tecnovist Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Hi ...I have stated to make jaws for some vices i am rebuilding... making them from some old files I have Annealed in lime then cut drilled and fitted to the Vice.... I need to know what the best way and or Temperature to temper them at ??? Also some one said that this can be done in some type of mud dos any one know about this technique? Thanks for any info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecnovist Posted November 3, 2007 Author Share Posted November 3, 2007 himm ----IF any one knows any thing on the re tempering of files----- --- or what type of steel they are.... like are they an oil qunching steel or a water qunching steel ---that info would help heaps ---- Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan_568 Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Files are a water quenching steel. They are either W-1 or W-2 steel which has a very high carbon content, over 1 percent. With that said, do not quench your vise jaws in water. Quench them in oil to harden them. After the jaws have been hardened turn your kitchen oven up to 375 degrees and put the jaws in the oven. Let them soak in your oven for 2 or 3 hours. Your jaws should now be hard enough to resist abrasion and filing somewhat, and be tough enough to make good vise jaws. Files make xxxxxx good knives too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnW Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 I'm not qualified to answer your question, tecnovist, but be patient, somebody will come along here soon. I believe that files are usually 1095. As for tempering, I don't know why you would want to temper vice jaws, I would think you would want to leave them tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan_568 Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Hardening the jaws makes them very hard but very brittle as well. By putting the jaws in the oven for 2 or 3 hours you remove some of the hardness and this makes your jaws less brittle. If you don't do this tempering you risk the jaws breaking at a later date. Files are made from W-1 or W-2. Beware though there are junk files made in China that are surface hardened only. If you use those they won't harden. 1095 is actually classed as a spring steel, even though it has a high carbon level aproaching 1 percent. I use it mixed with 203-E nickel alloy to make my Damascus steel.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 I would anneal the jaws and not harden them at all I have a vise that I have used for about 50 years now and it has marks from the files and hack saws and grinders. If the jaws were hardened I would have put unecessary wear on the files and hack saws.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecnovist Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share Posted November 4, 2007 Thanks Conan_568 -thats the type of info i am looking for---((kitchen oven up to 375 degrees))-------- is that 375 degree C or F ?? Rich Hale Hi ---JohnW Hi thank you both for your info they may work as they are, but I think they will be a bit soft... --I have Annealed in lime then drilled and counter sunk them-------I have make them from some old --files---------- The vice had no jaws when i rebuilt them from scrap parts I have about 6 vices needing jaws and finishing--- old FILES I have enouth of--::mad: have you priced vice jaws these days --- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 new files you buy at the hardware stores and such are usually 1095, industrial quality files that you can special order are 10105 as are the files from yesteryear. they are commonly referred to as 95 point files and 105 point files. I learned this from a seminar put on by one of the suppliers at a Blacksmith Convention years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan_568 Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Just turn the oven up to 375 or 400 and you should be fine. Put the jaws in there for a few hours and then either let them cool or put them in water. I just checked and most files are 1095 which could be why they make good knives. I'm glad you fellows pointed that out it gives me another source for that steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecnovist Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share Posted November 4, 2007 Conan_568 ----Hi--- by the looks you mean celsius -- and not Fahrenheit i found this site, tells you a bit but is not ease to follow---IT dos not tell you the hardness that is achieved---MatWeb - Online Material Data Sheet 5 AISI 1095 Steel, oil quenched from 800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 400? Surely you put an extra '0' in there by mistake mate. 40 Rockwell is fairly tough, but not tougher than your hammer, fortunately :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan_568 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 You must draw the temper back and it is Fahrenheit not celsius. The jaws should come out of your oven a straw color or darker, which will leave it fairly hard, but not so brittle. You can go to 450 if you want tougher jaws and 325 to 400 for very hard jaws. I don't know where you got the figures you show, but if I tempered my knives at 900 degrees they wouldn't hold an edge at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Several years ago, I found a leg vise which had heavily damaged jaw faces. Not wanting to spend a lot of time on it, I clamped two old files between the faces and MIG welded all around the edges - top, bottom and sides. That much welding drew the high hardness out of the files. I sanded most of the teeth off with a right angle grinder and put it to work. The jaw faces are parallel at full closed position and hold as well as any other leg vise with factory jaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Well I'd go with soft jaws to hold the pieces I was working on and not mar them as much. I'd rather dress the *replaceable* jaws every so often than to have to deal with the scars on my workpiece. I have one postvise that has a severe checkering on the jaws that I have covered over with plain mild steel sheet metal caps. Files have several different alloys; the old Black Diamond---before they have the nicholson stamp on them were supposed to be 1.2%C (I hoard them for billets that need a carbon boost) Some of the modern imports from asia seem to be case hardened as the surface sloughs off when you work them. So sparktest them against known standards to guess what they really are for a particular piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 BP0358 Vise Jaw Protector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecnovist Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Conan_568 Hi thanks for the info -------& There is a link in my post that site , has a fair bit in there--- after reading all the posts i may leave the first pair annealed and see how they go thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.