Just realized my old way of quenching leaf springs was causing stress cracks

I used to dunk the whole piece straight into the oil, but after a blade snapped in Boise last fall, I started quenching just the edge first for 3 seconds. Anyone else have a better method for 5160 steel?

3 comments

3 Comments

park.iris2mo ago

Pre-heating the oil like noahbaker mentioned is a solid move. It reminds me of a guy at a meet who swore by using old transmission fluid. He said the additives in it gave a slower, more even cool on truck springs. His demo blade took a serious bend without snapping. Might be worth a look if you're still fighting cracks.

noahbaker2mo ago

Ever try pre-heating your oil to see if that helps with the stress?

river1908d ago

Why not try quenching in a faster oil instead like canola or even water if you're careful? I know water's risky with 5160 but if you pull it out at the right temp it can actually harden the edge deeper before the core has time to stress out. Your pre-soak method is good but maybe the slower quench is what's causing those edge cracks in the first place.