From GAWDAwiki
Tempering is reheating hardened steel to some temperature below the lower critical temperature, followed by a desired rate of cooling. The object of tempering a steel that has been hardened by quenching is to release stresses set up, to restore some of its ductility, and to develop toughness through the regulation or readjustment of the embrittled structural constituents of the metal. The temperature conditions for tempering may be selected for a given composition of steel to obtain almost any desired combination of properties.[1]
References
- http://www.weldguru.com/welding-terminology.html