My dumb curiosity about tungsten carbide
So the other day, I was messing around with some old drill bits – you know, the kind that look super tough and kinda shiny. Someone mentioned they were “tungsten carbide,” which sounded fancy. Got me wondering: how hot can this stuff actually get before it turns into a puddle? Like, could it handle, say, my garage blowtorch? Had to find out.
Gathering stuff from my messy garage
First thing I did was rummage through my toolbox junk. Found a few broken carbide tips. Perfect. Grabbed my trusty propane blowtorch – the one I use for loosening rusty bolts. Checked its max flame temp online: roughly 1,995°C, give or take. Figured that was a decent starting point. Safety first? Yeah, tossed on my thick welding gloves and dug out some heavy-duty pliers. Not trying to lose skin tonight.
The big melting test showdown
Alright, stage was my driveway. Clamped one carbide piece tight in the vise. Fired up that blowtorch nice and blue. Jammed the flame right onto that little chunk of carbide. Held it there. One minute… nothing. Two minutes… still solid as a rock, maybe glowing dull red. Three minutes… same deal, just hotter. Got impatient, blasted it close for like another five minutes. Sweat was dripping, my arm was aching… but that carbide tip? Barely even looked bothered. Just sat there, glowing kinda orange-red, holding its shape completely. No melting, no warping. Zero drama.
Okay, guess I need more firepower
Clearly, my garage toy wasn’t cutting it. Hit the books (well, mostly Google) again. Tungsten carbide’s melting point? Turns out it’s crazy high – somewhere around 2,800°C to 2,900°C. That explains it! My blowtorch taps out way below that. To actually melt this stuff, you’d need industrial-level equipment – like a specialized electric arc furnace or something wild like sintering. Way beyond my garage setup. Point taken: carbide laughs at normal heat.
So, what did I learn today?
Playing around confirmed two things:
- This stuff is INSANELY heat-resistant: Like, regular tools or torches don’t even make it sweat. Tried my best for over 8 minutes – nada.
- Practical heat? No sweat: Anything you’d encounter welding something, fixing a car, even basic metalworking? Carbide just shrugs it off. Its melting point is so astronomically high, it’s practically bulletproof against everyday heat sources.
Fun little garage experiment. Ended up respecting the hell out of my busted drill bits. They’re tiny, man, but crazy tough when things get hot.
