trinculo

I'm ready to acquire some oil for my first oil quench tank. I'm going to make the tank out of an old fire extinguisher that is ~ 8" round and 22" tall. I will cut the top off and weld a hinged lid on it. Should be a bit over 4 gallons of quenchant.

I would like to harden mostly spring steel and 4140 for things like top tools, chisels, punches and spring fullers for the PH. I would also like to try my hand at some blades.

What would everybody recommend for the oil. I like the idea of vegetable oils because of the ease of getting them and the less toxic nature of the fumes and disposal, but have heard that certain kinds go rancid. How often does veggie oil need to be changed? Can you add something to make it not go rancid? What about used aft or motor oil? Open to all suggestions.

thanks for the advice.

Very Nice. I really like your work.

What kind of charcoal and how much? Should I out it around the metal being heated?

thanks,
dw

http://aimkiln.com/aimcrucible1411c.htm

So I just acquired one of these (scroll to model 1715C without the crucible).

How will this work as a heat treating oven?
It has a digital control with a couple of ramps. It is alleged to work. Didn't test it, but the new elements are around $40.

At this point my HT has been very unscientific using scrap yard springs for making my tooling, heating in my NC tool propane forge and quenching in water or veg oil, mostly hardies and power hammer texturing tooling. I have started making some blades, but have yet to heat treat any yet.

After most of a year blacksmithing, i'm just learning how much there is I don't even have a clue about.

My continuing gratitude for those sharing their knowledge here.

dw

Just had some new dies made for my utility hammer out of s7.
I need to have some new wedges made and have heard different things regarding heat treating the wedges.

Can someone drop some wisdom on me on weather mild steel is sufficient or should I be looking at something HC like 4140?

thanks,

dw

I'm getting ready to make up or have made up a set or two of dies for a 100ish pound pneumatic power hammer. The anvil and end of the tup are 6" round and drilled and tapped with two 5/8" holes each to secure the dies. My question is what is the best option for die material and why. I was going to make some 6" round backing plates and weld the dies to them, but I am concerned about the loosing the hardness of the die material or the weldabliity of the $$$ tool steels.

I've heard arguments for making the dies from S7 and H13 as well as 4140. I'd love to know everyones thoughts on this as well as ideas to attach the dies.

many thanks,

I just bought a Fontanini 250 lb anvil and was looking around at the commercially available hardy tools and don't seem to see any readily available.
IS upsetting a 1" tool or for that matter forging out a larger tool something that would make sense or am I likely to need to make all my own hardy tools.

This is a great thread. I'm learning some much from this. For a brief period I entertained building my own hammer. After seeing the depth of detail and attention in this hammer, I'm feeling very good about sending John Larson a deposit on a hammer.
This is way beyond my machinist skills at the level these guys are working.
Kudos,

They (BB results) do seem a bit optimistic, which is why I asked the question in the first place.
After hitting on several utility hammers (Phoenix, Bull, Iron Kiss100 and a home brew Kinyon ish) I sent Mr. Larson a deposit. I will be receiving my Iron Kiss #75 in the coming months.

It will be my first power hammer and based on my limited experience and the feel of the hammers IK seemed like a good all around choice. My only buyer remorse is that I kinda wish I have gone for the #100 or #125 IK.

Thanks to everyone here for sharing all the knowledge, as someone just getting started in Smithing this place has been an invaluable resource.

Sam,

Thanks for keeping up this list updated. It was very helpful in making my choice when purchasing a power hammer(s).
I'm curious if there is a reason you're not including the Big blue numbers posted recently?

best,

trin