Setting up my Hardness Tester.

[@rocky3075]

The Rockwell hardness test. We did that in our metallurgy class in college. It measures the distance a small ball is pushed into the material to establish hardness. It is truly amazing that guy bought that piece of equipment and gave it to you. You should send him a Puget Sound axe and a Hudson Bay axe in return.

[@brysonalden5414]

Actually, I really enjoy the more technical videos, and I'm very happy for you. This is a tester I'd love to have, and I suspect you will while away many happy hours testing the hardness of everything from welds to Twinkies. Enjoy!

[@torbjornahman]

That's pretty interesting! That hot oil should have left a harder sample I think.

[@NicRobertsNerd]

Nah, this was real interesting, loving to see the step up into a more scientific approach to improve the quality of your work!

[@nickgraham8501]

You wouldn't be a Aussie by any chance?

[@RohanLumsdonHill]

My understanding on preheating quench oil was this: The colder the oil, the more viscous, therefore having a slower heat transfer rate. Preheated oil, as Martin said is more liquid (less viscous) and can draw the heat away from the steel faster. The equation for calculating the overall heat transfer coefficient considers not only this heat transfer rate (heat flux) but also difference in temperature between a solid surface and surrounding fluid (800°c steel vs 0°c Oil). So you're both right, and it's actually super interesting that greater temp difference from icy cold oil and the increased fluidity from preheating the oil essentially cancelled each-other out in your test resulting in the same hardness to the steel!

[@ThePirateGod]

You say this isn't that interesting but These are the videos I enjoy most.

[@scottbedard5095]

this brings back so many memories; i was tool and gauge inspector at an aerospace machine shop and we had a similar hardness tester i would calibrate every few months. i also vaguely remember my CEGEP materials course where we had to learn the differences and correspondances between all the rockwell (and other) scales and which materials they were applicable to. fun times. Awesome bit of kit you've picked up there.

[@brianmanke1061]

Very interesting Timothy, and thank you James as well.

[@cameronmccreary4758]

The hardness testers are always a great help when you're making things, especially out of steel alloys.

[@bwint7234]

I use to live just a couple blocks away from Ferndale. It's located just north of Detroit. Glad to see it's still cranking out great tools!

[@htownblue11]

This is watching an artist perfecting his master pieces. If you’re a dishwasher, or doctor, or janitor, or blacksmith, always find ways to get better at your craft.

[@rocky3075]

Tim, try using a brine solution, and vigorously shake the piece of steel around in the brine solution when it's quenched. It makes a difference in the hardness. We did exactly what you're doing in a metallurgy class. We used pieces of steel cut from the same piece of steel and quenched in oil water and brine. One test was just plunged in the other test was shake a vigorously once it was plunged in. We measured all the hardnesses. The hardest came from the brine solution vigorously shaken when I was plunged in. To really see the effects of heat treating, Turn a piece of the train rail into a piece of round stock approximately an inch and a half in diameter and about 6 in long. You say hose to produce a column of water two to three inches tall. After heating the round stock up to temperature of 1, 333°F, quickly drop the end of the round stock on to the end of the column of water, so that it only touches the one end. Then you can measure the graduation of hardness from one end to the other.

[@simcoespring]

"dry as you can get" this is science, this is a metallurgist dream. I want to do this with some 5160 spring steel and some tapered leaves. I have some stock that is 3" wide and 2" thick and about 5-6" long that I'd love to make a hammer or axe head out of.

[@JoshuaRosaaen]

Get your nerd on...looking forward to seeing more like this. Its the details of the art that I watch you for...and I appreciate it. Thank you.

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

Holy hoser the canada tyre had that! Off man, good looking equipment!

[@amsmithonline]

What a fabulous gift! When you were unwrapping the Rockwell tester, I was worried you were missing the dial indicator. Then to see you had all the anvils and the manual, I was getting excited. To see you had the calibration standards, I was ecstatic! This tool will take you to another level of forging. I'm really curious to know what the hardness of the train rail is on the actual running surface, not in the cross-section.

[@erikcourtney1834]

Water quench is the best route for that steel. And I wouldn’t use ice water. Make yourself a brine quenchant. (Water, salt, and dish soap) heated to 150*F. Try it out since you have the tester. I promise you will yield better results. You can always temper down but can’t make it harder. Brine quench is also safer than cold plain water but yields higher hardnesses. Martian is also correct about heating the oil. If you want to stick with oil then get some parks 50 quench oil, which is made for steel that needs a fast quench speed but is safer than water.

[@chrispy3866]

I think this tool is CRITICAL for what you guys do. Was wondering for a long time why you didn’t have a hardness tester before. I’m happy to see you can now get ideas as to what’s happening with your creations.

[@GordonSanders]

Nice video Tim! Thanks again!

[@andrewneilson227]

Always nice to put real data with your products to refine your process. Very cool!

[@calholli]

This is why the best axe's have the hardened steel insert in the tip; So you can have a tough body that doesn't crack, and still have the super hardened blade that holds it's edge longer.

[@iblong9505]

Found that very interesting. Thank you!

[@GeorgeJirout]

Fascinating! I really appreciate the process of data collection and deductive reasoning! Thank you Tim.

[@MrPMTOO2]

And here I was waiting in hot anticipation for you to check the titanium hammer 😢. But seriously I cannot be the only one who wants to see the Rockwell hardness of all those exotic metal experiments of yours. 😁

[@leppicknives9830]

Warm oil gets thinner and cools metal faster, so you should get harder steel with that. Think/cold oil have more air bubbles in the surface of steel and cools slower. Hardening happens in higher temperatures so it dosen't matter if the oil 0 celsius or 80 celsius. cooling speed is the most important thing. Keimo from Finland

[@roberthordern2205]

Love the axes and the serious harness tester😍

[@johnmcclain3887]

The issue with cold versus hot oil is related to the vaporization temp and it's impact on the oil clinging to the steel. I've been using well used engine oil to quench for about thirty years, it tends to be thinner, less remaining long chain molecules, I get consistent returns in the 42-44 rockwell, and so far, have had zero cracking on gun parts, and machine tool fixturing. I'm more than a bit jealous, lol. Thanks for this great video, never got to tear the sides off the machine, as you have.

[@neilscole]

I'm guaranteeing YOU, Tim, that I am enjoying this content. Data can be fun.

[@jimp5024]

A smart man understands his variables then begins to control them. Very professional.

[@jonathonbarrientes]

Iv been following you for about 2 years now, and though this isn't the usual content it is still very interesting.

[@tylerkrug7719]

That was super cool of James to do!right on man!

[@bfg1637]

Thats a great way of proving that your product is a good as it looks.

[@ChromaticVideos]

Tim this was super interesting. Love seeing the actual machine for testing this. I've heard hardness ratings for all sorts of knives or machining videos. But it's cool to see it more in depth

[@5x535]

Great video, Tim. Most interesting look into the innards of your new toy. Your knowledge base has grown considerably and now your tools/product will benefit. And a big thank you to James for being so generous. You now need to find you, someone?, to pronounce you authorized! If you can't find anyone, I volunteer.

[@joeywhite6031]

Most axes are around 57 Rockwell C. That's still soft enough to cut with a file.

[@ksell5441]

Very interesting indeed. What a wonderful gift for you and us all as it made a great video

[@rocky3075]

HOLY SMOKES! 😳 The Puget Sound Axe is used for making the notch to put a springboard in. That's an AWESOME axe. 👊🦊👍

[@wizzlefits]

That was very interesting! It's always fun to learn the "why". 😃

[@oliveoval8845]

It would be really cool to mill or grind the surface down bit by bit testing the hardness to see how thick that work hardening is

[@NineWorldsWorkshop]

It's probably already elsewhere in the comments, but the pre-heat in the oil makes it a faster quench (to an extent). All oils are different, but most non-formulated quenching oils have the highest specific heat capacity in the ~130-140 degree (F) range which means they pull the heat out the quickest when that temperature. It will be lower (less efficient) when cold, and then tapers off again once it's too hot. Formulated quench oils are made to have a stable range of specific heat capacity that's generally wider than that of cooking oils so more heat can be absorbed by the quenching media over time (more use for a run of quenched objects). Once the steel is below the nose of the TTT curve, which depends on the alloy, the rest of the heat taken out doesn't matter quite as much in this application. It's definitely safe to assume that you will achieve maximum hardness in that quench well before it gets to the temperature range of the oil since you're below the flash point. Love the investigation with the hardness tester, fascinating stuff!

[@patstreet6690]

Neat to see you figuring out the hardness of the materials. Should be helpful for future axes.

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Yes Timothy so happy to see a new video. Really good video today. Congratulations on your new tool /Toy Tim. Hopefully you get great use out of it for many years to come my friend. Can't wait to see more videos soon my friend. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Forge on. Keep making. God bless.

[@Lunewolff]

Neat stuff Tim! Very interesting! Looking forward to see how the Inconel and Titanium tests out... 😀

[@tommiller4490]

Very interesting. Establishing baselines is essential.

[@derekhartley4480]

The size and shape of the object being quenched will effect the final harness. A thin or small object will cool faster than a thicker larger object. The difference between the test piece and the actual axe could be as simple as that.

[@notabandicoot5227]

Great vid. It’s not boring. Really enjoyed this vid and your process.

[@davidmech2956]

Good stuff right there. Knowledge is power, don't forget. Keep up the great work!

[@Sojournart]

Thanks for the informative video! I found it to be a lot more interesting than some of your previous videos.

[@ltwade8522]

Love this vid... yeah, your right its material nerd zone. But.. super important for making high quality bladed tools.

[@huntintrailmetals9343]

I watched it until the end and I enjoyed the video very much Tim! Great job on the videos and especially the axes, thanks for sharing your experience

[@EricMBlog]

I’m watching from about 15 miles outside of Ferndale MI. So close.

[@brucewrandol]

It is interesting to me. I worked in a knife factory. Our cutting edges were in the 60’s. This was ATS34 knife making steel.

[@deadevilmonkey]

By far.. the most valuable you have in your shop... congrates..! little jealous!

[@currentliveoccupant]

Somehow I missed this video. Glad it made it to you in good condition. Guam to Canada is a long trip! When it came up for auction I had to buy it vs let it become scrap. But knew I would not be putting it to good use. Hope it serves you well.

[@minnesotatomcat]

Awesome video, I’ve got a few knives that were Rockwell tested and I’ve always wanted to see the process of testing that. It’d be fun to do a whole array of test metals like Damascus and stainless and things and see what they measure out too!! What a great guy to just send you that 👍

[@ethankoch8507]

Super interesting! Hope to see how this changes your process over time :)

[@mr_shanes]

Very entertaining to watch your reactions to things. Subscribed. 👍🏼😎😂

[@purplebooger6410]

I would like to see some tests on the inconel with this!?

[@sheep1ewe]

Thank You! This was genuinly interesting!

[@DonnyHooterHoot]

Love that segue, "Oh talking axes reminds me I have some to sell", Ch-ching!. NOT criticizing you and I mean it! Just funning around. Great video.

[@tylerjames1716]

I use a these hardness machines on a daily basis. If you have any questions let me know!

[@ozz71]

rockwell of 26 is exreamey soft a good knife is 58-61

[@MadWiking]

Thanks for sharing, Tim!! Extremly interesting!! I could watch, and do it myself, all day long! So, so interesting to see the different testing of the different heat treating. Please test an axe with a hard edge forge welded into the edge part of the axe. Thanks for a great video!! This really made my day!! Best regards from Norway!

[@MrLilfro87]

I found this to be very entertaining. I'm sick in bed and I loved every bit of it, I actually forgot I was sick for a moment.

[@petersonl1008]

Excellent. Very interesting

[@777damage777]

I was watching and interested at the point you said we probably weren't. We knew what we were getting into. 😆

[@kzarnold3678]

Vroom that all went right over my head

[@stanleyhyde8529]

I'm looking at getting into smithing with a friend of mine. This is really interesting stuff for an inquiring mind

[@LarryKidkil]

I'm loving this!

[@silentferret1049]

I think the cold and hot oil left the same outer but the inner of the metal might be where the difference is on those pieces. Try cutting them in half and testing to find out if the cold oil is hardening more of the inner steel than the hot is. Could be too much of the steel is getting hard causing cracking.

[@Oldmankingspiffy]

Great video I really enjoyed it

[@marcerivest6204]

Good video as usual, if you are off 100 degrees F can make a 5 to 10 c scale difference.

[@xlbike8252]

Hey Tim, love the content, as always...not from Ferndale but about 70 miles away...

[@dawall3732]

This is interesting. Hes like a kid with a new toy who just figured out some math he was taught in school applies to the new toy. Now hes gone a little crazy with it.

[@tylerkrug7719]

Super interesting!

[@tracybowling1156]

I thought the whole thing was pretty interesting. Give yourself some credit. You know what we like.

[@lukethebeau2595]

I’m not really sure how it hardening science works but could the Hudson Bay axe be harder because your testing on a thinner piece so it gets harder on the thinner part as it cools faster?

[@billwoehl3051]

🤔 heard supposed to quench on a rising heat, would be interesting to see how they ping compared to quenching on a lowering heat.

[@kylegoldman2696]

I think you need to take more measurements, the sample size is pretty small and the variation is quite high for the averages to be accurate

[@jarlove]

Very interesting!

[@joehackett9471]

spent some time in Ferndale MI! great video

[@johnmcclain3887]

"With a steep-nosed hammer on the end of a four foot switch handle, John Henry laid it back till it touched his heels, the spike went through the crosstie, split it half in two, thirty five cents a day, for driving steel". I suspect John Henry was also six four.

[@koideath]

Hey Tim! so you won't get accurate results on the Rockwell tester unless you take perfectly machined test pieces on the top and bottom. Any variations can throw your numbers off. I would take a piece of that railroad and machine the top and bottom parallel to each other and then quench it in Parks 50 oil. Then machine it again and then do your testing.

[@Bobbias]

Careful with the anvils. Any imperfections on the surface will throw off your readings. It's easy to accidentally hit the diamond when inserting and removing anvils, and that will absolutely mark up the surface.

[@Lynkah]

Missed your videos!

[@johnmorton7577]

Great content

[@natedoerfler652]

Ferndale Michigan is less than an hour away from me! 👍

[@jpolhamus71]

Damn love that long axe 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥❤❤❤❤❤

[@SillyGoose69]

Hell ya

[@OOOHBILLY]

GG MY DUDE

[@bfd1565]

Cool tool

[@scotttod6954]

I would have thought that the machine would take 10W mineral oil or glycerin. Can not wait to see the results of testing on different materials. Could do a whole series on heat treatment , cryo treatment and drop forging on different materials or just test random things like different tools / scrap ECT.

[@bobbymoore1615]

Thanks so use water for 50+ oil from 40+ and air for ,?i did here of someone using air quenxhing three times ,i would lime to here what using air additional times and maybe quenching in oil a couple of times etc to give a larger picture ,,,gr8 video man take heart that noobies lime me can use these numbers and form a me tal pattern for our own work ...👍🏼👍🏼

[@nsrvtqc]

I’m a numbers guy so that was very interesting to me

[@bradleycross9935]

Super super cool

[@multicammando]

Watching in Muskegon/Fruitport Michigan at least. 😁.

[@RefinerSimilitude]

8:07 It doesn't help that the tip of the hand on your gauge appears to have a westward wind blowing on it.

[@RajGiandeep]

I personally found this very interesting.

[@bradleyholcombe6114]

Tyrell knifeworks or Salem Straub or Aleeknives might have experience with hardness testers. I've seen them use them before.

[@tsotsijan]

Hi Tim, awesome project and a nice tester, but I think your numbers all over the board. I dont think you are getting accurate readings there. You should do test coupons and surface grind them. The top and bottom surface should be parallel, decarb ground off and degreased. You shouldnt test too near to the edges either. Someone mentioned the "smoothness", 120 grit should suffice.

[@AYellowPepper]

Some steel, especially the higher the alloy content, doesnt fully harden untill it hits -30°C. This is specifically the modern Powder Vanadium steels. But its crazy to think that steel isnt fully hardned by quenching it in ice water!