Well today I was a little bored
So I took a few broken screw drivers and ground them to perfictly fit .
But now I need to reharden them .

It has been 20+ years

If my memory is right
Heat the tip till non magnetic
Then quench in oil

Is my memory playing tricks on me ?

Just have to keep freinds from trying to use them as pry bar's from now on

Thanks
Johnch

I was told here to heat to a dull red, quench, polish the tip bright, heay carefully till blue, quench again.

I made a centerpunch this way per instructions.

something as delicate as a screwdriver tip, you might want to do the second heat by heating up a piece of bar stock bright red, hold that against the tip low and let the blue creep up to the tip, then quench. happens fast.

as per below, I might have my blue and straw mixed up.

Heat them cherry red dip them in oil. repolish them the heat them to straw color to temper them.

This is assuming you have oil or water hardening steel. While heating it will turn to cherry red then a waxy looking orange this is when you throw it in the toilet or oil pan. If you heat it until it looks scaly, then you are burning the carbon out, that is too hot. After you harden it, you have to remove all the oil before you temper to see the correct colors, this includes your fingerprints. Lightly polish the shank as close to the tip as possible. Heat the shank about 1.5" below the business end while pointing the part up. The colors will start to run up the tool watch the oil free polished part near the edge not where you are heating it. Throw it in water to stop the colors from running past where you want the correct temper to be.

average tempering colors for O-1 or W-1

very light yellow 380degrees-lathe tools
light straw 425 - milling cutters, drills, reamers
dark straw 465 - taps, dies, punches
yellowish brown 490 - wood chisels
purple 525 - center punches
violet 545 - cold chisels
pale blue 590 - screwdrivers(like the ones brownells sells that are WAY TOO HARD! If you are tired of breaking them then temper them properly, they didn't.