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Guy at the hammer-in in Ohio told me to quit normalizing my punches, thought he was full of it
So I was at a hammer-in near Akron 4 months back and this old timer watched me use a fresh punch on a hot rail clip without normalizing it first. He said 'you're gonna crack that punch before you finish that bracket' and walked off. I kinda blew him off because I'd been doing it that way for a bit with no issues. Two punches later that same night, one split right down the middle and shot a chunk across the shop. Now I normalize every punch and chisel after forging, no shortcuts. Lost about $30 worth of tool steel learning that lesson the hard way. Any of you normalize yours or just run them hot and hard until they fail?
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wade87121d ago
Had a similar deal at a hammer-in in Virginia, split a punch right at the tip because I skipped the normalize step after forging it. Cost me a whole morning and a good chunk of 4140. Now I stick mine in a bucket of ash overnight and heat treat the next day, haven't cracked one since.
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