Tried a low-temp quench on a chisel and it came out way tougher

Been having trouble with chisels chipping out on me, so I dropped the quench oil to 120F instead of the usual 150F. Did three test pieces and they all survived a beating with no chips, has anyone else messed around with quench temps on simple carbon steel?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliviabarnes4d ago

Heat treatment is like cooking... it's all about finding the sweet spot for what you're doing." I've noticed that with bread dough too, if I let it proof a little cooler it comes out denser and tougher, just like your chisel. Seems like knocking the temp back just a bit gives the steel more time to settle into a harder state without getting brittle.

grant9014d ago

Admitted I used to think quench temp was something you just set and forgot about. This experiment has me rethinking a lot of my heat treat assumptions.

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