Steel treatment

[ElbowMacaroni]

Ok, so, I've used a torch to heat some spring steel so I could bend it better, but now it's really really soft! Lesson learned... Don't do it that way...

Now, to the real question, how do I prevent the softening? quenching in water would make it brittle right?

Also is there a way to re-harden the metal, or should I just scrap it?

Thanks

-EM

[Jaakko]

The idea of spring steel is that you don't heat treat it if you want the springy properties to remain. If you want to make a tight turn, then heat only that very small spot to about 400-650 C to bend it. If you go above that, it changes the crystalline structure of the steel and you don't want that.

Other option is to know the exact composition of that steel, anneal it soft, bend to the shape you want and then reharden it according to the manufacturers hardening & tempering instructions. Steel manufacturers are happy to give you this information, as it is a property of their products

What are you trying to do?

[ElbowMacaroni]

Just trying not to waste material... and more or less wondering about the metallurgy of it all. Well, this all is spawned from some testing I was doing on the material I have on hand trying to put a gradual bend in it to make some "concept" picks to play around with.

Do you think that re-heating it and quenching in oil a few times might help to reharden? or is it completely buggered since it's as soft as butter on a hot day now? It's not like I can't come by this stuff cheap or free, I just hate to waste things, and even more I hate to not understand things.

Thanks for the info so far too!

-EM

[Jaakko]

To heat treat it propery you need the information from the manufacturer. Basically they will tell you how long to keep it at what temperature to harden it to certain degree and what to quench it in (oil, water, air). After that you have to temper it to get rid of excess hardness and to give more flexibility for the wire and this is also specific temperature for a specific time. All these times and temperatures depend on the alloy and the wanted hardness/temper.

You can always experiment by yourself, but don't be disappointed if it doesn't work the way you want. Heat treatment is nearly black magic even when all the variables are known.

[ElbowMacaroni]

ok... well I guess that answers the question.. as I don't know the manuf I'll just scrap it... it's not like it was alot of material anyway... was just curious.

Thanks!