Abstract: Disclosed is a part-handling apparatus for a heat-treating furnace system and its use in transferring parts such as bearing races into, through, and out of a quench tank while avoiding any part-to-part contact and thus preventing nicking of parts. The apparatus includes a charge elevator formed of closely-spaced rails divided into lanes and which lowers parts into a quench fluid. A walking beam system for moving parts along the tank has movable rails which mesh with stationary rails and with the rails of the charge and discharge elevators when the elevators are located in their lowermost positions and includes a frame which is movable vertically and longitudinally. A push-off device near the tank discharge end pushes parts from the discharge elevator either directly onto an in-line conveyor of a washer or tempering furnace or onto a rotatable arm which alters the travel path of the parts a selected angle such as 90 degrees before delivering the parts to the conveyor of the washer to temper furnace.