Rocketman
I’m not sure I understand the discrepancy between theory and practice.
Annealing is not a bad thing; most steels are annealed post machining to reduce internal stress. Many metals will work harden during the manufacturing process. W-1 in my mind is particularly bad, it will self harden while machining. You need to get rid of these internal stresses and uneven hardening.
Annealing does a beautiful job of that.
I find I get better welds once case hardened steels are annealed, less porosity. I will always anneal a part after welding, gets rid of those hard spots caused by welding.
I’m sure Mr. Ken Hurst will back me up on this, engravers hate working on welded areas that haven’t been annealed, one of those hard spots can easily break a graver tip, hitting a hard spot is never a pleasant surprise for an engraver.
Annealing can salvage a frame that has been overheated in a fire, as long as the steel has not been burnt can generally be annealed and saved.
In the case of the 1886 that I noted earlier, the depth of case was too deep, fairly evident when the butt plate snapped when the gunsmith installed it.
There was no way I was going to straighten that frame while hardened, chances of me cracking it were too high. Annealing softened the frame, made it more flexible/malleable and easier to work without the fear of breakage.
So if you don’t mind, would you please expound on the discrepancies between theory and practice, esp. mine.
Thanks
Mike
