Where to BUY fast Quench like Parks 50?

I was able to obtain 5 gallons of Duratherm G, a 10 second oil that is re-branded Gulf/Texaco/Chevron Superquench 70. Cost me $47 for the 5 gallons, plus freight. Had it on my front step in two days Fed Ex. Company called Maxim Oil out of Dallas, TX. They knew what I was asking for, had some on hand, and gave me no hassles about quantity. They said that they could formulate a 7/8 second oil from an "old recipe" as well.

I just got an order of 1080 in, and have a couple of file knives in the works as well. Will try them out on the new oil and let you guys know how it works, and how it compares to the vet grade mineral oil I've been using previously.
 
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Test is complete

OK guys,I got the 3 thicknesses of 1095 HT'd with the 11 sec oil and sent to L McAlpine today. The file test seemed to
go well. I look forward to the Rockwell results.

David

I just recieved the 1095 pieces from David and have done the tests on them. The first thing I did was to hand sand them(that way I wouldn't creat any heat) to 800 on both sides. then I ran some tests on my test plate 7 times to make sure everthing was seated and working properly on my machine. The last two tests on the test block read exactly what the block was rated for. I then marked each piece at 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", & 1" from the bottom and tested
each piece at those marks. when I tested each mark I tried to be very close on the time I took with the preliminary test fource and the main test fource. I believe the results are pretty accurate. I'm going to try 1095 HRC TEST.jpgputting a picture here
and hope you can see what I did.
Just in case you can't read the HRC results off the picture here they are from left to right and bottom up. 3/16 1095 plate =65.5,66.3,66,& 65.6. 5/32" 1095 plate=65.7,65.7/65.3, & 65.8. 1/8" 1095 plate=
65.3,66.5,66.5, & 66.6. Also on my machine I'm reading a dial indicator and so the tenths of a point are close guesses.
It looks to me like you got some pretty good results David.
 
I was able to obtain 5 gallons of Duratherm G, a 10 second oil that is re-branded Gulf/Texaco/Chevron Superquench 70. Cost me $47 for the 5 gallons, plus freight. Had it on my front step in two days Fed Ex. Company called Maxim Oil out of Dallas, TX. They knew what I was asking for, had some on hand, and gave me no hassles about quantity. They said that they could formulate a 7/8 second oil from an "old recipe" as well.

I just got an order of 1080 in, and have a couple of file knives in the works as well. Will try them out on the new oil and let you guys know how it works, and how it compares to the vet grade mineral oil I've been using previously.

Jason do you have the name of a contact person at Maxim oil co. And did he give you any further information on the old 7-8 sec recipe.
The main steel I have switched to is 1080. Thanks for any info you can give us. It sounds like a good quench at a good price. for the 10 sec oil,
just would like to consider all options. John
 
Larry, Thank you for testing them out and posting the results. The results are encouraging.

- Mitch
 
Jason do you have the name of a contact person at Maxim oil co. And did he give you any further information on the old 7-8 sec recipe.
The main steel I have switched to is 1080. Thanks for any info you can give us. It sounds like a good quench at a good price. for the 10 sec oil,
just would like to consider all options. John

yea that is what I am wondering....
 
Larry, Thank you for testing them out and posting the results. The results are encouraging.

- Mitch

Mitch, I agree with you that these results are really encouraging and beyond what I expected when I sent Larry the samples. I know we've seen tests previously of the McMaster-Carr 11 second oil that gave less than desirable results on 1095 so let me share with any who are interested what steps I followed to get these pieces to the rockwell hardness of 65-66.

I HT from my propane forge which has no temp control. I initially used a color chart which I will include below. I HT in a relatively dark area in order to get an accurate read on the color. I also make sure to avoid any hotspots in the forge. If my edges are very thin before HT then I'll heat the forge up before hand then turn the burner down to an idle before placing the blade inside. What I'm going for is ~1550 to 1600 degrees right out of the forge. Essentially I'm looking to get just past the point of any shadows in the steel. Placing a firebrick in the forge will give a nice flat surface to use in avoiding warpage and also seems to help in getting a nice even heat.
Once past any shadows in the steel I do a "practice" move to the quench tank. The quench tank should be right there next to you. I don't actually quench the blade but am looking to make sure that my blade is going to be free of shadows when it hits the quenchant.
Back in the forge just long enough to get back to proper heat and then tip first into the quench. Let me say here that I did not heat the McMaster Carr 11 second oil for this quench. I quenched at room temp on a 72 degree day. Once in the quench I did a slow cutting motion from the 12 to the 6 position. 10 seconds in the oil then into my water bucket down to room temp. Once cool I did the file test. Interesting to me was that the file did bite just bit after one quench so I immediately retreated each piece a second time and got a really impressive file test. Maybe we can get Kevin C to offer a thought on this.

If I left anything out or if you guys have any questions let me know.
Big thanks again to Larry for a very well performed and presented rc test.

David

Steel Temps by Color

HotSteelColor Chart1.JPG
 
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Your welcome. I recieve so much from this and other forums that it's a privilege to be able to contribute in some way. if I can ever help out again I'll do my best to do what I can.
Larry
 
David, let me get this straight. You placed the samples in the McMaster-Carr oil for 10 secs., then water quenched after that?

Thanks,
Mitch
 
Jason do you have the name of a contact person at Maxim oil co. And did he give you any further information on the old 7-8 sec recipe.
John

Had to call them back... got my oil two days after I ordered, but still hadn't been charged @ the bank. While I had them on the phone, I got the name of the tech guy.

Lee Neves
Maxim Oil
817-654-4456

FYI, total on the 5 gallons of 10 second oil was $73.32 shipped.
 
David,
I have been going through this thread to see your HT recipe that you did on the test pieces but I can not find it. Could you direct me to the right place or summarize it. I did some tests a little while back with some McMaster 11 sec (posted on this thread), but my test pieces didn't get quite as hard as yours. Just wanting to see what was different.

Thanks
 
David,
I have been going through this thread to see your HT recipe that you did on the test pieces but I can not find it. Could you direct me to the right place or summarize it. I did some tests a little while back with some McMaster 11 sec (posted on this thread), but my test pieces didn't get quite as hard as yours. Just wanting to see what was different.

Thanks

Hi Scherar, check out post #49. It has a color chart at the bottom. Let me know if you have any questions after you read it.

David
 
David,
I have an evenheat oven, and usually heat to 1500, so I no longer go off colors like I did when I was using the oxy-acet torch method. After reading that post, is that your method of treating 1095? Are you saying that you think a double or triple quench is necessary? I was getting 58-61 when quenching @ 1500 in 11sec heated to 120 deg. Do you think approx 70 deg is a better place for the oil?
 
David,
I have an evenheat oven, and usually heat to 1500, so I no longer go off colors like I did when I was using the oxy-acet torch method. After reading that post, is that your method of treating 1095? Are you saying that you think a double or triple quench is necessary? I was getting 58-61 when quenching @ 1500 in 11sec heated to 120 deg. Do you think approx 70 deg is a better place for the oil?

Yes I use my forge as my heat source so I go by color and in daylight I'll use the magnet to insure I'm past critical temp. Before the test I would have been suspect of the validity of double or triple quenches but the proof is in the pudding for me now. After one quench the file was giving me the impression of a mid to high 50's result with lots of variation on each piece. I knew I would find this unacceptable so I immediately HT'd again and got a very obvious improvement when I skated the file. The fact that all three samples with twelve total rc tests done came in within a one point range is pretty telling I think. When I read previous test results I thought that the test temps were just a bit too low, and that not heating the McMaster oil would add some "shock" to the process. When I received the oil I saw no directions that said the oil was intended to be heated for use. I was conscious of trying to avoid grain growth so I avoided overheating or long soaks. I suggest you bump your oven temp up to 1575-1600, quench as fast as you possibly can with room temp 11 sec oil, and then do the file test. If you get any bite at all from the file, then do your double quench. I suspect your results will be very similar to mine.

David
 
I spoke to lee at Maxim oil. He's making his recipe 7-8 sec oil and he's getting a drum of Parks #50. During our conversation I think I convinced him that there's a big hole in the fast quench oil market that needs to be filled. here's what he says.

"Mr. Barton;



Thank you for your interest in Maxim’s quench media. I am formulating a new oil and it is almost from scratch as basestocks have changed so much since we last made the material. I expect to have all of the raw materials for the new oil by Nov. 23rd. It is taking longer than I thought as the low viscosity paraffinic oils has changed somewhat. I expect the 7-8 second quench oil to be priced around $12.00 per gallon in 5 gallon pails plus freight from DFW. Flashpoint will be
~ 285F, GM quench speed will be within 7-8.8 range; and the temperature work range will be 50-120F.



I have included some info on the PQ 90 polymer as it may be an alternative to oils. I believe a good starting point for the polymer will be 10-15% polymer in water at approx. 90- 110F. Some other polymers available may be more specific to your application but PQ 90 works over such a wide range… I would start with PQ90.



We also have a brine replacement for water quench that can be used at 4-5 oz.s per gallon, is non corrosive and may give you a superior quench over just salt or caustic. ( PowderQuench, MSDS attached) Note: Powder-Quench is a DOT regulated Oxidizer as it contains Sodium Nitrite.



I am a Park Distributor in Texas. # 50 Quench oil is available in drums and pails. It is about 16.00 per gallon plus freight. I can bring a drum in on our next truck if you decide to go with the actual #50. I would pail-up a drum’s worth and make it available to you.



Thank you for the opportunity to earn your business. If I can be of at further service, please let me know."



there it is, the best price on Parks #50 I've found. I'll be buying some of his recipe too. someone who makes the effort he is deserves our business.
I'll be trying the maxim, Parks and the PQ 90 polymer side by side when I get them all. I'll report here about the results. remember, the results will be unique to me and my techniques, your results may be different than mine.
Thank you to the gentleman who recommended Maxim oil, Lee Neves Is a good man to work with and the first accommodating oilman I've met. I recommend we all give him our business.
 
I also talked to Lee at Maxim oil yesterday (email)
He told me the same thing about making their 7-8 sec quench
He is willing to work with us small knifemakers and give us a good product at
a good price. John
 
Sweet, the floodgates are open :) Could we once again see the return of readily available quench oil?
 
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