"Jay" wrote in message
...
Hello all

I would like to Harden and temper a tool I made out of 1045
steel. I have all the temperatures and holding times needed, but as
for a quenching medium, I have a slight problem.

An oil bath is better than water, but I dont have the proper oil.

I may be telling you something you already know, so excuse me in advance if
I am, but 1045 will only quench in oil if it's in fairly thin sections. 1045
is a water-hardening, plain-carbon steel. If the part you want to harden is
thin, oil is no problem. In fact, it probably will help resist warping a
bit. But it won't quench 1045 fast enough in thicker sections.

What's "thick" and "thin"? I don't have any hard data, but I'd guess that
1/4" is the limit for oil-quenching 1045.

It's not a straight-line relationship, BTW. You have to reach a critical
threshhold of quenching rate, or you get no hardening at all -- none, nada,
zilch. But there is a narrow range in which you get more or less hardening.
That quench-rate zone is quite narrow.

Ed Huntress