What's in your oven ?

pilkguns · Dec 13, 2016

I just tried something new. Working on a stainless gun that is on the hard side. I threw it the oven for 4 hours at 425 to anneal it. Nothing new about that. But I put the part in a stainless bowl of Wesson oil. Wa la! Since no oxygen got to the steel, it's not dis colored anywhere saving clean up time.

Roger Bleile · Dec 13, 2016

Is it noticeably softer?

Weldon47 · Dec 13, 2016

No.... but it tastes better.....

WL

pilkguns · Dec 13, 2016

Very much so.

Crossbolt · Dec 13, 2016

That must be rather close to the smoke point but you've probably got another 150 to the flash point.
Jeremy

tsterling · Dec 13, 2016

Well, if that ain't just freaking brilliant! I'll have to remember this one. Great tip, Scott!

Tom

Tim Young · Dec 13, 2016

I have some stainless steel pendant that are hard as a rock. Going to try this if my wife lets me. Thanks for the tip Scott!

Crazy Horse · Dec 13, 2016

Just taking a guess, but wouldn't the hardness be determined by the Chrome content?

Ron Spokovich · Dec 13, 2016

Some oils, of which there is a multitude, have strange properties. I cook with Planters peanut oil, which has a property that may be of interest to some. While working on certain projects, our Engineers ran out of lubricant for our diamond cutting saw, used on materials other than diamond but nearly as hard. I told them to go to the local grocery, and get a bottle of the oil I mentioned to use as a lube. It worked perfectly!

mitch · Dec 14, 2016

Ron Spokovich said:
Some oils, of which there is a multitude, have strange properties. I cook with Planters peanut oil, which has a property that may be of interest to some. While working on certain projects, our Engineers ran out of lubricant for our diamond cutting saw, used on materials other than diamond but nearly as hard. I told them to go to the local grocery, and get a bottle of the oil I mentioned to use as a lube. It worked perfectly!

a couple things- peanut oil is used for frying in the galleys of submarines because of its high smoke point.

and i've recently had to thread some black pipe in the course of renovating the house I bought last year. who knows where my cutting oil ended up in the move, but the canola oil from my kitchen works great. low in saturated fats, too!

tdelewis · Dec 14, 2016

You might try hydraulic fluid also. I think it has a high flash point. I use it for quenching to treat steel.

dlilazteca · Dec 14, 2016

pilkguns said:
I just tried something new. Working on a stainless gun that is on the hard side. I threw it the oven for 4 hours at 425 to anneal it. Nothing new about that. But I put the part in a stainless bowl of Wesson oil. Wa la! Since no oxygen got to the steel, it's not dis colored anywhere saving clean up time.

What type of wesson oil did you use? Canola? Vegetable? thanks again

Weldon47 · Dec 14, 2016

Carlos:
It must be "Smith & Wesson" oil....

WL

monk · Dec 14, 2016

great idea. but is yer kitchen still intact ?

gcmeleak · Dec 14, 2016

Or have you bought your wife a new stove for Christmas yet ? it was almost curtains for me when old girl found out that I wash my aquarium filters in the clothes washer. I got away with it for two or three years before she caught on. yes I got a big tank. 220 gal so if it good enough for me,it's gotta be good for my fish.
Skill comes from diligence

bitmaker · Dec 17, 2016

Rice bran oil has a very high smoke point. I think it's the highest if the cooking oils.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mitch · Dec 17, 2016

gcmeleak said:
it was almost curtains for me when old girl found out that I wash my aquarium filters in the clothes washer. I got away with it for two or three years before she caught on.

well, who hasn't had that conversation?
"Did you just use the _____ to _____ your ______?!"
"Yeah, I do it all it the time."
"How long have you been doing that?"
"I dunno, a few years. You never noticed so I figured it was ok."
"[heavy sigh of disgust]"

Brian Marshall · Dec 17, 2016

Yup, the kitchen gets used for quite a few things that it probably wasn't intended for... but it's just so convenient.

Putting a coupla mower tires in a pot of boiling water to separate them from the steel rims was one time we had a "discussion".

Another time time was when I forgot the wax tablet that I do some of my demos on - in the oven. A bit too long.

That one left the house smelling like burnt paraffin for a coupla weeks... thought it might be permanent?

Then there's the microwave disaster and the toaster oven disaster, and numerous pots of water boiled dry, the gold tester gel kept in the refrigerator, transfer wax in the freezer, and, and, and...

Brian

JohnR · Dec 17, 2016

Scott, what was the cooling down process that you used? Fast or slow? I have been wanting to engrave a bolt handle on an old 22 rem. 34. Super hard my graver just slides over the top. I will try this on it. Thanks JohnR

JohnR · Dec 18, 2016

Worked great. I annealed the bolt handle at 425 for 5 hours and its now engravable. I air cooled it (slow) and had no warpage or color distortion. I did ruin my mothers 4x4 corning ware container I put it in. A small amount of smoke dis coloration formed on it and won't come off all the way. So like most of us would do I stuck it up on the top shelf hopping she'll never see it or use it again. Tip - use an oil with a high smoke point. I used a cheap veg. oil. Although I had no smoke issues I was right at the smoke threshold. Thanks Scott

What's in your oven ?

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