Working with Hardened Parts

On most projects involving bending a part to a new shape, one must step back and think about the part in question. A “finished” trigger part has most likely been heat treated to make it more durable and lengthen longevity. Many times, we want to adjust the look of the triggers we are installing. That is a common practice. But remember that if you are working with that finished set of triggers, the parts are heat treated and tempered. This makes the trigger durable. To bend a hardened part without breaking it you must first “soften” it. The technical term is annealing. A quick way to anneal steel is to polish the part first, then heat it to a purplish color and then let it cool on its on, slowly, to room temperature. Do not immerse in any liquid. (There are two types of steel; one will use oil for quenching and the other uses water. You must know what steel you are using in order to properly cool the part in the correct medium when heat treating). A trigger which is a raw, as-cast part is straight from the foundry and is not ready for installation. It first must be filed for shape, fit to the assembled bar and test fit. Polish and sand the part to the appropriate finish. Only then is it ready to be heat-treated.  To heat-treat properly, you must have at least an oxy-acetylene rig to apply enough heat to achieve & hold the required temperatures.