Heated a piece of steel to bend....will it bend back?

[Couper]

Hey guys, I never really understood the procedure for this.... I heated to red a piece of 1/2 x 3/4 steel to make a thru the floor riser pedal holder for my brake lever. Very slight football arc if you will over 8".
Can I just leave it to cool slowly or do I have to quench it in oil so it won't bend back? When done I will need to weld this to my lever. Thanks!

 

[MercuryMac]

I do what you did, quite frequently. Just let it cool normally. It might straighten out very slightly, but then you can just whack it with a big hammer to get that one degree of bend back. The metal strap that you are using is heavy enough that you don't have to temper it by quenching it. Carry on.

 

[gene49]

A piece of mild steel that is 1/2" x 3/4" that was heated to bend, and allowed to cool normally should hold up OK under normal circumstances.

If its under a lot of high stress, over time (a few years) in may straighten, or bend more (depending on the direction of the high stress). If the bend did change over time, applying heat to correct the bend, and letting it cool normally, will probably last as long as it did the first time.