Ed Huntress wrote:
"Ken Vale" wrote in message
ogers.com...

Ed Huntress wrote:


Because drawing hardens the steel without coarsening the grain, and

because

some of the tensile strength comes from the grain alignment resulting

from

successive draws through wire-drawing dies, the properties of the thinner
grades can't be duplicated by heat-treating it. The delivered condition,
as-is, is as good as it's going to get.


I sort of understand how heat-treating hardens steel. So my question
is how/why does drawing harden steel? And for that matter how/why does
something work harden?
Ken



That's a good question. The answer is that drawing, like most forms of
hardening (including much of heat-treating) adds strength by creating strain
between the grains. I won't try to elaborate on this here because it's worth
a chapter or two of a book. You can find a better explanation in any
introductory metallurgy book, even the non-mathematical, practical ones that
are used for teaching it as technology, rather than as science.

Ed Huntress



Can you recommend a couple of titles or authors that might be found at
the library?
Every time I looked into the subject, I got lost in the science and
didn't learn anything practical.
Thanks, mike

--
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
laptops and parts Test Equipment
4in/400Wout ham linear amp.
Honda CB-125S
400cc Dirt Bike 2003 miles $550
Police Scanner, Color LCD overhead projector
Tek 2465 $800, ham radio, 30pS pulser
Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head...
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/