BORZ Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 hello! I made a hammer,it is almost ready,i'd just need an advice about heat treating.As i read,ijust need local heating at the pein.my questions were: 1 i have an o/a cutting torch,but no rosebud.Is it useable for the cause? 2 about tempering-colurs like usual? (i have a quite soft anvil) 3 the middle stay as it is? (no heat treating at all?) thanks in advance for helping,i just didnt want experimenting with that piece of metal(easier to ask first). Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 need to know what grade steel the hammer is made from first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORZ Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 unfortunately i dont know the exact tipe.i have about 100 kg of the stuff,smaller and bigger pieces Has been used for a vise,(i didnt find the expression in the dictionary).-the pieces grab the material from 2 sides.Guess they were of a large machinist wise.Of a smaller piece i made a drift,quenched at non-manetic in oil,it got hard,and didnt break.But i dont have experience,just'playing' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthibeau Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 for this hammer, heat to nonmagnetic and quench in oil..... then using the torch, heat inside and outside around the eye hole until the colors start to run towards the ends......quench in oil again when the ends are purple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I Would Shine The Hammer After The Hardening Quench . Heat Two Eye Drifts To A Yellow Heat Then Use Them In The Hammer Eye .Watch The Colors Run & Quench When You See The Color You Want. The 2nd Drift Is Used In Case The 1st Cools Too Fast! I Would Like Feed Back On This Wisdom;:confused:AS I HAVE NOT TRIED IT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-hr Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Pete, that works real well, except it helps having a friend over to keep the spare drift hot in the fire and help switch them over. it may take 6-8 heats for a 3 pound hammer. Also remember that heat rises, so if the pien end appears to be coloring faster than the square end, turn it towards the bottom... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Well most of my eye drifts are malleable cast iron and I would not heat them at all! If you have a steel drift that method works well; but I would not heat them to a yellow; just a dull red and switch them out as needed and then normalize them afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I have to harden all the hammer heads I buy here. I put them in a soaking heat until they are a dull red, watch the colours run and quench in water at a purple. It seems to work well. The hammers I have treated like that have had some very heavy use without problems. My anvil is fairly hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete46 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Thank Ya'll Very Much! Practice Beats Theory Again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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