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Home-made wrench

quench temper?

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Dan

06-02-1999 12:58:58




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In order to change the oil pressure sender in my GMC truck, I'm going to have to take a 9/16" open end wrench and bend it into an L shape in order to unscrew it.

How is the best way to do this without breaking the wrench or loosing much strength?
a) just clamp in a vise and beat it over with a hammer, cold?
b) heat with propane torch first?
c) heat with propane torch while keeping jaws of wrench in water so they don't loose the temper?
c) quench with water afterward?
d) quench with oil?
e) just let it air cool?
f) other suggestions?

I know from being around blacksmiths years ago (but not paying enough attention) that there's a lot of science and art to this. I'd also be interested in any general comments about the differences between quenching in water vs. oil. Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Mike M (Tx)

06-03-1999 06:59:27




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 Re: Home-made wrench - quench temper? in reply to Dan, 06-02-1999 12:58:58  
Hi Dan,
Heat Metal to cherry red. Bend to desired shape.
While still cherry red, swirl in oil (Motor oil is fine) fully submerged. Keep Hot wrench deep in oil or slight flare-up near surface of oil may occur. If it does just push wrench deeper in oil bath. After oil quenching your wrench will be at its highest strength and hardness (AKA BRITTLE).
Now you need to temper by heating to 800 - 1000 Deg F (Don't let it get any red color to it). Try to keep it hot for 5 minutes or so. The thinness of the wrench doesn't need alot of time at temperature. Then allow it to cool to room temperature is still air. The tempering softens up the metal (makes it Ductile) so it doesn't break when stress is applied to it. When cool, put it to work. Remember that your are doing this under uncontorlled conditions so wear safety glasses and don't put your hands where they might cause your knuckles to get busted if the heat treatment didn't go just right.
No guts - No Glory.
Good Luck,

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jack

06-02-1999 22:50:40




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 Re: Home-made wrench - quench temper? in reply to Dan, 06-02-1999 12:58:58  
If you need crowsfeet, I got lots around my eyes... seriously, if you don't want to buy the socket for the job(about $5 in one of those cheap tool bins at the parts store) you can heat, bend and temper without too much trouble.
I remember my metal shop teacher used to heat, bend, heat somemore and then quench in sand/oil mix. Then he'd heat it again and let it air cool. He'd get the metal white hot each time and pound on it to anneal it. I've still got a screwdriver,prybar and hammer we made that way 38 years ago. They're still good...

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Chad

06-02-1999 19:59:42




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 Re: Home-made wrench - quench temper? in reply to Dan, 06-02-1999 12:58:58  
Of the three most common quenching media-water, oil, and air-water produces the most severe quench, followed by oil, which is more effective than air. The degree of agitation of each medium also influences the rate of heat removal. Increasing the velocity of the quenching medium across the specimen surface enhances the quenching effectiveness. Oil quenches are suitable for the heat treating of many alloy steels. In fact, for higher-carbon steels, a water quench is too severe because cracking and warping may be produced. It would be very helpful to determin the type and composition of the steel wrench to determine a proper heating/quenching procedure. Based on an assumption of the composition (possibly an alloy containing nickel among other things) of your wrench, I would recommend the following procedure: heat the wrench with your torch and bend to produce the desired shape, then immediately quench in oil and agitate violently. Now comes the hard part...you need to find a way to temper the wrench at around 1000 degrees F for about an hour to increase the hardness and relieve internal stresses. I hope that this may help...let me know if you have any more questions.

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Dave Mischler

06-02-1999 17:31:09




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 Re: Home-made wrench - quench temper? in reply to Dan, 06-02-1999 12:58:58  
What's wrong with a crow's foot wrench?



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Dan

06-02-1999 18:07:02




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 Re: Re: Home-made wrench - quench temper? in reply to Dave Mischler, 06-02-1999 17:31:09  
Two things:
1) In order to get around the body of the oil pressure sender, it looks like it needs a little more reach than a crow's foot would give. I don't want it to slip and round the corners.
2) I don't have a crow's foot, but I have an old 9/16's.



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Bill

06-02-1999 13:25:20




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 Re: Home-made wrench - quench temper? in reply to Dan, 06-02-1999 12:58:58  
I've had to do this to a number of wrenches for
custom applications. All I do is use an oxy-
acetylene torch, heat the area to bend, then quench in motor oil. Don't stand directly over
the oil and move the wrench around alot when you
quench. This removes air pockets from around the
hot steel and provides uniform quenching. That's
about as technical as I get and it's always worked
for me. Of course, I only modify my cheap crafts-
man wrenches, not my protos or snap-ons. Someone
else might be able to get more in depth for you,
but I hope this helps.

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