The Working of Steel: Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel

This early 20th-century manual captures metallurgy at a pivotal moment in its development. As industrial steel production expanded through the Bessemer and Open Hearth processes, engineers needed reliable guidance on transforming raw steel into materials with specific mechanical properties. Fred H. Colvin draws on professional experience and established industry practices to explain the science and art of heat treatment. The book systematically covers annealing, heat treating, and hardening processes for both carbon and alloy steels. It explores how chemical composition determines behavior under heat, and how metallurgists could manipulate properties by controlling temperature, timing, and cooling rates. This text serves both as tutorial and reference for practitioners entering the field or seeking deeper understanding of steel behavior. While modern metallurgical science has advanced considerably, this work offers valuable insight into foundational techniques that powered the industrial age.