Heat treating.......

[perry]

Now that I have finished the stump bucket, I got to wondering about heat treating?. We have a few metallurgical businesses in the Atlanta area and I plan on calling around for prices. Anyone know anything about heat treating?, and cost?.

 

[OldMachinist]

I can give you some info. What grade of steel and how will it be used?

 

[Tazza]

I can give you some info. What grade of steel and how will it be used?

The most important thing is the steel that is used, some will take heat treating differently. Mild steel you can get carburised, 4140 can get nitrided i know there are more, these 2 are the only ones i know about though, i have had 4140 pins and bushings nitrided, works a treat.
Are you thinking of heat treating the whole bucket? as i think that may be a little large to get in their oven... and they usually charge by weight.... I think i paid $5 per kg for mine about 2 years ago, no doubt its more now.

 

[Tazza]

The most important thing is the steel that is used, some will take heat treating differently. Mild steel you can get carburised, 4140 can get nitrided i know there are more, these 2 are the only ones i know about though, i have had 4140 pins and bushings nitrided, works a treat.
Are you thinking of heat treating the whole bucket? as i think that may be a little large to get in their oven... and they usually charge by weight.... I think i paid $5 per kg for mine about 2 years ago, no doubt its more now.

Forgot to say, when you get heat treating done you NEED to know what the steel is, not all steel will take heat treatment the same. You can't say uum not sure just heat treat it, that just won't work. 4140 is great for pins as its tough un-treated and fully machinable and takes heat treatment really well.

 

[perry]

Forgot to say, when you get heat treating done you NEED to know what the steel is, not all steel will take heat treatment the same. You can't say uum not sure just heat treat it, that just won't work. 4140 is great for pins as its tough un-treated and fully machinable and takes heat treatment really well.

All of you are correct, I called a company here in Atlanta and he said the same thing, since most of the metal used in the stump bucket came from the salvage yard. I have no idea what I have?. He did say it would barely fit his oven and he could only do surface treating. That idea is history.

 

[Tazza]

All of you are correct, I called a company here in Atlanta and he said the same thing, since most of the metal used in the stump bucket came from the salvage yard. I have no idea what I have?. He did say it would barely fit his oven and he could only do surface treating. That idea is history.

I would suspect its mild steel, but as you said its only a surface treatment, it will go down about 0.011" or so depending on the treatment required then taper off. Thats why when they build buckets they use Biz or something equivalent, but naturally that stuff isn't cheap!

 

[OldMachinist]

I would suspect its mild steel, but as you said its only a surface treatment, it will go down about 0.011" or so depending on the treatment required then taper off. Thats why when they build buckets they use Biz or something equivalent, but naturally that stuff isn't cheap!

You could use some hard surfacing arc welding on the high wear areas. The following is from my welding supplier.
55 Hard Surfacing— AC/DC electrode positive. Electrodes are multipurpose for preventing wear and for repairing worn parts. Hardness on the Rockwell C scale is 57-61.