Heat Work and Ovens *LINK*

Re: Heat Work and Ovens *LINK*

David Barnett

>While it's not really necessary to heat treat simpler steels in an oven, it's a nice thing to have for doing a few pieces at once and to know closely what temperatures you're working with and to easily soak at stable levels.

Paragons are nice, of course, but you don't need a fancy computer controller with lots of thermacouples. I use a small 6"x6"x6" chamber kiln made of nothing more than some angle iron, sheet metal, a few soft firebricks, some refractory board and roll fiber. The 1000-watt element is a simple 110v standard item that costs maybe 15 or 20 dollars. I control it with an 'infinite control switch', which is available for about 20 dollars from appliance stores. It's used to control stove burners.

I prefer a digital pyrometer using cheap K-type thermacouples that registers to 2000F. Mine, an ExTech with hand-held and wire type probes (included), was under 80 dollars. If you were to forego this very manual arrangement, you can get a digital controlling pyrometer for about 250 dollars. Programmability goes up from there (good glass casting kilns that can handle complicated and several-day firing/cooling schedules are generally too large for efficient heat treating of woodworking tools).

A furnace almost exactly like mine but with a chamber measuring 5"w x 7"d x 4"h, can be purchased from Thompson Enamel for under 200 dollars (without switch or pyrometer).

Now if you need special atmospheres for more sophisticated materials, that's a whole 'nother ballgame. But this does what I need for W1, O1 and so on. It's good for enameling, wax burnout, kiln soldering, too.

Of course, it's also nice to progressively temper steel with a torch at the forge. You can also temper in a toaster oven. Many do.


Thomson Enamel

Interesting....

Todd Hughes

>Enjoyed reading the article and understand where the writer is coming from. ..If I didn't have the skills needed to plug in a heat treating oven and set some dials like he has maybe I would be tempted to say his method wouldn't work just like he seems to say that hardening and tempering blades by hand,[like they have been doing for a few thousands years] is a poor way to do things perhaps because he doesn't posses the skills needed to do it correctly. In the knife making world this is all very common and again understandable after all if you sell knives and grind them to shape you don't want to be promoting a hand forged knife.Of course I have seen these same guys once they learn how to forge come full circle!

I am sure the way he does it makes a very good knife...opps! I don't mean to say the way HE does it , I guess I should say the way his MACHINE,[his dial contolled furnace] does it....I would be interested in how he produces a blade that is differentialy tempered using these methods which he failed to talk about to much.

I guess Metal working like this is simular to wood working in that there are basically two ways of doing things. One way is buying "big" expensive complicated machines that do the work for you while requiring minimal skill on your part to run OR deciding to lean to do things yourself by hand and devoloping the skills needed to do the work by hand so that you get good results.When I make somthing I want to make it....not just plug a plug in and let a machine make it.........Todd

Carnival Side-show Barbarian! ;-)

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, Florida

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When I grow Up....

Todd Hughes

>I always wanted to become a Carnival Side Show Barbarian........As a kid I knew an old guy that used to be a Carnival Bear Wrestler and Side Show Geek that bit chiken heads off.Taught me to crochet.....Todd

Taught you to crochet - LOL!

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, Florida

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