I took the plunge......

P

phatjohn

Well-Known Member
And bought a heat treat oven!

Here's my question; For non-stainless knives, I use 1095. I was going to use canola oil for quenching but I have no clue how large a container I need for it or even what type of container to use. What does everyone else use for a container? And how much volume of oil do I need? At this point, the largest knife I make is around 12 inches long.


Also, for stainless, I use CPM steels. I know they are air quench and I have an air compressor. What I don't know is how big do my quench plates need to be. Should they be aluminum?


Pictures would help a lot if you have them.


Thank you in advance.


John
 
For an oil quench tank, I'd say 1 gallon should be the minimum size to shoot for, but if you're doing more than one knife at a time that won't be big enough. If you heat treat 3 or 4 at once, 1 gal of oil will heat up way to fast, so you might consider going up in size. For small knives, I've got a deep stainless steel buffet type pan and lid that I found at a restaurant supply place. It'll do knives up to about 10" long just fine and holds a little over a gallon. For larger one's or multiple runs, I've got a piece of 8" steel pipe that's plugged and stands vertical, it's about 2' long. The little one seems a lot easier to heat up and control the temp on. I warm it with a little hotplate. The big one takes a while to get the temp exactly where I want it, I have to heat it up with a chunk of heated steel. There's probably a better way.

For SS quench plates, I've got two 1" aluminum plates. Mine are 6"x12". As always, I'm not saying the way I do things is the best, I'm a newb too, but it's been working ok for me.
 
phatjohn said:
And bought a heat treat oven!

Here's my question; For non-stainless knives, I use 1095. I was going to use canola oil for quenching but I have no clue how large a container I need for it or even what type of container to use. What does everyone else use for a container? And how much volume of oil do I need? At this point, the largest knife I make is around 12 inches long.


Also, for stainless, I use CPM steels. I know they are air quench and I have an air compressor. What I don't know is how big do my quench plates need to be. Should they be aluminum?


Pictures would help a lot if you have them.


Thank you in advance.


John
Click to expand...
I would go with a deep quench tank. Vertical quenching is better in my opinion. Edge quenching in a pan causes warping if not done correctly. I use a 6" sprinkler pipe welded to a piece of 1/4" plate. It's about 30" tall. It holds a lot of oil, which is good for bigger knives and large batches. I would recommend getting commercial grade quench oil. You'll get better and consistent results.

For air hardened stainless and tool steel I would get the biggest pieces of aluminum as you can get. Around 16" long x 6" long x 1" thick should do a few small knives at once or 1 big Bowie or camp knife.

I hope it helps
 
The more oil the better . Use the canola oil if that's all you can afford but personally I don't think its that good for 1095 . If you invested in a Heat treat oven then why not invest in the right quench ? You can get 5 gallons delivered for probably $140 dollars from Maxim Oil in Texas get Parks 50 if they have it and if not get the equivalent that they offer . Like posted above get some thick aluminum plates for D2 and all the stainless steels .
 
As for a container... I've done a couple different kinds... the first is a metal drywall mud tray.... you can find them at any hardware store... the other is a 4" pvc pipe that is capped on one end, both work very well... and no need for a large vat.... I did by a gallon of quenching oil, I passed on the other stuff.
 
I have a 40mm ammo can for my parks 50. It holds several gallons, is metal, and seals when I put it away so no leakage. I picked it up at a local surplus store for $20.


Mark Huston

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My quench tank is a turkey fryer. I can use the burner it comes with to heat my oil. They also come with a thermometer to measure how hot the oil is.

Doug
 
I use two large electric roasting pans....one for fast quench oil, one for slower oil. Turn the dial and warm your oil to the proper temp and put the handy lid on for storage. Less than $10 each from yard sales and thrift stores.
-Mark
 
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