Thanks for letting me know! I'll keep doing them as I learn more!

Thanks! I hadn't see your channel before! I watched your Rolex 1603 video and subscribed! Nice work! It looks like you're in China but I thought you guys couldn't get through the great firewall. Are you in Taiwan? Somewhere else? (Just curious. My wife is from Taiwan and I've worked in both Taiwan and mainland China - Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong.)

@@IShootWatches Hi from the free port of Singapore! I guess best of both worlds here. See you around friend! Cheers!

Ah! Nice! You've got some great watch culture and enthusiasts there, from Wei Koh to the Tay's! Let me know if you're ever in Geneva!

Thanks for your comment! I've seen the ovens with timers to get the correct cool down times for annealing, and it seems to me that to be able to do full heat treatment of steel you've got to have one of those, plus the various quick cooling solutions, boric acid to control oxidation when you don't want it, brass chips to distribute the heat, large and small torches, complete molecular knowledge of the alloy you're working with, and a formal education in metallurgy. And that's why it's so damn interesting! 😂😂😂

Thanks for this comment! I have seen the wire suspension method and will try that the next time!

Well said I agree fully

Rockwell files sound very interesting! Thanks!

Something very few people know, if you use a surfectant (dish soap) you can get even mild steel to become harder, somewhere in the region of 40~45 Rockwell C. Usually mild steel is around 30~35 RC Salt in quench water is a myth, it does nothing to affect hardness. (which your probably aware of?) Steam prevents water actually touching part, (as a blacksmith you know this) surfectants help, a lot. Most people seem to use hardness testing files from Japan, around $90.00 a set

@@1crazypj (dish soap) i know this one very nice you know where you talk about its better than salad dressing lol

Thanks so much for this comment! I will do another video with before and after testing / comparisons following your advice, including on small screws I plan to make myself, because that's the ultimate reason to do it. Make it out of annealed steel and then harden it and check that the hardening worked and also made it stronger and not too brittle. Very cool! I never imagined that making screws could be so much fun! (I would add some laughing emojis but I'm serious!) 😂😂😂

That's what I thought. If properly hard the screw sould have marked the pliers jaws not the other way around.

I will! Thanks!

Cool! I will try that in a follow-up video! I do want to apply some analytics to the question of the gains that can result from heat treatment.

@@IShootWatches That makes sense! For watches, maybe a part that doesn't move or have high stress (like a screw), not hardened is good enough? And I also thought (guessing) that bar steel that you buy in the hardware store might already have a degree of temper.

That is a great idea. Another thing to try: I have learnt to test the hardening by just using a fine file. If hardened correctly, very little material would file off and there would be no damage to the hardened part.

@@awatchdiary I'll try that! I do want to do some tests to see the difference between similar parts treaded differently. Thanks!

Chips Ahoy!

Not quite…. The brass chips don’t impart anything to the steel, chemical or otherwise. They do, however, evenly distribute the heat, and allow you to sneak up on the correct temperature for whatever color you’re trying to reach. As for the colors of steel when heated, what he talks about in the video is correct: it’s all about creating a thin film of oxidation on the steel, the thickness of which determines the color of the light that is reflected from the part.

Thanks! Yes, I'll hang it from a steel wire next time and go straight into oil!

All great comments! Thanks! I really appreciate your comments and I hope that others are reading them as well!

Wow! I didn't even know that there were hidden screws in steel bracelets! Are you sure it's not just pressed together? What brand is it?

@@IShootWatches yes for sure screw. It’s a Girard-Perregaux steel bracelet. AP make them the same way. You can see the process here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eM5hi9qomp2aiZc.htmlfeature=shared

@@marcn8750 Wow! That's super interesting! Thanks! Those hidden screws could be drilled out (just the part where the weld is) and then re-welded.Th problem is the laser or plasma welders they use for that are very expensive. I think there's a spot welder that may go for as little as $1000 but that's still a lot. In the end it may be worth it for restoring stainless steel cases with deep scratches if you do enough of that to justify the cost. Stainless steel welding is a topic that I'm very interested in. Thanks again for the comment and the link!

@@IShootWatches interesting right? I’m trying to figure out how to drill out the screw. I want to try to preserve the outer link. Will I need a lathe? Any tricks to share?

I used all of my oil on my wetstones! 😂😂😂

No, seriously, I thought about it but ice water seemed easier for a quick test.

@@IShootWatches yepp its easier water is free flowing lol ... always love to see your find your way with things ...My father knew a lot about this he did it for 30 years with diffrent kinds of steels...

Does oil or water make much difference with small parts? Perhaps salad dressing is the answer?

@@GentlemensWatchServices no salad dressing is for oil your movement...

Thanks for these tips! Clickspring is great! I didn't know that he had videos about tempering and hardening steel! I will watch those for sure! I really appreciate the comment!

You don’t know what you’re talking about. I have ventilation. 😂😂😂 On your other points I agree completely!

Thanks! I'm going to do this again soon with identical materials before and after. I will definitely take your advice!

@@IShootWatches I watched another video about metal hardening and they heated a knife then dropped it in water. It was so brittle, they could break it with their hands. Same knife, same heat, dropped in oil was hardened properly

@@isiah431 Thanks! Knife-making videos are a great resource because correct hardening is so important and there are more people making knives than screws. I'm definitely planning to do some comparisons. One thing about so hard that it's brittle, however, is that after that it's important to temper it again (meaning soften it by heating to a lower temperature and then letting it cool down slowly). Making something so hard that it shatters like glass is not the final step, it's only half way there. So if you're only doing a one step hardening oil may be best, whereas if you're doing two steps then ice water may be better. I think the problem for tempering is that the cool down needs to be very slow, and for that you need an over with a timer. In any case it's important to keep in mind that the full process involves more than just one heat and quench. It does seem logical that if you can only do one heat and quench then oil is probably better because it doesn't harden it quite as much because the quench is a bit slower.

Love the technical and tool videos. As others mentioned oil is what you want to quench parts in.