My uncle said to always quench a hot punch in oil, not water

I tried it on a center punch I was making and it cracked right down the middle. He swore by it for 40 years, but I think the steel was too hard to start with. Has anyone else had a punch fail from quenching in oil?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnh822mo ago

I read that oil quenching can crack high carbon steel.

norag552mo ago

Wait, really? That's interesting, @johnh82. What kind of oil were they using for the quench? I've heard the temperature of the oil matters a lot for avoiding cracks.

lee.diana2d ago

Temp of the oil is key, hot oil cracks way less.