Heating and bending cast steel

[BryanDeel]

Hello everyone.  I have a very old framing slick with a socket that needs to be bent to a useable angle.  There is a stamp on the blade saying cast steel.  Can I bend this like mild steel?  Are there any special precautions I should take?  Really, the body of the slick looks like all of the other old chisels, wrought iron.  Thanks for any suggestions, Bryan

[Marksnagel]

The last and only time I tried to manipulate cast iron, I learned an important lesson. No. 

 

After I had it in the fire and brought it up to a nice yellow heat I moved it to the anvil and gave it a nice little tap. It splattered like it was made out of clay. 

 

Thus endith my lesson. Others may have and most undoubtedly will have better information for you. This was just my experience with cast iron.

 

Mark <><

[Michael]

How were you planning on bending it into a usable angle?  If its really a slick and not a large framing chisel, there should be a slight bend up from the back of the blade by the socket. A slick, at least a boatbuilders slick, is laid flat on its back and pushed, so the handle rises up from flat.

 

Cast steel refers to manufacturing process of the original steel stock. Likely your tool wasn't cast, it was forged. You should be able to heat and bend the socket, just don't let the whole blade heat up unless you want to re heat treat.

[BryanDeel]

It is 3 5/8 wide and 32" long with the handle, and the socket runs straight out of the chisel.  A reader on another sight mentioned that slicks with a straight socket had enough "rocker" on the bottom of the blade to compensate.  If that is the case with my slick, then it met with some unfortunate honing with a previous owner!  Anyway, I pan to put in a vise heat the base of the socket.  Then put an old handle in and adjust it 3 degrees.  Sounds pretty basic, we'll see.  Cheers

[ThomasPowers]

Mark completely missed the part about it being CAST STEEL and not cast iron; so ignore that post, (good info just on the wrong topic).

 

Cast steel (in the West) was the result of Huntsman's search for a better clock spring in the 1700's and resulted in a great leap forward in ferrous metal technology.  It was also quite expensive and so such tools were stamped to indicate it was the top of the line stuff all the way until it pretty much died out a bit after WWI  (mainly earlier; but Sheffield was still teeming some much later)  The quality curve went: blister steel, shear steel, double shear steel, cast steel.

 

So most likely a Chisel from the 19th century and the socket *may* be wrought iron.  Heat well, keeping the using end cold! Tweak gently and re temper (not reharden!) it in the kitchen stove afterwards to make sure you didn't auto quench it anywhere.