how do you temper steel?

Question

After you have shaped a piece of steel into the shape you want it how do you harden it and then temper it?

Answer 1

Don't quench it in water!

God thats not smart.

Heat it and quench it with old motor oil. When the red hot metal is cooled in the oil it will absorb carbon. Old oil contains a great deal of carbon. The absorbsion of carbon is what hardens the steel. Use caution. The oil may flash or momentarily catch fire.

Miketyson26

Answer 2

That depends on what you're using it for. hardening involves heating the part to cherry red, then either quenching it to harden it, or adding carbon using hardening compound first, then reheating and quenching. When quenching the part, how fast it cools determines ultimate hardness. faster quench - harder. the part can be qeunched in water for fast cooling, oe different weights of oil for a slower quench.
Tempering is the process of slowly cooling a part to impart ductility and toughness. tempering usually involves bringing the part to dull red rather then chery, and cooling it slowly in oil or sand. in a knife blade there is both, hardening the b, and then tempering the tang so it won't be brittle and break.
both processes require some experience, and there is trial and error involved in learning. having an experienced metalsmith as a coach will help. Unfortunately it is becoming a lost art.
an old textbook "The Welding Encyclopedia" would be helpful, it was written in the 1940's and may be found in a library.

Answer 3

I never thaught id utter the words "listen to Mike Tyson" but here we are. Another good way is to use an oxy-acetalene torch. You light the torch with the Acetalene only and use this on the steel. it wont make it very hot but it will coat it with and excess of carbon. After youve done that turn on the torch for real(oxygen & acetalene) and heat the hell out of the metal. do this a few times, but pay atention because if you put to much heat for to long youll actully take the carbon out of the metal.

Answer 4

You heat it up REALY hot (cherry red) the quench it in water. Then do it again and let it cool slowly.....with the water quench. If you want it REAL hard just do the first bit!
That is a VERY general answer as I don't know what sort of steal you used or what you have made (dagger? Armour?)

Answer 5

It's a simple process, but involves understanding metals and how they interact with heat.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempering

Answer 6

Heat it up till its glowing red.

Answer 7

Heat it to a certain temperature, then bring it back to cold