DiY Heat Treatment project

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Ovenpaa
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DiY Heat Treatment project

#1 Post by Ovenpaa »

I have had a need for in-house heat treatment for a while now. I seem to be heat treating firing pins/strikers, hammers, punches and similar on a weekly basis and I invariably have to resort to MAP gas in a dimly lit room which is a bit vague, or sending parts off for hardening and tempering which is costly and protracted.

So off to the computer and a concept evolved, it had to be fairly compact and this design has an internal space of around 155mm x 155mm x 250mm or 6" x6" x 10" so certainly big enough to contain anything I will put in it plus I can always pop a knife blade or two in it if needed. heating is via a home would 18AWG Kanthal A1 at around 2 kWatts and control is via a PID. The concept does not show the frame or in-fill pieces and although I show the door as a side opener this may change, also I need to add a switch to the door so the elements turn off when it is opened.

Today is going to be dedicated to welding the frame up amongst other things.

Has anyone else on the forum built their own Heat Treatment oven, I would be interested to hear of any experiences and/or observations.
Concept.png
Pre-fitting.jpg
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johngarnett
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#2 Post by johngarnett »

Bet Christel will love that on her coffee table!! You could've put a newspaper down first!! Will it do pasty's? lol
JohnG :cornwall:
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Ovenpaa
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#3 Post by Ovenpaa »

We have a raised section at the rear of the workshop which is a perfect working height for me and we put down industrial mats so whatever I place on it is protected, perfect for inspecting guns or assembling HT Ovens :)

At a calculated maximum slightly in excess of 1100C/2010F it will do just about anything :)
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snayperskaya
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#4 Post by snayperskaya »

johngarnett wrote:
Will it do pasty's? lol

JohnG :cornwall:
Years ago I worked at Perkins Engines in Shrewsbury and we had a large oven for heating up the crankshaft gears before they were pressed on.....around 10-15 minutes before break each day it would be full of cheese toasties, pies and pasties!!! lol
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Dark Skies
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#5 Post by Dark Skies »

What do you envisage it costing?

Would one of these have sufficed?

http://www.metalclay.co.uk/prometheus-mini-kiln-pro-1/
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Alpha1
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#6 Post by Alpha1 »

This company,s vacuum chambers as well as cactus juice are popular with pen turners. The vacuum chambers are used for stabilising exotic woods before machining. The cactus juice along with a suitable mould is used for making really nice colored pen blanks.
I have access to two ovens at work but they are very large ovens. When we had an industrial glass blowers department they had some really nice thermostatic controlled ovens. But they went in the skip when the department closed. Our glass blower retired I think he was about 79 and we could not find any one to replace him. A oven is a handy piece of kit.
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Ovenpaa
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#7 Post by Ovenpaa »

I have a spreadsheet in the workshop which details the exact costs so I can check in the morning, however from memory it is going to be around GBP375-400 as a finished item including PID, bricks, materials etc. Yes you can buy cheaper however a comparable build is going to be closer to GBP750-850 so this is a cost effective way of doing things plus I have the fun of designing and building it myself.

This is it with the frame tacked up, the top frame section will be screwed down in place to allow me to easily remove the bricks and element if necessary. The aluminium liners are inside out in the picture to protect the plastic coated finish which I can remove once finished. I had planned on a degree of portability however it is quite heavy already so I may dispense with the carry handle and just leave it in its final location.
IMG_3836.jpeg
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Alpha1
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#8 Post by Alpha1 »

Building it yourself and it actually working is always a feel good factor. I have just finished a hand full of front sight adjusters for milsurps in aluminium and I'm over the moon that the people who are trialing them report that they work.
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Ovenpaa
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#9 Post by Ovenpaa »

Alpha1 wrote:Building it yourself and it actually working is always a feel good factor. I have just finished a hand full of front sight adjusters for milsurps in aluminium and I'm over the moon that the people who are trialing them report that they work.
Post a picture!
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Re: DiY Heat Treatment project

#10 Post by Ovenpaa »

Just checked and the project is running at GBP344.26 right now, I need to order some ceramic beads to insulate the elements before they get to the porcelain connector blocks however they are pence, I also need some 240volt indicator lamps and a rotary limit switch for the door interlock so the whole job *should* come in at around GBP400.00

Expensive parts were electrics including an enclosure, the 32A double pole switch and the PID with Thermocouple and a solid state relay. The heater controls and electrics alone were close to GBP230.00 and the bricks and mortar another GBP90.00

The 2mm aluminium infill plates were free of charge via a mate who owns a fabrication company however they are a cosmetic thing as much as anything although they do offer some mechanical protection to the external surface of the bricks.
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