Annealing is a heat treating process that softens steel. This can make it easier to form or machine. It’s especially useful if you need to cut something that’s been welded up, like when you need to repair stripped threads on a shaft.

Metal is made up of a crystalline structure which directly relates to its mechanical properties. If you can modify the structure, you can adjust its hardness, malleability, toughness, tensile strength, and a whole slew of other things.

So how do you anneal steel?