Welding Tips and Tricks

So, I found a couple of heat treat ovens on my local craigslist. My soul longs for them but I have absolutely no idea how to use them or what I would use them for. I need ideas here, what could I use a heat treat oven for? Other than knives, I have no interest in making knives right now.

Hmmm...

You could use them to increase your electricity bill (no, only joking)

They are usually used for purposes such as hardening steel or for tempering hardened steels, and other metallurgical tasks.

They could also probably be used for glazing pottery, enameling, etc

If you don't have an immediate need, keep looking on Craigs List - something else will turn up

So if I can't think of a use for one, I really don't have a use for one. I was afraid someone would say that.

Do you do any large casting repairs, or jobs that need post weld stress relieving ? Or preheating ?

If the ovens aren't ginormous and have a controller that will work at around 350deg F and under, and most importantly , one is real cheap, then it could be worth considering.

They look to be about 3 feet on each side, and are $200 each. There are two of them. Is there a market for a guy with a heat treatment oven in his garage shop? I don't have castings or any sensitive work like that. Bottom line, I have no use for it. I just wish I did lol

Nathan,
He who dies with the most toy's wins
For $200 you'd kick yourself if you didnt grab it.
It will come in usefull, even if you've got to take up knife making to justify it.

nathan wrote:They look to be about 3 feet on each side, and are $200 each. There are two of them. Is there a market for a guy with a heat treatment oven in his garage shop? I don't have castings or any sensitive work like that. Bottom line, I have no use for it. I just wish I did lol

Here's a thought... Rent time on it to tool and die shops, swordsmiths, knife makers, and such...

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:

nathan wrote:They look to be about 3 feet on each side, and are $200 each. There are two of them. Is there a market for a guy with a heat treatment oven in his garage shop? I don't have castings or any sensitive work like that. Bottom line, I have no use for it. I just wish I did lol

Here's a thought... Rent time on it to tool and die shops, swordsmiths, knife makers, and such...

Steve S

That's what I'm thinking... I am going to call the guy this weekend after I finish this job and see if he has one. If it will run on 220v 60A single phase, it will come home with me. What kind of equipment would I need for testing the hardness? I believe that's how you test the temper of a heat treated steel, right?

Totally ignorant question: could you use it for powdercoating?

I will now google "powdercoating" to see if this question makes any sense at all.

Artie F. Emm wrote:Totally ignorant question: could you use it for powdercoating?

I will now google "powdercoating" to see if this question makes any sense at all.

Powder coating is baked at around 450*F. If the oven he's looking at will operate at that range, it's bigger than a home range oven, so it may be doable, but still not practical for large parts.

Heat-treating is in the (up to) 1600*f range.

Steve S

Thanks, Steve. Sounded like the OP was looking for reasons to buy an oven, so maybe powder coating helps... if he also wants a spray booth and related gear.

Artie F. Emm wrote:Thanks, Steve. Sounded like the OP was looking for reasons to buy an oven, so maybe powder coating helps... if he also wants a spray booth and related gear.

Related gear? More toys!
As previously stated, whoever dies with the most toys wins!
Yeah, I was looking for a reason and I couldn't find it. Powder coating and renting it out have convinced me that I need it. There's a couple machine shops around, one is a tool and die shop, maybe they can use me. If not, I got a new toy!!

Funny, I'm teaching a workshop on heat treating in the morning.
The "tester" you asked about is for placing a metal on the Rockwell hardness scale. There are lots of testers out there for a range of prices. I find the best place to find them is from drag racers. They use them to verify clutch plates. When they stop racing they have no use for them and often sell them cheap.
You don't need one though, unless your going into business heat treating. What you need to know about the ovens is how well they hold a constant, indicated temp.
For the most part, "heat treatment ovens" are for tempering, which actually happens between ~350 and ~550, so they could definitely double as powder coat ovens.
The stuff that happens at ~1300 to ~1600 that you can safely do at home (quenching and annealing) does not require metal to stay at that temp for long periods of time, and thus a torch is often used.

http://themanufactory.us/

Our website with class info, if anyone is interested.

So for annealing before tempering, I would need to heat the part up and cool it in some ashes, right? This machine is probably no good for that?

Nathan,
Depends on the material.
However basically heat it up to its critical temperature, hold it there until its heat soaked, pull it out of the oven and place in ashes, sand , vermiculite etc to hold the heat while it slowly cools down to room temp.
Lots of reading out on the web regarding heat treating, time to go find some and learn.
Its a whole new world and skill set
And you though welding is tricky.
Enjoy

Interesting... I'm not entirely sold on getting this thing yet. It sounds cool, and I want a new toy, but I'm thinking I need a drill/driver set more. Decisions, decisions... Still not done with this job yet, so there's no money yet.

It takes about 1000-1100F to anneal brass in a reasonable timeframe.

Pottery kilns are popular for guys making their own jacketed bullet using swaging equipment.

For $200 and not three phase, I'd buy it just to have it, maybe later resale. S/F.....Ken M