From: "Kurt Bjorn" <pyroware@flash.net>
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Subject: THANKS GUYS!  was: Please check my shop out...
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 17:37:18 GMT

To Fitch and everyone with nice comments, THANK YOU.  Again, I hope to add
meatier stuff like hints/tips/anecdotes mulled from RCM, and a cool links
page too, so it should hopefully evolve from a show and tell site into
something more meaningful.

Fitch, I bought the Ney furnace years ago when I was playing with color
casehardening.  I don't do much of that anymore, but WOW is it nice to use
for steel and aluminum heat-treatment and tempering.

I bought it from Brownell's, the gunsmith supply house.  I'm sure it and
similar can be found cheaper from different industrial supply places.

I used to make almost everything from O1 steel.  What a pain, the steel must
be protected from scale with keepbryte or similar, quenched in oil, a smoky
mess.  Then I tried A2, an air-hardening steel.  What a pleasure... I can
wrap up multiple parts in a little stainless steel envelope and fire it up.
Quenching is nothing more than removing it from the heat and setting it on
an iron block.  After it's cooled, I can temper in the same envelope. When
you finally open it, out come the parts without a speck of scale, oil, or
anything except a pretty mottled blue/purple color.  Good news too is that
A2 exceeds O1 in almost every spec, according to Machinery's handbook.

Try A2 with SS foil, it's great stuff!


--
Kurt

From: Robert Bastow <Tubal_cain@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Subject: Re: annealing cast steel
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999 17:07:58 GMT

In the Custom Knife Making world, W1 is referred to as "O.F.S."...Old File
Steel!!

Similarly, 5160 is known as "O.C.S."...Old Chevvy Spring!!

Robert Bastow

Steve Rayner wrote:

> Yes! Never throw out an old file.  My late father used to make very good
> hunting knives, and scrapers from them.