Subject: Re: Tool Steel

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996 01:43:43 -0400

To All,
Annealing is the heating to above the recrystallization point, followed by
slow cooling. In steel, this is heating to near the critical temperature for
the alloy being used followed by a slow cool. This is often accomplished in a
programable furnace to cool it at a set rate. A cool in ashes or perlite or
vermiculite works well. 
Normalizing is the heating of the steel to above its critical temperature
followed by an air cool. Obviously this is not good for any alloy with any
kind of enhanced hardenability. Normalizing is really limited to plain carbon
steels.

Hochewa