How hard can you heat treat A2?
Heat at a rate not exceeding 400°F per hour (222°C per hour) to 1550°F (843°C), and hold at temperature for 1 hour per inch (25.4mm) of maximum thickness; 2 hours minimum.
What is A2 hardness before heat treat?
A2 tool steel properties It’s highly wear-resistant and moderately tough. Like D2, it is incredibly resistant to distortion during heat treating and is moderately machinable and grindable. Popular hardness ranges for A2 run between 57 – 62 HRC with a yield strength range between 185 ksi – 230 ksi.
Does A2 steel need to be heat treated?
A2 should always be annealed after forging. Heat slowly to 1550-1600F, hold until entire mass is heated through, and cool slowly in the furnace (40F per hour) to about 1000F, after which cooling rate may be increased. Suitable precautions must be taken to prevent excessive carburization or decarburization.
How do you harden A2 steel?
Preheat slowly to 1350-1450°F and hold at this temperature until part is uniformly heated. After thorough preheating, heat to 1750-1800°F. Hold the workpiece at the hardening temperature until it is completely and uniformly heated. A2 is an air hardening steel and will develop full hardness on cooling in still air.
What grade is A2 tool steel?
AISI A2 Tool Steel is an air-hardening grade of steel that contains 5% chromium. A2 is noted for its good toughness and excellent dimensional stability in heat treatment. These characteristics make it a versatile tool steel that combines good performance and price.
How do you heat treat A2 steel?
Heat Treatment A2 tool steels are heated slowly to 788°C (1450°F) and this is followed by increasing the temperature to 954°C (1750°F). A2 tool steels are further held at 954°C (1750°F) for 30 to 45 minutes and finally removed from the furnace and cooled.
What is A2 steel good for?
A2 steel bar is available in a several forms, including square, round, and rectangular. This highly versatile material can be used for a wide variety of tools that require wear resistance, such as industrial hammers, knives, slitters, punches, tool holders, and woodworking cutting tools.
How do you heat treat temper A2 steel?
Preheat thoroughly to 1450°F – 1500°F. Then raise temperature to 1750°F – 1800°F and hold it uniformly heated through. Use high side of hardening range for thicker sections. Soak at temperature 20 – 25 minutes per inch of thickness.
Can you oil quench A2 steel?
After that the answer is yes you can oil quench, you can get even harder by using cryo after the quench, and then you shouldn’t temper using your torch, you should use a kitchen oven or a toaster oven, using a separate oven thermometer to check your temperature.
Is A2 steel good for making knives?
A2 has good toughness, better than many high wear resistance steels. It also offers great ease in grinding and polishing for the knifemaker, and ease in sharpening for the end user.
Is A2 stainless 304?
A2 stainless steel is often referred to as 304 or 18/8 Stainless. 18/8 actually refers to the amount of chromium and nickel in the alloy – 18% chromium and 8% nickel. A2 (304, 18/8) is an austenitic steel and is non-magnetic.
What is the heat treating process?
Normalising. This process consists of homogenisation or grain refinement to obtain uniformity in the material microstructure.
How to harden A2 tool steel?
– Place the steel in a heat treat oven or forge and slowly raise the temperature of the steel to its particular austenite region. – Hold the steel at the austenite temperature for at least 30 minutes. – Lower the temperature of the steel slowly. – Cool the steel to room temperature and machine as needed.
What is heat treating used to alter?
Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial, thermal and metalworking processes used to alter the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material.The most common application is metallurgical.Heat treatments are also used in the manufacture of many other materials, such as glass.Heat treatment involves the use of heating or chilling, normally to extreme temperatures
How good is A2 tool steel?
Melting Point of Tool Steel – A2 Steel. Melting point of tool steel – A2 steel is around 1420°C.