Subject: Re: airhammer points

From: "John W. Pollins, III" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 07:59:13 -0400 (EDT)

I think you're right to worry about liability. If you temper
economically by just heat hardening the point (S7 is also a water hardening
steel) you're at high risk for creating a fracture line right at the edge of
the quench. If you don't temper back you've created an almost certain risk
of small splinters flying off. This isn't a knife. This thing is going to be
exposed in public to massive impact forces. When the thing breaks up -- as
you know it's going to do --- and sends steel shrapnel into expensive body
parts you are liable.
        If your customer won't accept it back annealed, hire a lab to do the
hardening and tempering and pass the cost off to the customer.
        I won't touch them or truck chain tie downs for the same reason.

                John W. Pollins, III
                Speaking as a Board Member of both ABANA &
                The Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association

---

From: "Szucs" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 10:23:34 -0400

On Apr 25,  7:59am, John W. Pollins, III wrote:
> steel)

	S7 is also very sensitive to overheating.  I was pounding a piece
	last weekend (a real bitch to work, but then I'm a weakling) and
	on one heat I went from a medium orange to dull yellow.  Bang
	bang... SNAP... the last 3 inches broke clean off.  The fracture
	looked as if I'd worked the material too cold.

	I'm not all that knowledgeable of S7, but my experience so far has
	shown that there are definite pitfalls that must be avoided that
	may not be so easily anticipated.  My point is that you should be
	real careful where potential liability is concerned.  If someone
	loses an eye, the jury may not consider the fact that the idiot
	should have been wearing safety glasses, but rather they may focus
	on that po' po' young man who's now half blinded by the tool that
	YOU apparently failed to properly fix.  Think of the job a capable
	ambulance chaser would be able to do on you in such a situation.