KILN

[charlie phillips]

How to build a kiln.I don't forge any think so I was thinking about building a kiln. I have a pipe 6inchs by 34inchs.Could I use a burner like is on a fish fryer.All I need is to heat treat my blades.Do any of yall use a heat gun to tell the temp you'r blades are'like a raytech gun.


   TXCP

[OconeeDan]

You can send your blades off to one of several places that heat treat blades.
Do a search, you will find kiln or heat treating oven building instructions.  You would likely do better buying a used one.
Dan

[Wampus]

Watch the arts/crafts section of craigslist for a used ceramic kiln.  I've seen some nice ones listed pretty cheap.

[Lin Rhea]

Charlie,
              A knife maker I know uses one of the guns you're talkin about. He checks his tempering oven every single time with it. He cracks the door open a little and shoots the blade itself. He fiddles with the control till he's happy.

I have a question for you. You're calling this pipe a kiln. Is it just an oven for tempering or are you attempting to reach critical temperatures (to harden the blade)with your kiln?

[charlie phillips]

HEY LIN   RIGHT NOW ITS JUST A PIECE OF PIPE. WHAT I WANT IS A KILN TO REACH CRITICAL TEMP.SO I CAN HARDEN THE BLADE.I'M NEW TO THIS.WHAT I'VE BEEN USING IS A PROPANE BURNER WITH BRICKS.I HEAT THE FILES TO SOFTEN THEM FORM AND POLISH AND DRILL THE PINE HOLES'THEN REHEAT AND COOL IN MOTOR OIL.CLEAN THE BLADES UP AND PUT THEM IN THE OVEN AT 400 FOR 2 HOURS.THEY SEEM TO SHARPEN UP GOOD.   TXCP

[Lin Rhea]

If you are making hunting knives only, you can use a 12-14 inch piece of the pipe lined with kaowool and Satanite. That would work great. The finished chamber would not be very big, but big enough for small blades. If you get it very small, your not gaining much over the brick forge.

[charlie phillips]

Thanks LIN.My little home made forge gets HOT I'm just not sure how hot.thats why i was thinking about getting a raytech gun.


    TXCP

[madness522]

If you get your blade to non-magnetic you are around 1415 degrees so it wouldn't take much more to reach critical from there.

[charlie phillips]

I get it non magnetic,i checked that.what is the temp at critical?


    TXCP

[Lin Rhea]

Depends on the steel ,but in the area of 1450-1550. I suggest you use the magnet for finding critical and the ray gun for finding the exact temperature of the drawback. Personally, I cant find a place for the ray gun in my process. I'll tell you why.

Since I use one of my forges to bring the blade up to critical before I quench, I have to turn it down and even out the heat as good as I can. Even so, the forge will always be hotter than the blade which is why the heat rises in the blade. I have to be ready when the heat/color is right. I'm watching the colors to see that they are evenly distributed throughout the blade. No one area hotter than the other. This takes concentration on my part and I just dont want to be tied to another tool.

This is where Karl is supposed to ask me why I dont just use a HT oven. Actually, I have one, but prefer to harden simple steels the way I described. That sounds funny, but it's just me. I want the heat treat oven for some things for sure. The control it offers for annealing and spheroidizing cant be done without it.

This is in no way to discourage you from using the ray gun. Not at all.
I think every maker will find "his" way and if it works, no one can say it's wrong.

[charlie phillips]

I'm using files i think thats 1095.


    TXCP

[kbaknife]

Originally posted by Lin Rhea:



This is where Karl is supposed to ask me why I dont just use a HT oven. Actually, I have one, but prefer to harden simple steels the way I described. That sounds funny, but it's just me. I want the heat treat oven for some things for sure. The control it offers for annealing and spheroidizing cant be done without it.

This is in no way to discourage you from using the ray gun. Not at all.
I think every maker will find "his" way and if it works, no one can say it's wrong.

Lin, I use my forge for hardening 1084/1095/W1 and W2. And my Damascus and Laminates.
I'm not unlike you.
I do use my oven for austenizing 5160 because it benefits GREATLY! from a controlled 6-8 minute soak.
But I do use my oven for spherodizing and now I do all my tempering in it as well.
I have one of the high temp non-contact thermometers and have used it extensively to verify the temps in my H/T oven.
I also used it this morning to check the temp outside my shop @-14.
And I checked my coal stove, which was 985 and time to shut the air back.
Thought it was getting hot in the shop!
I also check my quench oil, temps of my power hammer dies, dead mice - to see if they're really dead, etc.