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Shoutout to the old guy at the scrap yard who told me to try quenching a piece of rebar in old motor oil.
I figured it would just smoke and stink, but it actually put a decent, tough skin on the metal, way better than my usual water quench for that junk steel. Has anyone else messed with weird quenchants like that and gotten a surprise?
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allen.anthony28d ago
Honestly, the real surprise is that guy didn't also tell you to season it with bacon grease.
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Yeah, old motor oil works shockingly well for high carbon stuff too, in my experience. The smoke is brutal, do it outside. I've had good luck with used transmission fluid for springs, it seems to cool a bit slower and cracks less.
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lee1828d ago
My buddy swears by quenching in used ATF mixed with a little bit of brake fluid. Says it gives a crazy hard finish on tool steel without being brittle.
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