Annealing technique

S

sirwilliamjr

Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
44
I'm getting ready to quench a blade, so I normalized three times and then heated it and let it cool slowly to anneal it. I don't have any vermiculite or ash, so I just left it in my forge and covered the ends of the forge with fire bricks so it would all cool real slow. Now I've got a real tough layer of dark gray somethin-or-other on the blade. Is that normal, or is my forge too oxidizing, or does the letting it cool slowly in the forge technique not really work for annealing? If there is anything i can do to stop the layerfrom forming, it would be nive, cause its a pain to sand off.Thanks.
-Will
 
It is normal to get the layer of scale on the blade. It is from the forging process and cant be helped. I anneal at 1325F and still get a light scale. It will grind off easy with a stone on the bench grinder, the belt grinder will fill up belts and cost a bundle.

Your forge should do a fair job annealing if you cant touch the inside 6 hours after turning it off. You were smart to cover both ends and hold the heat as long as possible.
 
Bruce, you're a hell of a man putting a bench grinder to them. I'd have the darn thing half cut in two pieces if I tried that.

RL
 
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