February 5, 201115 yr I have no oil for quenching some 5160 steel. First, what are common quenching oils for 5160 steel that are easily available. One that I can go purchase tomorrow and doesn't cost a great deal for 5 gallons. I have read many internet sites and there are many recommendations. I need to get started with some reasonably good oil. The other issue is where to purchase or obtain such oil?
February 5, 201115 yr I have always used peanut oil. It works well. Olive oil will work also. Good luck, Mitch
February 5, 201115 yr 5160 is a very forgiving steel. Folk have quenched in all manner of oils from Parks #50 to transmission fluid to bacon fat to caneloupe. I personally have had acceptable results with vegetable oil, vegetable shortning, motor oil, and transmission fluid. I've had mixed results with water. For superior results, go with a commercial quenching oil - they don't break down over time like the organics or automotive fluids. The commercial stuff is made to endure the heat.
February 5, 201115 yr Like TM3 said, 5160 is a deep hardening steel, so you can get away with a lot in terms of quenchants. Any reasonably low viscosity oil heated to around 120 degrees will probably do the job. Vegetable oil, peanut (including used)), canola, mineral oil, ATF, motor oil....the list goes on and on. However, be aware that many of these will not give acceptable results on shallower hardening steels.
February 5, 201115 yr Author What are some brand names of commercial quenching oils? And, where can one find these oils. I've seen some on the internet, but had difficulty finding locations to buy them.
February 5, 201115 yr Good morning all SoCal Dave -I use Chevron Quenching Oil 70 and purchased some from the G3 Boys in Tejeras NM. Frank Turley uses Texaco Quenchtex A and has a dab left in Santa Fe. In any case it would be a lovely drive. -grant
February 6, 201115 yr Around here most any resto will let you have used up fryer oil for nothing. I wonder what the advantages of the brand name quenchants would be? Are there some steels which have specific quenchants required?
February 6, 201115 yr Around here most any resto will let you have used up fryer oil for nothing. I wonder what the advantages of the brand name quenchants would be? Are there some steels which have specific quenchants required? no, just the requisite speed of the quench.
February 7, 201115 yr The advantage of commercial oils is that they're engineered to produce a nice cooling curve, and to oxidize slowly. Oxidation changes the cooling characteristics of the oil. That's the main disadvantage of some of the natural oils, like canola.
February 7, 201115 yr If one can get a steady supply of free vegetable oil, (or bacon grease or transmission fluid or whatever) then one can change it out frequently. If one must buy vegetable oil, the commerial quenchants make more sense as they are cheaper in the long run. Also, I've never heard of bears, dogs, or mice trying to eat the commercial stuff. Now and again critters will try to get into the organics.
February 8, 201115 yr Brownells has Toughquench, and MSC has a quench oil that is similar. both are quite similar to Parks AAA, which I believe is still carried by elliscustomknifeworks.
February 8, 201115 yr Brownells has Toughquench, and MSC has a quench oil that is similar. both are quite similar to Parks AAA, which I believe is still carried by elliscustomknifeworks. I believe the Brownell's product is repackaged Houghto Quench G. Don't hold me to it. McMaster also carries two commercial oils, one slow and one fairly fast. I forget who makes 'em, but I think it's Houghton or Heatbath (which now owns Park).
February 8, 201115 yr Author When I looked up Chevron Quenching Oil 70, the MSDS sheet indicated that the main component is refined mineral oil. Has anyone used straight mineral oil. Mineral oil has not come up in conversations on the internet concerning quenching oils. Peanut oil, vegetable oil, motor oil, transmission oil, etc, have been mentioned many times. Did I miss something?
February 8, 201115 yr Sounds like you're looking for a commercial quench oil, but a thought to the folks who are poorboy-ing it. I personally use veggie oil for much of my work. It may need changed out after a time, but it is cheap and readily available at any grocery store. It also doesn't have the heavy metals and/or carcinogens of used motor oil or tranny fluid, and smells more like cooking instead of burning old motor oil. That being said, I went with the quench oil from McMaster Carr for some batches of tool heads.
February 8, 201115 yr When I looked up Chevron Quenching Oil 70, the MSDS sheet indicated that the main component is refined mineral oil. Has anyone used straight mineral oil. Mineral oil has not come up in conversations on the internet concerning quenching oils. Peanut oil, vegetable oil, motor oil, transmission oil, etc, have been mentioned many times. Did I miss something? Its has come up many times on different forums. Some folks use it. Vet grade is fairly cheap in bulk. A genuine quenchant guru told me it's a very poor quenchant. Realize that the term mineral oil can mean any oil derived from petroleum. The details of the refining and additives are crucial.
February 11, 201115 yr ok, lets talk about where you can buy this stuff! Brownell's. McMaster-Carr. Ellis Custom Knifeworks, maybe. Kelly Cupples. (Google is your friend on all those.) Call your local heat treater, if you have one. He'll probably sell you a bucketful if you beg. Big oil companies' local distributors may be able to get it for you, but probably won't want to deal with the quantities you want. (Unless you're quenching very hard and fast, a one-at-a-time bladesmith probably doesn't need more than three gallons. The rule of thumb is a gallon per pound of steel.) I've heard Heatbath is downright unpleasant about refusing to talk to individuals. You may have better luck finding a local distributor or end user through Houghton.
February 18, 201115 yr Just wondering. Talking about the heat of the steel making the oil unusable after a period of time. But if a person got used oil from resturants, they throw it out after being heated for a long time. So my point is, wouldnt that oil.be already useable? ?? Or less likely to be of any use. Cause you wouldn't have any idea how old it was or Nothing I used to work at a place That served catfish And They used five fryers. But changed after Friday and Saturday nights. But That oil stayed at 400 degrees for probably 16-20 hours. They had certain ones for fries or hush puppies. But When they throwed it all in that big barrel outside. It was all mixed and stunk. Actually. So I wouldn't think used oil from a diner would be much good. As far as not having a clue as to.what was in it or how old it actually was. Leaving your quenching a real crap shoot. Maybe I'm.wrong. but I've Just always used new vegetable oil. And some salt water quench. At least the first several.uses I had some idea of how the steel would harden. Just curious. I can get all the old oil I want. For free. But. Never have due to my question about It. And that it makes my shop.smell like fish. Which ain't bad. But. It lingers when.It shut up For a few.days. .but don't let me interfere, I've enjoyed the information. May try some of the chevron
February 19, 201115 yr Author I purchased some 28 second quenching oil from McMaster-Carr. I made a 3/4" thick center punch from the 5160 stock I have. I heated the punch up to past non-magnetic for about 10 min. , quenched it in the oil, with a figure eight motion. I then ran the colors using a heated block of metal. I ran the colors just past straw and quenched it again. I tested the piece making center punch marks in mild steel and the point held up well. I liked the weight of the heavier center punch. Most of the ones I have are very small and have very little weight to them. They tend to move around if I 'm not careful and steady. I found that the 3/4" X 6" long piece has a nice heavy weight to it and stayed where I placed it. I will test it more to see if it holds up to more use.
February 20, 201115 yr There are various types of cold quenching oils classified as slow, medium-fast and fast quenching oils. Most are formulated with additives for quenching speed and oxidation. The speed is generally determined by the specific alloy being heat treated. Low alloy materials require a faster quench and higher alloy materials require a slower quench. Most of the common cold quenching oil are based on mineral oil, however there are a few vegetable oil based products availalbe.
February 20, 201115 yr Author I forgot to mention that I heated the oil up to 125-130 degrees prior to quenching.
February 21, 201115 yr Well here's my to cent's worth on this, Cheveron make 2 indrustril Quinch oils I think ? they call them Turbine Quench oils, This mite be the same thing Grant is talking about ? I have yet to ask the outside sale man what the difference is between them ?? Though down the road we need to re harden a set of dies, after we drill bolt holes through them for tooling there off Tom Clarke personal Sa Mak ??? anyone know what steel Tom used for dies I think this PH was made in 2000 OR proper way to harden back / temps + time ANY Info will help :<) Thanks Steve **** PS THANKS TO ALL THAT PUT INFO ON THIS SITE !
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