1080

1080 has a slightly higher manganese content than other 10XX carbon steels before it allowing it greater hardenability. It is a very simple steel making it one of the most forgiving for beginners. It has a wide margin of error in heating operations and is very easy to work. In normalizing and annealing operations it will form nearly complete pearlite which will return quickly to solution on heating.

Recommended Working Sequence For 1080

Forging: Heat to 2150 °F (1175 °C). Do not forge below 1500 °F (815 °C)

Normalizing: Heat to 1600 °F (870 °C). Cool in still air. Follow up with other refinement cycles.

Annealing: Heat to 1500 °F (815 °C). Furnace cool to 1200 °F (650 °C) at a rate not exceeding 50 °F (28 °C) per hour.

Hardening: Austenitize- Heat no higher than 1500 °F (815 °C). In thicker sections can be quenched in water or brine with extreme care but can also be oil quenched in sections under 1/4 in. (6.35 mm) thick as the preferred method.

Tempering: As-quenched hardness of approximately 65 HRC. Hardness can be adjusted downward by proper tempering