Steel heating/cooling question

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I need to straighten the hinge pins on my equipment trailer ramps.  After I heat them and pound them back straight should I let the pins cool slowly or quench them?  I plan to add an extra bracket to keep them from bending again, but I'd like to keep the rods as strong as possible.Thanks
Reply:You would be better off to replace them to make them work better. If you heat them there is no need to pound them. If you pound them there is no need to heat them. Pounding will make dents and swell them. The cooling wont mean much to steel  Go for it.
Reply:Without know what the pins are made of(which type of steel) it's difficult to say how they should be handled.  If you have no idea what they're made of, then the safest thing to do would be replace them, as somebody else mentioned.  If you're bound and determined to try heating them and straightening them, then let them slow cool.  If the pins are medium or high carbon steel, then they'll come out softer and more ductile that they'd be if they were properly heat treated.  They may bend more easily, but at least they won't snap and fail catastrophically(you hope).If the pins are made from low carbon rod, then slow cooling won't have any effect and they should perform just as they did before they were bent. Originally Posted by Orchard ExI need to straighten the hinge pins on my equipment trailer ramps.  After I heat them and pound them back straight should I let the pins cool slowly or quench them?  I plan to add an extra bracket to keep them from bending again, but I'd like to keep the rods as strong as possible.Thanks
Reply:They are mild steel rod, nothing special.  Thanks for the replys