heat treating salts

[shing]

does anyone know where i can get some heat treating salts or the formula for them please?

[PS_Bond]

Calcium chloride & sodium chloride. I think Mushi's pottery supplies place does them?

[MushiSushi]

Hi shing..... the common mix is Calcium chloride /Sodium chloride 50/50 ... there's a lot of discussion on Don Fogg's site about it if you are a member ....... a reasonably pure grade of Calcium chloride can be bought from Potclays ... Sodium Chloride from any supermarket ..... first use will be a little volatile as it cooks out impurities so heat cautiously. Other mixes can involve Barium, potassium, etc. but most doing the home mix use CaCl/SoCl.

Have you got a salt pot set up? would like to hear about it ........ mines been put on the shelf for now :( ... because i was given a heart attack when I was told how much the salt tube was gonna cost. the scenery company I sometimes work for were buying in the tube for me and putting a bottom on it, when they found out how much the tube was going to cost, they checked with me first :yikes:

[MushiSushi]

http://www.potclays.co.uk/

[shing]

Dtalbot found a SS sweet container we could try and hopefully get some CaCl2 but Potclays is near where I work anyway. We were going to use his Rayburn cooker and just sit it in the coke fire with a thermocouple in the salt. I sounds like you'll using some special SS. By the way, let me know when your steel arrives.

[MushiSushi]

As soon as it arrives I will drop you an e mail ... oops just arrived as I was typing this :biggthump

salt!!

304 and 316 SS can become brittle at HT temps ... and also doesn't resist the salt!!! . it eats through it

316L and 321 have far better corrosion resistance to the salts ..... I was recommended a minimum thickness of 1/4 inch .. but preferably thicker .. I had asked for 4" tube with a 10mm thickness ..... I was quoted £250 + vat for a 900mm length :yikes:

even the slightest drop of moisture can cause the salts to explode showering everything in the vicinity with 800 + C degrees molten salt ...... not something dave would want in his kitchen i think

[MushiSushi]

I really reccommend you take a look at http://www.dfoggknives.com/ and go through the search on salt pots.

[CAL G]

I have been using Potassium Chloride(POTASH)for years. It melts at 1418 deg F and is useable well over 2000 deg F
I have a 80 lb bag of it sitting here but a little expensive to ship.

Here is my heat treat set up using salt.
http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/CALFORGE/SALT%20HEAT%20TREAT/

[Greg Thomas]

hey Cal

do you have a source for the 316 stainless tube and cap for the salt pot.. its hard to find up here..

Greg

[CAL G]

Greg, I just went to a scrap metal dealer and found some 4 inch stainless tubing with a 3/8 wall. It is worth about $2.00 a pound maybe even less now with metal prices dropping. Otherwise it will cost a fortune to buy it from a metal supplier because I imagine they only want to sell it in 20 ft lenghts.
If I come across any I will let you know.

[Greg Thomas]

Hi Cal

thank you very much.. that would be great!


off topic:

by the way... i took a little peek at your photobucket and your knives are cool..
same with that press... lord that looks like a nice press.... good work !!


Greg;)