Question on case hardening indoors.

[Rolf]

Just finish building the metal workshop in my cellar. The ceiling height is 7'.  I have a heat treating furnace and want to pack harden locks. What kind of water container do you use , to avoid drenching the workshop with steam and water?

Best regards
Rolf

[JPK]

I use a plastic 55 gallon drum out doors. If I could do it indoors I would requir a small room with an exhaust fan as the quench is quite messy and the fumes can't be good for you. Ash will fly and water spatters every where's. You'll want a drain hereby as well.                                                                           
Dandy looking shop you've built.

[jerrywh]

 I just use a 5 gallon bucket.  As JPK said it is going to splatter all over no matter how big the tank is because the steam throws the charcoal and water in a sort of explosion when it hits the surface.  I quench just outside of the shop door and wear a face shield. I also wet my hair just in case.

[Mark Elliott]

I would love a way to do that inside.   I think it is practically impossible if you want to keep a halfway neat shop.   I have always case hardened outside.  Even small packs make a big mess.   When I use my new crucible that is big enough for an entire lock,  I am going to plug-in my heat treat oven outside in my forge area.  I have my post vise mounted on a small bench that will accommodate my oven and has an electric outlet next to it.   When I get ready to dump that thing (in my regular five gallon quench tub next to the anvil), I will be wearing overalls, long sleeves, a leather apron, leather gloves and a face shield.  Hopefully,  I won't catch my overalls on fire.   That is because all that red hot charcoal will be blown back in my face and all over.   If the forge wasn't already a mess,  It would be black after that, and so will I.   I will have to strip and put my clothes in the washer just inside the back door. 

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

Perhaps a less messy way to case harden is to heat the parts in the pack crucible until the parts pick up the carbon.  Then let the pack cool and take the parts out.  Then just heat & quench as with a steel part to harden.  I have done the dump the whole pack into the water thing, but I have repented of that after the scald blisters healed!

Jim

[Mark Elliott]

Jim,

I had been afraid that I would loose too much carbon doing as you described.   How long do you normally cook your pack, and how do your reheat your parts to harden them?    If your method works Ok,  it is certainly neater and safer.

Do you think it would be Ok to reheat the parts in a gas forge to harden them?   My forge does not allow me to adjust the mixture to create a carborizing flame.    Of course I could jury rig something to restrict the air flow. 

[JCKelly]

The  chemical mechanism of case hardening (carburizing) is that good ol' carbon monoxide gas is what transports the carbon from charcoal to metal.

A bit of ventilation in that basement would be good, to keep you breathing.

[smart dog]

Hi Rolf,
I quench in a 20 gallon metal garbage can that has a fairly wide top.  I fill it about 2/3 full, which means I lower my metal box containing the pack below the level of the top of the bucket before flipping and dumping into the quench.  That reduces a lot of the mess by containing it in the quench bucket.  As you can see in the photo, the floor of my heat treating area is covered by two old soapstone-like laboratory bench tops discarded from a local hospital.  That protects my wooden floor from hot objects.  Also my oven sits on top of four 1/2" thick granite tiles to protect the cabinet below.  In summer, I open the big barn door (which is now heavily coated with paint on the inside) and during winter, I open the windows on both sides of the shop, which creates a strong flow of air.

dave

[jerrywh]

 James Wilson.
   If you do as you said you will not get any colors and oxidization is a problem. The part when heated to 1500°F will oxidize quite a bit. If the part is engraved it will destroy the engraving.

[shortbarrel]

Two different things here, hardening and color case hardening. I never dumped a pack if I just want hardened. Leave the pack in the heat source until it cools. You got high carbon steel from 2 to 5 thousands thick on the pieces. I treat it as high carbon steel from here on. Quench is water or salt water. If you want to go the modern way, use the case hardening powders that are on the market, boil for about an hour in an open container at 1500 deg. We leave all the color case jobs to the pros. who are good.

[Rolf]

Thank you for your replys. It sounds like its best to do this out side. I'll try Smart Dogs idea and use a large garbage can.

Best regards
Rolf

[Joe S.]

quess why we're here my question is I saw I  think Taylor case hardening all the metal furniture. Nose,thimbles ect.It looks like he just went without blocking ect.I can see blocking lock plate and tangs to keep from warping but wouldn't you do it with nose pieces and thimbles?I'm thinking of trying to caseharden all my metal furniture on my hawken build.I may even experiment with a little color if I can pull it off.Hope I'm not highjacking your thread here but looks like your questions were answered,thanks,Joe