Showerthought: My old way of quenching was basically a science experiment gone wrong

I used to just dunk hot steel into whatever bucket of liquid was closest, usually old motor oil, and hope for the best lol. After a piece I was working on cracked last month, I finally set up a proper quench tank with fast oil and a thermometer, and the difference is night and day. Anyone else have a 'what was I thinking' moment with their quench setup?

4 comments

4 Comments

luna_wright24d ago

My first real quench tank was a galvanized trash can I found at a yard sale for $3. I filled it with water and then promptly learned that galvanized steel and hot water do not mix well - the thing started leaking from the seam about three minutes in. Had to drag it outside while water was pouring everywhere. Ended up using a plastic storage tub for a while with a mix of water and salt, which worked okay until I forgot about it for a month and it grew some kind of weird green slime.

paige3312mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, that old school method works fine for a lot of stuff, no need to overcomplicate it. Cracking happens sometimes no matter what you do lol.

karenh562mo ago

Wait, old motor oil? Ngl, that's asking for trouble with the fumes.

sage3082mo ago

My grandpa used to burn used 10W-30 in his shop barrel heater for twenty years. The key is having a hot, clean burn with good airflow, which cuts the smoke way down. Modern waste oil heaters are designed to handle it safely and vaporize the oil completely. It's a common practice in a lot of rural workshops to reuse that oil instead of just dumping it.