Hi all.

I'm trying to make a hit and miss engine from plans. I went down to the
local steel supply company the other day and bought a remnant of 1" X 6" X
26" plate. Asked for and was told it was hot rolled steel.

Took half an hour to cut it on the band saw. Loaded the 6" X 6" work piece
on the lathe and started to turn it for one of the flywheels using HSS tool
and 60 RPM, very small feed and depth of cut. Shook the whole building.

Moved it to the milling machine and started to try to cut the corners off
with similar results. Made sure I had a new cutter. Small depth of cut
(about 30 thou) and very low feed. The mill complains mightily.

I am thinking the piece was cut with a plasma torch and is now locally heat
treated (very hard).

Thought about lighting a charcoal fire and throwing it in for a few hours to
see if I could anneal it myself. Any other thoughts?
thanks