[QUOTE=Doug5150;5683899]

I use an oxy-acetylene torch which I like for working with steel, because you don't have to weld everything--you can heat steel red-hot, bend it into a shape you need, and after it air-cools again it is still as stiff and strong as before. If you bend the same metal cold, it loses a lot of its strength and stiffness.

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Not to be too nit-picky . . . but if you "bend the same metal cold" you actually work-harden it some and it becomes stronger. The 'stiffness' remains the same. [this is assuming you are not bending it back-and-forth, back-and-forth until it is ready to fail].

Just for general information . . . the 'stiffness' for all carbon steels of any type remains the same whether it is annealed, heat-treated, whatever. Makes no difference. For example, that hardened drill bit that seems so stiff is actually no stiffer than if it was made from some crappy mild steel. Of course the hardened drill bit drills holes better <g>.

DON