abyss94 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 alright last year i made a sword out of a very pathetic metal slab (it was a grss cutting hockey) its a bit rigid mild steel but bends very easily. the rest of the sowrd is awesome but i feel i wasted my energy when i look at the blade can someone PLEAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEE tell me how to temper mild steel? i dont have access to any forge or big burners the max i can gt is a good nice barbecue charcoal fire but plz help me im losing my mind over the stupid blade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgemaster Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 You're gonna love this, but you have to harden the steel before you temper it, and guess what, mild steel cannot really be hardened, much less tempered. You can quench it in something like super quench, (after getting the whole thing up to about 850 deg C) and get some hardness but ultimately you will be disapointed. Put this one down to experience, get something that will heat treat readily like some spring steel and try again. Sorry to rain on your parade. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Yeah, sorry man, but not all steel is created equal. I don't know what a "grss cutting hockey" is, but if it's mild steel you're pretty much out of luck If you want to heat treat steel you're going to have to find a way to get the whole blade up to around 1500 degrees F. A charcoal grill ain't gonna do it. (With real charcoal it could probably do the job for smaller blades, but not a sword.) A simple ground forge can do just fine, but building one takes a small investment in time and work, and very minimal parts. Somehow I suspect that's going to prove to be too difficult for you, but if you're serious about making a functional sword, resign yourself to spending at least a few years learning all about this craft. There's a lot to know. Sorry. If it were easy, everybody'd do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Real chunk charcoal---not briquettes has been used to forge and heat treat swords for over 2000 years now; but you need something like a trench forge (Requirements: shovel, NON GALVANIZED pipe with holes drilled in it, blow drier, chunk charcoal.) As mentioned mild steel can't be properly hardened for a blade. As blade making and heat treating is considered an ADVANCED smithing process it might help to learn the basics *first* and not jump in the lake a mile from shore and then ask folk to teach you to swim... If you are near to my shop you are welcome to arrange to come over some weekend when I have "open shop" and I can teach you some of the basics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't tread on me Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Get a chunck of pipe that the sword can fit into, seal one end put the sword in. Then crush some charcoal to dust and pack that all around the blade untill the pipe is almost full, put in some cardboard and seal the ather end. Bild a big fire and toss it in. Let it sit in the fire until the pipe is red hot and keep it red hot for about an hour then quench it in a barral of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son_of_bluegrass Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 First, where in the world are you? Second, what is a "grss cutting hockey"? Something for cutting grass? If so you may have something that can be hardened. C: Do some reading. It sounds like you are a beginner. Before you try to heat treat something as tricky as a sword, you'll want experience heat treating smaller stuff. Set it aside for a year (or 2), don't forget about it, then try it IF you think you are ready. Fourthly, check the ABANA site for an affiliate close to you. You'll learn faster if someone can show you. And finally, welcome aboard. ron PS. For future reference a subject with more than just "HELP" will bring more responses. Some people who will be able to answer your question don't have time to look at "Help" posts but will look at "Heat treating a sword help, please" post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 PS. For future reference a subject with more than just "HELP" will bring more responses. Some people who will be able to answer your question don't have time to look at "Help" posts but will look at "Heat treating a sword help, please" post. He could have even tried reading the heat treat information already posted here if he really wanted to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Get a chunck of pipe that the sword can fit into, seal one end put the sword in. Then crush some charcoal to dust and pack that all around the blade untill the pipe is almost full, put in some cardboard and seal the ather end. Bild a big fire and toss it in. Let it sit in the fire until the pipe is red hot and keep it red hot for about an hour then quench it in a barral of water. An hour in a fire isn't going to do much in the way of pack carburizing unless it's a blown fire at near welding heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 An hour in a fire isn't going to do much in the way of pack carburizing unless it's a blown fire at near welding heat. but I hear that works in the video games but I think they added Orc teeth too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 but I hear that works in the video games but I think they added Orc teeth too Dragon blood, too. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't tread on me Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 An hour in a fire isn't going to do much in the way of pack carburizing unless it's a blown fire at near welding heat. Ya he probly should leave it in for 3-4 hours. my mistake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 OTOH you can leave it in too long! I was trying to make some blister steel from wrought iron once. used a pipe section filled with charcoal dust with the WI pieces buried in it and the ends sealed (one had a cap the other was crimped and folded over). The pipe was placed in the gas forge on the side and left there as the forge was used for regular forging. The number of hours at temp chalked on the forge; when we tried to use the pieces we found them to be more like cast iron than High C steel! Next go we will try 1/2 the time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 OTOH you can leave it in too long! I was trying to make some blister steel from wrought iron once. used a pipe section filled with charcoal dust with the WI pieces buried in it and the ends sealed (one had a cap the other was crimped and folded over). The pipe was placed in the gas forge on the side and left there as the forge was used for regular forging. The number of hours at temp chalked on the forge; when we tried to use the pieces we found them to be more like cast iron than High C steel! Next go we will try 1/2 the time... If Ric Furrer is around he can speak up on this, but an acquaintance of mine learned pack carburizing from Ric, and he uses thin-walled tube as the carburizing container for just this reason. He uses ~1/4" bars as the material in the pack, and carburizes up around 2200 F. The tube is considerably thinner than the bars. If the tube turns to cast iron and melts, it's time to quit. It's sort of the canary in the coal mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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