half done hot work?

[mikej]

Hi guys,

I have been normalizing 10xx carbon steels and 5160 that I have not yet finished forging because of time constraints.I take it to non mag and cycle lower 2 more times.I know this the best thing to do with it , is it OK put it back into gas forge and shut it off to let it slow cool directly after hammering on it.I will need to start forge another time and heat up and hammer the rest of the way later.

Thanks Mike

[Cannon Cocker]

I'm no expert, but I've heard and read that if you heat the material then shut the forge off to cool it you are in fact annealing the metal. Which should make your project easier to forge and clean up with a file. After you've finished then heat treat and temper. 

[Buzzkill]

There's no real need to do any of those steps if you aren't done forging.  It won't hurt anything, but it's not necessary. With the 10xx series or 5160, whatever you did will be "undone" the next time you bring it up to forging temperatures.  It's only when you have completed forging that you want to make sure you normalize to relieve the internal stress and refine the grain structure before quenching.

[Frosty]

Ditto Buzz. Unless you're in the habit of working high carbon steel at black heat you aren't causing harmful stresses. Whatever heat treating you do will be undone long before it reaches forging temperature in the forge. Total waste of time.

More is rarely better, it MIGHT be but it rarely is. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[mikej]

Thanks all.