Water-Hardening

Tool Steels

(W Series)
Introduction
The v,ater-hardening
tool steels considered here (W I. H2. and WS) are
essentially carbon steels and are among the least expensive tool steels As
a class, these steels are relatively
low in hardenabilitj.
although they arc
arbitrarily classified and available as shallo\\-hardening.
medium-hardening. and deep-hardening
types. Except in very small sizes. LV steels uill
harden with a hard case and a soft core. Their IOU hardenabilitl
is frequently an advantage. because it allows tough core properties in combination with high surface hardness. They are available in a range of carbon
content. allowing for maximum tou@u~ess with loser carbon content or
maximum wear resistance with higher carbon content, depending on
planned use.
Water-hardening
tool steels are most commonly hardened by qusnching in water or brine. However. thin sections may be hardened suitably bj
oil quenching with less distortion
and danger of cracking than if the
sections were quenched in water or brine. In general, these steels are not
normalized except after forging or before reheating treatment. for refining
the grain and producing a more uniform structure. Parts should be protected
against decarbunzation
during au cooling.
These steels are received from the supplier in the annealed condition.
and further annealing is generally not required. Stress relieving prior to

Water-Hardening
mum Hardness.

Tool Steels:
Oil quenched

Section
to 60 HRC

Thickness

vs Mini-

hardening is sometimes emplqcd to minimize distortion and cracking,

particularly
when tools are cornpIe\ or have been severely cold marked
Similarly, prrheatinp prior to austenitizinp
is unusual except for very large
tools or those with intricate crosb sections.
To produce maximum depth of hardness in Nater-hardening
tool steels.
it is essential that the) be quenched as rapidly as possible. In most instances. iiater or a brins solution consisting of IO wt C NaCl in water is
used. For an Eden fa>ter quench. an Iced brine solution may be used. These
steels should be tempered immediately
atier hardening, preferably before
the? feach room temperature. Salt bnthh. oil baths, and air furnaces are all
satlstactoc; for tempenng. However. working temperatures for both oil and
salt are lirmted: the minimum for salt is approximately
I65 C (330 F), and
the maximum for oil is approximately
205 C (100 F). Tools should be
placed in a \\arm furnace of Y-l to I20 C (200 to 250 F) and then brought
to the tempering temperature I$ ith the furnace. The resistance to fracture by
impact initially increases u ith tempering temperature to approximately
I80
C i35S F) but falls off rapidly to a minimum at approximately
260 C
(500 F). Double tempering may be requued to temper any martensite that
may have formed from retained nustenite dunng cooling in the first tempering c~cls.

Nater-Hardening
sracking

Tool Steels:

Fracture

Grain Size vs Quench

Tool Steels / 517

Water-Hardening
Tool Steels: Hardness vs Tempering
Temperature.
Specimens held for 1 h at the tempering
temperature in a recirculating-air furnace. Cooled in air to
room temperature. Data represent twenty 25 mm (1 in.) diam
specimens for each steel. Each quenched from temperatures indicated. (a) Shallow hardening: 0.90 to 1 .OOC, 0.18
to 0.22 Mn, 0.20 to 0.22 Si, 0.18 to 0.22 V. (b) Medium hardening: 0.90 to 1 .OO C, 0.25 Mn, 0.25 Si. no alloying elements. (c) Deep hardening; 0.90 to 1 .OOC, 0.30 to 0.35 Mn,
0.20 to 0.25 Si. 0.23 to 0.27 Cr

Water-Hardening
Tool Steels: Hardness vs Tempering Temperature. 1% C. Size: 25 mm (1 in.) round by 51 mm (2 in.) long.
Valid fortempering times from l/2 to 2 h. Quench temperature: 790
C (1455 F) in water. First stage: The decomposition of martensite into low-carbon martensite (about 0.25 C) and epsilon carbide
(Fe,&). Epsilon carbide precipitates in the form of film at subgrains, 4 to 8 l.rin. in diam in the martensite. In steels containing
more than 0.8 C, the early part of the first stage reaction results in
a slight increase in hardness: however, the later portion of this
stage is accompanied by a gradual decrease of hardness. Specific volume decreases during this stage. Second stage: Decomposition of retained austenite to bainite takes place over the temperature range from approximately 205 to 315 C (400 to 600 F).
Hardness continues to decrease during this stage, while specific
volume increases. Third stage: Epsilon carbide and low-carbon
martensite (0.25 C) react to form ferrite (body-centered
cubic)
plus cementite. This process is accompanied by softening. Even
after the complete disappearance
of epsilon carbide, cementite
continues to precipitate, depleting the ferritic matrix of carbon and
resulting in further softening. Coalescence of cementite particles
also contributes to this softening.

518 / Heat Treaters

Guide

Water-Hardening Tool Steels: Manganese Plus Silicon Content vs Penetration of Hardness. 19 mm (3/4 in.) round bars con-

Water-Hardening Tool Steels: Alloy Content vs Hardenability.

Effect of total manganese, silicon, chromium, and nickel contents
on the hardenability of 1 C steels quenched in brine from 790 C
(1455 F) for 1 h at temperature.
Hardenability expressed as
depth of penetration in inches for 25 mm (1 in.) round bars

Water-Hardening
Tool Steels: Effect of 1% Additions
Alloying Elements on Hardenability

of

Relative hardenability factors for alloy additions to 1% carbon tool

steel, austenitized at normal temperatures with incomplete carbide
solution. Treatment: 40 min at 870 C (1600 F) oil quench; 12 min at
790 C (1450 F), agitated brine quench (H = 5.0)

Steel
I% carbon (base )
I% silicon
IQ manganese
I9 tungsten
I%~chromium
I90 molybdenum
I Sr, niche1

Penetration
in I%-in.
round,
/aJ in.
5 1/2
I8
I6
4 /:
I6
22
IO

Multiplying

factor
Corresponding
D,

forl%

addition

Fracture
grain
size
9

0.67
I.16
1.09
0.62

1.30
2.17
0.93

9
8v~
9%

1.09
I .-Cl
0.89

I .63
2.16
I .33

IO
93/,
9v,

taining 1 to 1.10 C, 0.02 to 0.04 Ni, 0.010 to 0.015 S, 0.012 to

3.016 P. Quenched in brine from 790 C (1455 F). Source:
Teledyne VASCO

Water-Hardening
Tool Steels: Composition
Calculated Hardenability

vs
Critical diameter
for brine quench,

iIl.(E =-SO)
Heat
No.
lb
7
i
-I
5
6
7
8
9
IQ
II
I2

hln

1.02
1.03
I .07
I II7
I .oo
I.09
104
I.00
0.97
0.99
0.98
0.9-l

009
08
0.15
0.3-l
0.2-l
0.26
0.29
031
0.46
0.36
o.so
0.45

13) 0.03pi vanadium

Composition, ?c
Si
Cr
0.03
0.1s
0.09
0.22
0.17
0.26
0.16
0.28
0.29
0.31
0.37
0.36

0.0s
0.0-l
0.05
0.10
0.09
0. I7
0.15
0 13
0 I7
0.15
0.23
0.2 I

Ni
0.02
0.02

0.10
0.03
0 07
0.20
0.1-l
0.07
0.05
0. I 7
0.12
0.16

MO

0.03
nil
nil
nil
0.0 I
nil
0.03
0.03
nil
0.03
0.03
nil

Calculated
0.1s
0.35
0.20
0.15
0.15
O.-IS
0.50
0.60
0.80
0.75
0.90
I .o

Observed
wpmx
<OS
<o.s
<OS
<OS
OS
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.8
I.0
I.0