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Frank,
Annealing is pretty basic but heat treating for hardness is a
science.
To anneal steel all you need to do is bring it up to temperature, usually
above 1200 to 1500F, let it soak at that temp to be sure it's hot to it's core,
then let it cool very slowly. If your not concerned about surface
corrosion, it can be done as simple as tossing the steel right in the fire of a
wood stove. Getting it hot and them let the fire die down slowly with the
piece buried in the ashes. A great end of the day process. And you get a
warm part, "all soft and fuzzy", to start with in the morning. It works
great for weldments. The corrosion you get isn't severe and can be
machined off in the final operations or cleaned up with a grinder or sand
blaster.
But, a ring the size of Jim's take a bit more control then just a wood
fire.
I know it sounds "rude and crude" but it works well.
To heat treat for hardness involves a lot more and some critical temp
control. It can be done on some steels with a simple torch and a
container of oil or water, but you need more control then that to
actually heat treat most useful part.
Dan H.
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