When working with hot steel and you get interrupted (gotta take the kids to ball practice or whatever), do you quinch the steel or just let it cool down on its own? What happens either way? Is it determined by the kind of steel?
Gene
To quinch or not
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Sagebowman
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It absolutely depends on the steel. Anything over, say, .35% carbon will harden when quenched (at least if it's hot enough) and it can shatter if it gets too hard when quenched. Some air-hardening steels can catastrophically fail when quenched.
If you're working mild or you're SURE you'll remember to bring it to full heat again before hitting it with a hammer, then you can quench it without too much fear. If it's black heat, you can usually quench safely in any case.
On the other hand, leaving the house when there's a 1000 degree chunk of steel in it . . . If I had to answer the phone, I'd clamp it somewhere safe. If I had to take a kid to practice I'd quench it, then put it in a clamp somewhere, then make a note to heat it really well next time.
If you're working mild or you're SURE you'll remember to bring it to full heat again before hitting it with a hammer, then you can quench it without too much fear. If it's black heat, you can usually quench safely in any case.
On the other hand, leaving the house when there's a 1000 degree chunk of steel in it . . . If I had to answer the phone, I'd clamp it somewhere safe. If I had to take a kid to practice I'd quench it, then put it in a clamp somewhere, then make a note to heat it really well next time.
It's up to you now.
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Gaston de Clermont
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