instructables

An Introduction to Heat Treating Carbon Steels

by takeitfromablacksmith

This is the rst Instructable in my series about heat the large number of alloys, this series will only focus on a
treating carbon steels. few that are commonly used.

Before we get started, I'd like to touch on a few *There are a lot of confusing terms that are used in the
important points that I think will o er some context to elds of welding, blacksmithing, and metallurgy that
what can be considered to be some pretty dense subject overlap and sometimes carry slightly di erent meanings.
matter: So, for the sake of clarity, I'll be linking key terms to their
de nitions as they appear in the text.
*In order to talk about heat treating, we must rst know
a little about metallurgy. This of course, is the branch of *Lastly, some of the best technical universities on the
science and material engineering that studies the planet have programs dedicated to the study of
behavior of metals. As of the date of this Instructable, metallurgy. I do not hold a degree from any of these
there are 84 metals on the periodic table of elements. places, nor would it be realistic to expect the following
series of Instructables to cover all there is to know about
*Generally speaking, metals share several qualities: the topic. That said, twenty years working as a
thermal & electrical conductance, malleability, ductility, blacksmith and fabricator has given me plenty of hands
and hardness. Except for mercury, they are solid at room on experience, and with that comes a con dence in my
temperature, and can be chemically combined with understanding of the fundamentals. This Instructables
other metals. These combinations are called alloys and series was written with the DIY tool / knife-maker,
they exits in the hundreds, if not thousands. Alloys are tinkerer, or anyone who has an interest in upping their
typically categorized in groups by chemical make up / basic metalworking game in mind.
properties, and some of them can be quite exotic. Due to

Step 1: Getting Specific

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Of all the groups of metals in existence, there is one in
particular that is quite large. These are called ferrous
metals, which means "containing iron". This group is
important because it includes all of the steels, which are
one of the most versatile and commonly used materials
in our civilization.
Within the ferrous metals group, there exists another
large, and widely used group called carbon steels. These
are an alloy of iron and carbon typically in the 0.30–
1.70% carbon by weight. Carbon steels are common,
easy to obtain new and from scrap, are relatively easy to
work with and function well as tools, knives and
anything else that requires a hardness / toughness more
than non-carbon steels can o er.
For these reasons, carbon steels will be the focus of this
Instructables series. In particular, medium - high carbon
steels will be the focus here, as they contain enough
carbon to be heat treatable. Low-carbon or plain-carbon
steels do not and are of no consequence in this context.

Step 2: So What Is Heat Treating Anyway?

The term heat treating is referring to the manipulation of Hardened,

the molecular structure of a metal in service to changing
its mechanical properties. This can increase or decrease and
ductility, hardness, yield strength, or toughness without
altering electrical and thermal conductivity. Tempered

Heat treating has four basic states: These terms describe the transition from one state to
another and each will be covered as its own Instructable
in this series.
Annealed,

Normalized,

Step 3: How Does Heat Treating Work?

An Introduction to Heat Treating Carbon Steels: Page 2

Above: (Top) Microscopic view of the di erent phases of which this process begins is called the steel's critical
carbon steel. (Bottom) The iron / carbon phase diagram, temperature. The range in between the critical
which shows temperatures at which phase change temperature and the upper melting point is called the
occurs. steel's transformation range.

Heat treating works by exposing carbon steels to a range There are a number of phases that the steel can
of speci c temperatures for a prescribed period. potentially contain, and each exhibits its own set of
properties. These properties can be bene cial in
Carbon steel's molecular structure is crystalline. di erent ways to the material's application. The di erent
Exposure to hot and cool temperatures will change the phases are called: austenite, ferrite, cementite,
shape, or phase, of these crystals. Holding, or "soaking" martensite, banite, and pearlite (technically not a phase,
the steel in these temperatures will further change the but a mixture of ferrite and cementite.)
shape of the crystalline structure. The temperatures at

That's right! By controlling a carbon steel's exposure to
speci c temperatures, we can make that steel harder,
softer, or tougher. This greatly increases the material's
durability and makes carbon steels very suitable for
industrial applications.
The following series will break down all the stages of
heat treating and individually address the basic hows
and whys of each process.
Stay Tuned for the next Instructable which will cover
Annealing.

Hello,
I have been working with metal for years and I am happy to see a series coming up as
instructables on the subject of heat treating. Doing blacksmith work when heat treating these
days, I usually heat the steel until it becomes non-magnetic and then quench it in some oil until
reasonably cool. I test with a file to see if the file will skate off of the metal after it has been
quenched. Once that is done, I put it in a toaster oven for about an hour at 400 degrees to temper
it.
Annealing metal that is already really hard that I am not able to work with, I usually heat it up to a
temperature where it is no longer magnetic and then I put it in a bucket of wood ash over night
where it will cool really slow.

An Introduction to Heat Treating Carbon Steels: Page 3

I am aware that my methods are probably ancient and very crude but that have worked in the
past. With that said, I am very interested to read your instructables on the matter as I live to learn
and love to learn.
Thanks!
Al Gilchrist
Hey there,

Metalworking itself is ancient. It's important to remember that while metal working and metallurgy
have a lot of overlap, they are different fields. You don't have to be a master of both to be
successful at either.

Your methods have been the standard for over a thousand years and I'd say that's pretty legit.
For plain carbon steels that is going to work just fine.

If or when you start branching out into other alloys, then you might want to read up on the
metallurgy and dial your temperatures in a bit tighter.

Thanks for the comment and best of luck with your projects.
Thank you for sharing! Very useful. Look forward to future Instructables!

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