Banebot 56mm gearbox - double D - RELOADED

[Dick Linn]

If I had to do something and had no machining capability, I'd be tempted to heat and quench the existing carrier in a very cold brine solution, one containing about a pound of salt per gallon of water. I might even add some Jet Dry or other type of surfactant (or some "water wetter") to ensure a very hard quench. (People used to use a lye solution, but that's a bit dangerous.) The idea is to raise the boiling point and reduce the tendency for the water to form vapor bubbles at the interface between the quenchant and the steel, thus ensuring maximum heat transfer rate.

It is my understanding from research that steels with as little as .20 to .25 percent carbon can still be hardened to as much as 36-37 Rc by this method. PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS WITH STEELS CONTAINING MORE THAN .40 PERCENT CARBON. THEY WILL SHATTER.

Some people swear by the "superquench" formula containing some dishwasher soap. I found this to be of interest: http://paaba.net/WeekendMet.htm

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by Dick Linn

If I had to do something and had no machining capability, I'd be tempted to heat and quench the existing carrier in a very cold brine solution, one containing about a pound of salt per gallon of water. I might even add some Jet Dry or other type of surfactant (or some "water wetter") to ensure a very hard quench. (People used to use a lye solution, but that's a bit dangerous.) The idea is to raise the boiling point and reduce the tendency for the water to form vapor bubbles at the interface between the quenchant and the steel, thus ensuring maximum heat transfer rate.

It is my understanding from research that steels with as little as .20 to .25 percent carbon can still be hardened to as much as 36-37 Rc by this method. PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS WITH STEELS CONTAINING MORE THAN .40 PERCENT CARBON. THEY WILL SHATTER.

Some people swear by the "superquench" formula containing some dishwasher soap. I found this to be of interest: http://paaba.net/WeekendMet.htm

Just for completeness, we got the results back from a friend with a material lab. His considered opinion is that it is either 1018 or 1020 steel. So it's virtually impossible to harden without carburizing, likely even with your superquench method.