Subject pretty much says it all: What can one expect to pay for various forms of heat treatment (for hardening, not annealing)? I've been under the assumption that any kind of heat-treat is pretty spendy, so I've been trying to pick materials that can get by without, but some folks are telling me it ain't so bad. I can find no pointers on price, though. Not so bad to one guy could be a back breaker to another...
I know different materials are going to require different procedures, so I would expect the costs to vary. However, does anyone have have any rules of thumb to get me in the ballpark of what I might expect for at least a few of the various procedures? Knowing the price differences in the treatment types would also help me in material selection.
For a general idea, think a cube of steel about 3.5" on a side. That should be about the right ballpark. Probably doing these in respectable quantity, like maybe a few hundred in a squirt. Not vast quantity, but respectable.
Thanks, tg.