker dies and punches for a machine at work i have been doing some reading of the Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others who Heat Treat and Forge Steel and have guessed that what I am working with is D2 tool steel but don’t know for sure. Does any one know if I am right?? I made a knife out of one of the punches it has turned out fairly well for my first one. I am trying to figure out what to do with it now I guess temper it now that I am almost done with it. I feel like i hit the thing with at least a thousand hammer blows but didn’t count them. I started working with the punch before I had my forge up and running just using a rose bud torch. When I did finally get my forge up and running I would only have about and hour and a half per day to work on this knife and after I was done I would leave it in the hot forge to cool until the next time I worked it.
I also put about a dozen stringer welds on the surface when I got it down to about 1/2 and inch just to see if some difference in the surface would show up when I cleaned it up. Anyways I guess my main question is should I just temper it and if so what do I do here is what I found on the net, D2 is usually given a double or triple temper, at either 350F, 525F, or 950F, depending on where you want to be on the hardness. Sorry if this is to long I was just trying to be clear and fear I was not anyways thanks for everything

[Bentiron1946]

Man the title of this thread sure sounds bad but then you read it and it isn't about some poor old iron worker punching and dieing. It must have been a chore to forge that thing with just a rosebud.

[Nelson44]

it was very hard to forg the first halph of my first knife project with just a rosebud. I guess no one beside you Bentiron felt like responding to this i still dont know if i am right on this subject

PS AM I POSTEING MY QUESTIONS IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

[JosephPrivott]

You are posting them in the right place Nelson ('netiquette also dictates that caps lock is not cruise control for 'cool', btw)

I for one certainly feel like responding to your question, but like many others, don't know the slightest thing about the punches you're talking about. I would say that given the literature you have at your disposal, you're probably right.

my $.02

[RainsFire]

that and, this forum generally travels fairly slow.. partially because of the respectivly low traffic, ( love it in here) and.. because posters usually only post when they can offer some sort of aid, or advice concerning the topic at hand..

I too, have no idea what sort of steel your punches are.. pictures, and a better description of what they came from may be useful..

[Frosty]

Sorry, I don't have any info either.

However, if you do a web search for iron worker dies and include the name on your machine you should find a company making replacements if not the company that made the originals. They'll usually have a spec list on the site or will send you one if you ask for pricing.

This summer I found a hand punch and got more info than I wanted looking for replacement punches. Should work for yours.

Frosty

[Nelson44]

Thank yall for the info i am currently still looking but as of yet had no luck. I do know its some hard stuff. Befor i was just trying to make sure I posted my questions in the right place this is a nice sight and i dont want to mess it up by posteing stuff in the wrong place. just used the caps so some one would see it and not over look that sorry if it was the wrong way to go. anyways yall have a good one