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Waiting before the quench saved my piece from cracking
I always dunked my hot steel in water right after the forge. It led to cracks more times than I can count. I was so annoyed with wasting metal on simple projects. Another smith suggested letting it air cool for just a minute. I did that with a basic fire poker yesterday. It hardened fine with no cracks at all. Feels good to finally get this part right.
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david_walker977mo ago
That's a solid tip about the waiting period. How do you gauge the right moment to quench? Are you watching for a specific color change in the steel, or just going by a set time for each piece? I wonder if the ideal wait changes with different types of steel.
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patricia_bennett527mo ago
Oh man, I used to swear by a strict timer for every single quench. Then I realized that watching for the steel to hit a dull cherry red and start to lose its brightness is way more reliable. Yeah, the perfect moment definitely shifts with different steels, like oil-hardening stuff needs a different eye than water-quenching grades. I had to learn that the hard way after a few pieces came out too brittle. Now I ignore the clock and just focus on that color change every time.
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victor6517mo ago
Ignoring the clock completely after brittle pieces is a huge risk. I've seen oil-hardening steel crack when the color was off by just a shade. Trusting only your eye in different shop lights sounds like asking for trouble. My backup timer has saved me from that kind of mistake more than once.
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riverb137mo ago
Victor651 is right about shop lights messing with color, but a timer can't tell you when the steel's internal heat evens out. You need both the clock and your eyes to catch that perfect moment before the quench. Relying on just one method is how good pieces get ruined.
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