====== Temper ======

Temper is a measure of a metal's resistence to bending or kinking. It does not refer to how hard the metal is. Low temper, such as H-1 (also referred to as "1/8 Hard"), indicates a tendency to bend or kink permanently when subjected to very little force. High temper,such as H-8 or "Full Hard", indicates a tendency to spring back upon bending.

==== Temper Letters ====

The letters that appear after each alloy number refer to the "temper" of the alloy itself and are independent of the alloy. This means that a single alloy can be available in a variety of tempers and a variety of alloys can be available in the same temper.

=== F temper (as fabricated tempers) ===

This letter indicates that there has been no effort to control the temper of the material - you receive it "as is".

=== O temper (annealed temper) ===

Annealing is a process of heating up metal past a critical tempurature whereby the material is relieved of the internal stresses from production or fabrication. It is the lowest temper available (the most easily bent).

=== W temper (solution heat treated temper) ===

This letter refers to metal that has undergone a specific procedure to produce a temper for a particular batch of metal in order to comply with some specific need of the customer.

=== H tempers (strain-hardened tempers) ===

This letter designates a process of stretching or compressing in order to impart a particular temper.

|| H_1 || 1/8 hard ||
|| H_2 || 1/4 hard ||
|| H_3 || 3/8 hard ||
|| H_4 || 1/2 hard ||
|| H_5 || 5/8 hard ||
|| H_6 || 3/4 hard ||
|| H_7 || 7/8 hard ||
|| H_8 || Full hard ||

=== T tempers (thermally treated tempers) ===

These tempers are imparted by heating, quenching, or cooling in a controlled way.

|| T1 || Cooled after being shaped to its final dimensions during a process involving a lot of heat (such as extrusion), then naturally aged to a stable condition. ||
|| T2 || Cooled after being shaped to its final dimensions during a process involving a lot of heat (such as extrusion), then cold worked. ||
|| T3 || Solution heat treated, cold worked and naturally aged to a stable condition. ||
|| T4 || Solution heat treated and naturally aged to a stable condition ||
|| T5 || Cooled after being shaped to its final dimensions during a process involving a lot of heat (such as extrusion), then artificially aged. T5 is T1 that has been artificially aged. ||
|| T6 || Solution heat treated and artificially aged to a stable condition. T6 is T4 that has been artificially aged. ||
|| T7 || Solution heat treated and naturally aged past the point of a stable condition. This process provides control of some special characteristics. ||
|| T8 || Solution heat treated, cold worked and artificially aged. T8 is T3 that has been artificially aged. ||
|| T9 || Solution heat treated, artificially aged and cold worked A stable temper T9 is T6 that has been cold worked. ||
|| T10 || Cooled after being shaped to its final dimensions during a process involving a lot of heat (such as extrusion), then cold worked and artificially aged. T10 is T2 that has been artificially aged. ||