How to heat treat a object

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So i have made a chipping hammer for the shop, And I'm wondering how to heat treat it so it will not brake or bend, It is 3/8 round bar weld in too a tee the it goes in to a bigger pipe for the handle.  I heard if you get it cherry hot and dunk it in motor oil it. Is there any other ways to go a bought this. Also i have made a few nice hunting knifes that i would all so like to try, Thanks for all the helpMillermatic 211 with mvp plugs miller titanium series welding helmetstihl chain saws 8 ft welding table
Reply:You don't need to heat treat a chipping hammer.  I'll assume your using it to chip off slag?  If that's the case, any sharp edged object can be used as a chipping hammer if you don't already own a $5.00 one from Home Depot/Lowes/Harbor Freight.  You don't need to  bang and exert huge amounts of force on something that is more fragile than a wine glass (slag).  Half the time I'm using another 1/8" electrode to simply scrape away the slag.  Besides, hammering at the weld to "chip away" slag leaves little divits on the weld bead.   That is not good and looks terrible. Scraaaape away the slag.  If you already made your chipping hammer, just put a dull flat edge on one side and a point on the other.  You're done If you still have a desire to harden the chipping hammer, someone can probably walk you through it. "Hey I didn't come to look and learn, I came to turn and burn.... If I can't light up, I'm gonna light out!"-JodyIdealarc 250 "Fatman"MM 252MM 211 "Little boy" Victor Torches
Reply:U did'nt state the type of mat'l (prob unknown), therefore u won't know the carbon content. Impossible 2 H.T. a metal without knowing it's metallurgy.
Reply:I made a set from old files welded to tube handles.  Already hard.  Been using them for years.
Reply:Lets see a pic of the hammer. We loooove pics here!I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:To harden carbon steel first preheat the area too 1100ºf (dull red) and let free air cool slowly. This removes any stress in the material. Next reheat the same areas to a dull red then quench in oil until cool. Used motor oil works well as it adds a small amount of acids at the same time. This method also surface hardens the steel.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeLets see a pic of the hammer. We loooove pics here!
Reply:If its round bar, its probably mild steel. No carbon in that. You could still case harden it with Cyanide.  Or you could ad carbon with a carbon soak but that takes hours of red heat. Or since you are probably versed in welding you could ad a hard tip to it like a piece of old cold chisel. I'm still using the slag hammer I made in 62. It is a stainless hollow handle' formed to fit the hand and has a tip made out of a broken half inch carbon steel drill bit. Mac
Reply:Originally Posted by LarryOHere ya go....
Reply:You can buy a can of Casenite Heat it to red heat and dip it in the powder and let set till coolThat is case hardening ....It just works on the surface of the metalBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:You can't do hardly anything for that. yUo can try case hardening it by adding carbon soot with a carburizing flame for a good duration of time. All in all it's a pretty big waste of time though. You'd be better off welding a quality chisle on there.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:I agree that you do not need to heat treat your chipping hammer.Having said that I do know a bit about heat treating as I have been making and heat treating knives for 20 years. It is difficult to PROPERLY heat treat an item if you don't know what steel it is made of.Common mild steel will not heat treat to any usable level.Items like OLD files, rasps, and other carbon steel items can be heat treated pretty easily.Stainless steel requires a bit more than most people can do in a home shop.SO, carbon steel is the way to go. Although you may not get the ultimate heat treat due to not knowing the steel, you can harden most carbon steels as follows.Heat it up to cherry red and let cool to black three times. This normalizes the steel.Heat the metal up JUST UNTIL it becomes non-magnetic. Test it with a magnet, if it sticks get it hotter. Just non-magnetic is the goal, don't keep getting it hotter or you will get grain growth and have to start over.As soon as the part is non-magnetic, put it back in the heat for a couple seconds to cause the temp to rise and the quickly plunge into warm (125 degree) oil (be ready as the oil WILL catch on fire so be ready to cover the container). The oil will cool the part down quickly. The faster the cool down the harder it will get.You heat the oil to prevent a vapor barrier from forming between the oil and the metal which slows the cooling process.Now, you have the hardened piece of steel but it is way to hard and is brittle. You now have to soften it up to prevent it from breaking.Put it in the oven at 400 degrees for two hours, cool to room temp and repeat two more times. This is tempering the steel. If it is still to hard when done, repeat tempering process at 450 degrees.It is not just as simple as heating to red and dunking in oil as many think. Without tempering you risk chips of the steel breaking off when you hit something and hitting you in the eye or imbedding itself inside your body somewhere.