Looking for stress relieving advice

[Shotgun]

The project for this week is to build a sine bar. I know I could buy one for not too much money, but this is an exercise in how closely can I hit the mark I'm aiming at.

So far, I have the 1" bar squared up and the holes laid out. I'm using a piston wrist pin, cut in half, for the pivot. The plan is to drill holes for the pivots just above the bottom edge of the bar, drill several lightening holes along the length, and then cut off the bottom of the bar with the bandsaw in order to expose the pivots. With all that done, I'll clamp it to my mill table and run a grinding wheel across the top.

My expectation is that a week later it'll be as twisted as a wet noodle. I'd like to head that off by heat treating it, but all I have is a toaster oven that gets up to about 400F. Am I kidding myself that 400F will do anything to stress relieve it after I've done the rough cutting?

 

[cathead]

My thinking is that it depends on what material you made the bar with. The one I made was just mild steel
so figured it didn't need heat treating. Out of curiosity, what kind of steel did you use to make it?

 

[Weldingrod1]

Clean it, toaster oven it to burn off the last oil, then sneak it in the kitchen and run the oven all the way up OR do the self clean cycle. Or BBQ grill it...
It's not going to help much, but with cold rolled, you want all the help you can get!

Check out the spread on this cut! It finished at about an inch opened on a 26" long part! I baked it at nearly 600F and the slots didnt do anything noticeable.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Shootymacshootface]

I would never want one of those. That would mean that I would have to figure out trig!

 

[Shotgun]

My thinking is that it depends on what material you made the bar with. The one I made was just mild steel
so figured it didn't need heat treating. Out of curiosity, what kind of steel did you use to make it?

I think it is hot-rolled A36. But, that is just a guess.

 

[MrWhoopee]

The self-cleaning oven cycle is probably the best way to go at something like 800° F, although the pieces are small enough that you can probably get there with a propane torch and some patience.

 

[Technical Ted]

When I make weldments out of mild steel I throw them in my wood stove and let them cook for all day, then cool slowly still inside the stove over night. They will get dull to medium cherry red when fully up to heat. They will have a slight scale on them in the morning which cleans right off and no hard spots from welding/torch cutting operations. I'm sure there are better ways, but that's all I've got and it seems to work very well for me. From the research I've done, it gets them to around the correct temperature for stress relieving.

Ted

 

[Shotgun]

I think I'll try the wood fire. I guess it might also add a small amount of carbon. I'd stick it in the oven, but. . .Lord. . .I'd never hear the end of that one.

 

[Technical Ted]

Not sure if it will be adding carbon or actually losing some.... You'll most likely want to finish pieces after the heat treat if size and finish are important to you. Being a sine bar, size certainly would be a concern.

Ted

 

[MrWhoopee]

When I make weldments out of mild steel I throw them in my wood stove and let them cook for all day, then cool slowly still inside the stove over night. They will get dull to medium cherry red when fully up to heat. They will have a slight scale on them in the morning which cleans right off and no hard spots from welding/torch cutting operations. I'm sure there are better ways, but that's all I've got and it seems to work very well for me. From the research I've done, it gets them to around the correct temperature for stress relieving.

Ted

Being a woodburner myself, I really like this. It should give you a full anneal without risking the wife getting out of sorts. Of course it won't fly in the summer.