To Anneal Steel
There are nearly as many methods of annealing as there are workmen. The commonest methods are as follows: Heat to a dull red, bury in warm iron filings or ashes, and allowing the article to cool very gradually. Another method is to heat the piece as slowly as possible, and when at a low red heat put it between two pieces of dry board and screw them tightly in a vise. The steel burns its way into the wood, and on coming together around it they form a practically air-tight charcoal bed. Brannt gives the following method, which he says will make steel so soft that it can be worked like copper: Pulverize beef bones, mix them with equal parts of loam and calves' hair and stir the mixture into a thick paste with water. Apply a coat of this to the steel and place it in a crucible, cover this with another, fasten the two together with wire and close the joint hermetically with clay. Then put the crucible in the fire and heat slowly. When taken from the fire let it cool by placing it in ashes. On opening the crucible the steel will be found so soft that it can be engraved like copper.