So i am an idiot

[BonhamBlades]

I was in a hurry and forgot to drill holes before heat treat. What is the best way to anneal S35vn steel? I have never annealed an air hardening steel before.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

Will a carbide bit work? I have no problem getting one through hardened 1080+

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Carbide should work.

 

[Frank Niro]

It has for me.
Frank

 

[Drew Riley]

Carbide is the way to go. I've got some AEB-L treated to about 60/61 HRC, and a carbide end mill drill through it like butter.

Carbide is very brittle, however, so make sure you've got a solid set up without a lot of run out, and don't get in a hurry. If the holes don't need to be super precise, I've even used a carbide tipped masonry bit on numerous occasions to drill through 1095 in the upper 50s HRC. Just have a solid backer underneath, and go steady, as it can tend to blow out a little bit.

 

[Natlek]

I was in a hurry and forgot to drill holes before heat treat. What is the best way to anneal S35vn steel? I have never annealed an air hardening steel before.

If you only need to drill holes for handle you can try this way with dremel rotary tool . It s HSS steel , 67 HRC.....

 

[buckfynn]

Natlek what is the bit you are using with the dremel?

 

[Natlek]

Natlek what is the bit you are using with the dremel?

It s cheap grinding stone ..............

 

[Matt Rochester]

You're correct.......You are an idiot. But so am I because I did 7 cpm154 blades the same way! I bought some carbide bits from USAknifemaker. As long as you have a solid drill press they work good. I would clamp the blade to a mild steel backer. Every time I break one it's always right when it comes through the bottom.

 

[Kevin McGovern]

I just kind of stumbled into carbide bits. I wanted tighter tolerances on my pins, so I ordered a #30 bit for 1/8" pins and an F bit for 1/4" pins from USAknifemaker. They just happened to be carbide. That has come in handy on the occasional "forgot to drill before HT" or more recently, when i wanted to add a pin after the scales were on. Carbide is the bee's knees.

 

[Metalhead0483]

I've honestly had my best results using cheap glass/tile bits for eight or ten bucks from Home Depot. They go through tempered O1 like butter.