Abstract: A process and apparatus for cleanly and efficiently fabricating winged lawn mower blades from unfinished milled blade blanks. The unfinished blades are positioned in a magazine and fed one after the other to a heating station where they are inductively heated from one side only to increase the effective thickness of material available to support the flux. When a preselected temperature above the curie temperature of the blade metal is reached the blade is automatically moved to a press and hot-formed therein. The blade then is delivered edgewise into an agitated non-polluting quench solution containing polyalkylene glycol and vigorously sprayed to assure a consistent Rockwell C hardness. A conveyor delivers the blades from the quench tank to a tempering furnace for further heat-treatment.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for cleanly and efficiently fabricating winged lawn mower blades from unfinished milled blade blanks. The unfinished blades are positioned in a magazine and fed one after the other to a heating station where they are inductively heated from one side only to increase the effective thickness of material available to support the flux. When a preselected temperature above the curie temperature of the blade metal is reached the blade is automatically moved to a press and hot-formed therein. The blade then is delivered edgewise into an agitated non-polluting quench solution containing polyalkylene glycol and vigorously sprayed to assure a consistent Rockwell C hardness. A conveyor delivers the blades from the quench tank to a tempering furnace for further heat-treatment.