Planner Blades

[chuck]

I need some advice on how to anneal Planner Blades. These blades are D2 I think and I get them from a saw mill here in colorado. They are about a Rockwell 61. I put one batch in my oven and heated it to 1600 degrees and held it for two hours, but still need the steel to be softer. I can cut it with a band saw now, but my milling cutter dulls quickely.

I wonder if I need the steel softer or faster speed on my cutter.

Thanks
Chuck

[Terry Primos]

I used to use those in my stock removal days. The method of annealing I used, I picked up from Wayne Goddard many years ago.

Take them up to 1600 - 1660 degrees F. and hold for an hour. From that point drop the temp by 20 degrees F. per hour.

In Wayne's recipe you do the 20 degree F. per hour drop until the furnace is black (no red heat). However, I tried a different method and got pretty good results. On mine, I dropped the temp by 20 degrees F. until I got below 1300 degrees F., then shut the furnace off.

I know this is a very lengthy process, but after this anneal, I was able to drill through the planer blades with a high speed bit and no cutting fluid.

Also, I wrapped mine in stainless heat-treat wrap to keep them cleaner.

[shgeo]

Bohler/Uddeholm steel publishes data sheets for various tool steels that cover annealing and heat treating. Below is the address for their D2 sheet:

<http://www.bucorp.com/Products/ColdW...ts/aisi_d2.pdf>

Their recommendation for D2 is almost exactly what Terry has set out above. I posted the address so that you can get the rest of the story. Their heat treating recipe is more complete than what most companies publish and works very well.

[chuck]

Thanks Guys. I took the blades to 1600 degrees, so now I guess I will have to figure out how to set the kiln to drop 20 degrees per hr. down to the 1300 degrees. I just held at 1600 for 2 hrs and shut the furnace off. I will also go to the link and print that out.
Thanks alot.
Chuck