On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 01:49:50 GMT, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

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



Thanks for you response..

The tool is a bench block I made, cylindrical in shape, similar to the
Starrett blocks. The main difference is there are 6 , M6 threaded
holes around the circumference to allow clamping to the block.
Diameter 3.000"
Height 2.500"
Wall Thickness .300"
Top thickness .500"

My knowledge of heat treating is mostly theory, but not much practical
work. I was thinking about case hardening, as I have 10 pounds of
Kasenite, but I figured if I could harden it, then temper, that would
be better, as I also have a portable Rockwell tester, and I wanted the
practice.

I was reading the Machinery Handbook, and gathered that quenching in
water would not produce the desired effect, as the oxygen would cause
, more or less, uneven hardening.

Do you figure water will be better?

Thanks,Jay