Annealing Hardened Steel In the wood stove, softening metal

[@JasonDimmick]

Basically if you want to soften steel heat it up red hot and let is cool slowly.

[@tubthumper42]

Ayup there bart and greetings from sunny england ,just tried this with a hardened machine vice so i could mill some T slots in it,chucked it in my woodburner for a evening got it glowing red hot and then let the fire go out,fished it out the next morning and its now machinable,its still perfectly square and went back together fine,the scale eventually came off and its now as clean and shiny as it was before,but now its got some Tslots so it can be fixed on my lathe slide,thanks and all the best Andy.

[@shonaoneill5151]

Hello Bart, you are correct about the metal needing time to cool down properly. I personally have a specific thick cast iron cooking pan, it's around 1/2 an inch thick all around, it is 3 & 1/2 inches deep. I fill it full of ultra fine silica sand, put it in the oven till it gets to 220°c all the way through , then I put the intended metal into it, I have other sand in a separate container in the oven warming up at the same time so as to cover the metal completely. I generally do this early evening, around 6pm so it is done and ready for working at 9am next morning. The video was good and I mean no disrespect by saying this, however 2 days for cooling just is not necessary. I have vast experience with knife making, silver work, and general metallurgy. I have a fair grasp on what I am talking about. Try it yourself friend, it is a super effective system for steel, the only thing that is expensive that I use us the cast iron pan, but it has been in my family for years, and I imagine it would be expensive.

[@johnswimcat]

Helpful advice, thank you

[@johncoscia5258]

Well spoken and you are interesting listening . A few could learn how not to talk about themselves when it's not to the point . Cheers

[@VintageGearMan]

I am using a mini Unimat SL DB 200 and I can easily get big bolts from a local scrap yard and make up a bunch of usable turning steel for my small lathe projects.

[@paulmanhart4481]

Thank you for this. I want to do this to some hammer heads so I can work on them. Then reharden them afterwards. You didn’t mention any particular temperature cycle or times at certain temperatures but I suppose that’s not very important. I’ll try this method. Paul

[@MojoPreacher]

Just the info I needed. Got similar chunks at work today! Thanks!

[@SoloVagant]

Thanks for the upload, informative.

[@chrisbyars4422]

Minus 15 windchill, you must be in Minnesota. The camera focus is just fine. Thank you for the video. It way very helpful

[@killmeman666]

Toronto (ish) area of Ontario Canada... not much different temps from Minnesota most days... we didnt get at much snow this year though.. kinda sad about that

[@VintageGearMan]

This was quite informative. Would this work on stainless steel also? Thanks.

[@portabuddy]

Sorry about the focus on this one. Should of used my phone and not the 7d. But it's a story with visuals. The pretty pictures are secondary to get the paint across.

[@joshsundiwa]

thank you for sharing

[@JonDingle]

Interesting stuff young man. I need to soften an outer bearing race for welding so will strike a fire in the log burner and let the magic happen. Hopefully!

[@fbicknel]

How much does one of these kingpins weigh? I need a 6.5 kg (approx) weight for a grandfather clock and this looks promising. Even if the weight is approximately correct, no clue where to go to get one at a reasonable price. Thanks for the video... it was helpful.

[@portabuddy]

@@fbicknel their is one from an axle called a IMT. It's a lift steer axle. I wouldn't buy one new though. They kingpin set is well over $600. However if you find a trailer repair shop or truck alignment shop they would be more than happy to give you one. This stuff is garbage to them.

[@VintageGearMan]

Well limited to my 3 jaw chuck size of course. I am just making knurled thumb screws etc.

[@celticdude4686]

Good info thanks. I am still trying to find out what steel grade the kingpins are. My boss just got me some pins and two big rig brake drums.

[@zeroumashi2947]

If it's stainless then id have to guess that it's 440c. 440c is harder than the 300 series. 420c has an hrc of 50 while 440c has an hrc of between 58 and 60.

[@donaldnaymon3270]

Thank you for sharing. Great info.

[@HB-jc9uf]

Got. To do that like 6 times to soften that

[@wrench-weld-build6545]

Can anyone put this process in writing with temps?

[@VintageGearMan]

I just happen to have an extra stove that is sitting outside and it would be perfect for this application.

[@tomherd4179]

I have a 1" ahank which is hardened that I need to turn down to 3/4". On one end there are threads and a flange that are dimensionally critical. If your procedure is followed for heating and cooling, etc. will the dimensions hold true without any defromation?

[@LintRoller86]

how hot can it get in there?

[@rynousa]

Did you shit your pants at 7:15?

[@gerry5134]

What about a charcoal BBQ could it be maybe somehow altered to make it into a mini furnace . I don't have an open fire anymore 😔

[@portabuddy]

Hugo Malice any source of heat that you can keep burning long enough to make the metal turn a dull red. Then have a bunch of ash to dump onto to try and allow the metal long enough to normalize. If you let the metal cool down too quickly that will not though soften it enough if you warm it up too quick you might not penetrate the center. You could end up with hard bits in the metal that will dull your bits in a hurry. :( probably a full bag of charcoal would be needed. Lay a good bed of coals. Light let them burn to a cherry red. The. Lay your metal on top of the lot coals. And slowly layer more coals onto of them. Use a small fan like a hair dryer to get the coals really hot. And once your whole bag is used up you can dump some insulation on top. This could be more ash. Or close the lid and wrap with a fire blanket if you have one. Or you could dump regular silica play sand on top. Just a really good layer. And let it sit overnight.

[@gerry5134]

Bart Koscow Thanks Bart for answering . Thats a great idea 👍 so the key is to let it cool as slowly as possible

[@portabuddy]

Hugo Malice yes sir. You have to get it to a low red first though. And that should take a hour or so to kinda regrow the crystals in the metal. You want as slow a temperature change as possible. Lots of Ppl dig a pit light a fire. Drop the metal. Stoke the fire for 2-3 hours and bury it in a mound and leave it until morning or later. Otherwise you have to do many namalazing cycles, heat then cool to get it to soften all the way though evenly. There are many ways to do it. But getting it hot slowly then cooling it down slower is the easiest most hands off approach. Plus you can BBQ some chicken on the side.

[@gerry5134]

Bart Koscow lol 😂

[@ddd228]

I had some real fire brick. It helps.I used a propane torch-- not so good. Tried to anneal a hacksaw blade. FAIL.

[@scottleft3672]

inch per hour.

[@petascalecomputing]

Don't use fumigated pallets, because the fumes are toxic. Thanks so much!!

[@portabuddy]

I feel like some education is needed here. Pallets are stamped on the side with a code. You should never use any pallets that arnt stamped "HT" and the code next to it is often the kind of wood or thr county of origin. And never a painted pallet.