Can you anneal stainless steel?

jgalak · Post by **jgalak** » Mon Jun 25, 2001 9:58 pm

I inherited a pair of SS cuisses in 16ga. I don't know which SS it is (the specific alloy). The cuisses are very banged up, so I need bouge them, and they also need to be closed more on the bottom, so I have to do some shaping. I've tried doing this, and couldn't get much result (a lot of banging removed some small dents).

Therefore, I'm wondering if it's possible to anneal stainless. If so, what color does it need to reach? The same red as for mild? Can this be done with a stove or propane torch as discussed in the other thread?

Thanks,

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Yehuda ben Moshe
mka Juliean Galak

AB Hammer · Post by **AB Hammer** » Tue Jun 26, 2001 5:42 am

Annealing stainless,
Not with a standard torch, it takes and oven forge/kiln to evenly heat up the metal to
ruffly about 1600 degrees then quench. Your best bet is to work it at about 350 to 450 degrees.
This will soften the metal enough to move a little easier.

ABHAMMER

jgalak · Post by **jgalak** » Tue Jun 26, 2001 9:06 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by ABHAMMER:
 Annealing stainless,
Not with a standard torch, it takes and oven forge/kiln to evenly heat up the metal to
ruffly about 1600 degrees then quench. Your best bet is to work it at about 350 to 450 degrees.
This will soften the metal enough to move a little easier.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You have to quench stainless to anneal it? So it behaves more like brass than mild steel? Interesting....

The 350-450 degree work you mentioned, is that to work it hot? That's cool enough that I can use my oven to heat it, although I'm not sure I'm ready to work with hot metal at this point. Interesting to think about though...

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Yehuda ben Moshe
mka Juliean Galak

Arland · Post by **Arland** » Wed Jun 27, 2001 5:47 pm

That's correct. There's no carbon in it. It's nickel and some other stuff.

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Baron Arland the Bastard
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/rivetedmaille

Krag · Post by **Krag** » Wed Jun 27, 2001 7:00 pm

...not enough carbon to make a difference...

This of course changes depending on the alloy. For armouring you're most likely using 300 series stainless which aren't heat hardenable.

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Krag von Berghen
KragAxe Armoury

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