Color temperature chart for tempering steel

[Cherryville Chuck]

Here is a color chart showing what temperature steel is based on it's color. If you ever plan on trying to make your own cutters for planes or chisels or take up knife making this chart could be helpful. Paul Sellers said in one of his videos that steel is the right temperature for quenching when a magnet no longer sticks to it so that might be helpful too.

[Stick486]

thanks Charles...
here's some supplemental information on tempering,,,
.

[HandyDan]

Thanks, I like the magnet tidbit.

[Cherryville Chuck]

I just read the same thing in Stick's Woodworker's Guide pdf so that might be the most reliable method for knowing when it's time to quench. I have a strip of O2 to treat so I'll compare color, try the magnet test, and see what my infrared laser tester has to say at the same time. My color vision is near perfect but I'll have to do the treat outside which may make using the color method unreliable. Everything I've read says you need to be in relatively low light.

[Stick486]

Everything I've read says you need to be in relatively low light.

night time operation???

[HandyDan]

Everything I've read says you need to be in relatively low light.

Wait until evening when the sun is low in the sky....

[Cherryville Chuck]

That's about 9:30 to 10:00 here right now.