Annealing question

[jrwnova]

im new to this and im looking to twist some box steel, i saw it done with cold steel but they said it had to be annealed... as of now i dont have a forge but i do have acetylene tank with a torch but im not sure if that will do it, im not really sure how to anneal metal. can anyone help me?

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Annealing is basically getting the steel red hot then cooling it very slowly. I use dry wood ashes to anneal my parts. Free, and they work great.

Mild steel isn't readily hardenable,as it doesn't have enough carbon content, so it shouldn't need an annealing first. Twisting is usually done with the metal hot, so it is a moot point for the most part.

You can add your location to your profile which will allow smiths closer to you to possibly help you out personally.

[jrwnova]

well i saw this tool on youtube looks good so i built my own but wont twist anything read up on it and it says that the steel needs to be annealed what do you think?

[ThomasPowers]

The BigGunDoctor has forgotten that annealing is often used in low carbon and even non-ferrous metals to remove work hardening allowing the metal to be deformed without cracking and so is a common practice working mild steel cold.

Hard to anneal with only a torch but you may be able to get away with only normalizing---like many armour makers do.

[John B]

well i saw this tool on youtube looks good so i built my own but wont twist anything read up on it and it says that the steel needs to be annealed what do you think?

What size tube do you think you are going to twist in that size set up? You will need to plug the ends to allow a solid grip, tube is not the easiest thing to twist.

Use hot rolled bar and it should be OK without annealing, If you are going to anneal, you may just as well twist it hot, a lot easier than when cold.

On the vid one looks like aluminium, the other looks like the bar was either black, or annealed, judging by the scale popping off

Whats the problem with your set up? Picture may help.

Twisting is one of the simplest things to do, and does not require much tooling toachieve a good result

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I didn't forget about work hardening, just didn't think that it applied here. Didn't want to throw to much info out all at once.

Part of my job duties where I work is attending to the zone annealer that we have.

Personally I cannot remember having to anneal any mild steel items. Copper and brass yes, but not mild steel.

[jrwnova]

i made just about the same thing in the video but its in a vise instead of having it mounted as of now...i read up on that company and they say that can do up to 3/4in steel, i put some in the one i made and tried twisting it and nothing i'll get a picture of it tomorrow and post it up, and will acetylene get the steel hot enough to twist?

[John B]

i made just about the same thing in the video but its in a vise instead of having it mounted as of now...i read up on that company and they say that can do up to 3/4in steel, i put some in the one i made and tried twisting it and nothing i'll get a picture of it tomorrow and post it up, and will acetylene get the steel hot enough to twist?

I don't understand your problems here, using a machine or hand tools, it is easy enough to twist 1/2" square bar or equivalent cold. If you want a really tight twist, then heat is the way to go, but an even heat if you want an even twist or you can spend time making it even.

If you want to twist 3/4" square bar or equivalent cold then all you need is increased leverage ie longer substantial handles

You need to secure one end of the to be twisted section so it is solid, leave a space the length of the twist required, (use a tube as a sleeve over the length of the twist required as this helps keep the twist straight if not using a machine, or you could use centre punch marks to define the length for a number of bars or just measure the length)

At this position (The length of the twist,) place a suitable reasonably close fitting twisting bar (Punch or make a hole in the bar to suit the material being twisted), the bar should have the hole in the centre of its length so you have two handles for purchase when twisting, this helps to apply even pressure and keep the bar relatively straight, then, just manually twist the bar the required number of turns, longer bar, less effort needed, it does help to keep a steady pressure on, rather than a series of turns,

One of the problems you will encounter when twisting cold is the metal will have marks where the twist ends are, the machines tend to leave rings where the screws have been tightened, and the corners can round off and have to be cleaned up after twisting.

[Steve Sells]

I don't understand your problems here, using a machine or hand tools, it is easy enough to twist 1/2" square bar or equivalent cold. If you want a really tight twist, then heat is the way to go, but an even heat if you want an even twist or you can spend time making it even. If you want to twist 3/4" square bar or equivalent cold ....

The problem here is that he is not twisting a solid bar, but a hollow tube If i understand his usage of the word box, that tends to collapse if precautions are not taken.