to aneal or not to aneal?

[hayshaker]

ok so here i have these old sawmill blades ok
anyhow some i have anealed many not. thing is
since they seem to be a form of hardend steel and get a good edge
do i still have to aneal them. blades are 1/8th in thick.i do have a old roaster oven

in the shop it can go to 500:degrees and a flir thermometer to check on the progress
while heating. anyhow any thoughts or ideas out there?

[kyratshooter]

I am sure that opinions will vary on this subject, and they should.

If I have a blade that will be a simple and fast grind out from stock with scales glued on with epoxy I might not anneal. I might even use carbide drill bits for the rivet holes.

If I have some big changes to make in the blade geometry, lots of holes in the handle to drill, and I am going to forge the blade it will be annealed on its first trip through the forge as a natural part of the process on something as simple as a saw blade.

If you want to anneal in your shop a stove or oven is not needed. Heat the blade up with a torch or in the forge to anything that changes overall color and bury it in a sand bucket to sit until it cools. It will be dead soft.

Crash uses a lot of saw blade stock and has more experience working with that then I do. My work was a few dozen blades 15 years past in a 1800 era forge.

[hayshaker]

Thanks Krat and it's really good to hear from you again

[hayshaker]

so say you have 1/8th,in stock to work with is it best to Cold grind the edge so as to
not lose the temper on the edge? i ask cause i have around 20 blanks i've cut out
and need to finish.BTW old 2'ft dia cicrcular saw blades are comming very hard to find lately.
and can you cold gring blades using a belt grinder?

[crashdive123]

Whether you anneal or not, you will still need to heat treat when you are done. Most sawmill blades run around an RC of 48-55. Keep in mind that if they were hardened more than that they would shatter a lot of blades. While you can put a decent edge on one, unless you heat treat it, it will not hold the edge very well.

[hayshaker]

Thanks Crash, another words should i do all the primary work first?
like drilling pin holes'putting the primary edge on like that? could you let me knoe tonite so i can prep the
kiln and do the edge work inthe morning' Thanks.

[crashdive123]

Personally I like to grind after the heat treat and temper. I usually drill the holes first (you'll need carbide bits if you don't).

[hayshaker]

thanks crash i'll try to post some pic's if possible.