Tips For Keeping Annealed Blanks Straight While Grinding/Filing, etc.?

[redsquid2]

I have worked with stainless more than carbon steel. So for the past several years it has been mostly CPM 154, 13C26 and D2. I am accustomed to doing most of the grinding before heat treat.

I started working with annealed 80CrV2, and it seems to bend at the slightest touch, or if I even look at it the wrong way. Attempting to straighten it while it is annealed and cold, I get inconsistent results: I sometimes bend it too far the other way, then maybe try to bend it back and after bending it a few times, I am afraid of breaking it.

I guess clamp it in the vise and use a straight edge to sight it?

I find that holding it up in front of me and eyeballing it is not enough.

Thanks for feedback.

Andy

 

[redsquid2]

It may be that the steel is getting too hot on the grinder, but I grind bare-handed, touching my fingertips on the back side of the blade, so I know it isn't getting very hot.

 

[timos-]

I had this trouble on anything longer than a few inches and especially thinner than an 1/8" stock. Even if you do manage to get it all nearly straight then theres the heat treat to deal with. This is primarily why I grind after heat treat. You can make sure its gonna be straight as an arrow by keeping it cool AND keeping the grind symmetrical.

 

[Fallbrook Forge]

Yeah, annealed 80crv2 is pretty soft. So it’s bendy, if you’re not working with anything over 0.186” I’d say grind After heat treat.

I was working a big Bowie/chopper and it kept bowing on me, I figured out it was the pressure I was exerting I to the grinder.

 

[AVigil]

Dead blow hammer and a few whacks on the concrete floor to flatten it out.