15
A retired farrier in Boise told me to always quench my punches in used motor oil, not water.
He said it cools them slower and stops the tips from cracking, which saved me after I broke three punches in a week. Anyone else have a weird old-timer tip that actually works?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
pathenderson14d ago
My grandpa swore by quenching in old bacon grease for the same reason.
3
verafoster14d ago
Oh man, that's a classic tip but it's a bit backwards. The oil cools it slower than water, that's the whole point. Water quenching is way too fast and hard on the steel, makes it brittle. So the old farrier had it right. I see what @pathenderson is saying about bacon grease too, that's just another type of slow oil quench. The key is avoiding that water shock.
3