What kind of steel do I need?

oughtsix

oughtsix

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I have been machining and turning odd bits and pieces and screws out of stuff I had laying around or that came with my used equipment. Now I want to buy my own stock, trouble is, there are a lot of choices out there. I am looking to make screws for old rifles. I think I need an easily machinable, hardenable steel that will blue or case color easily. Any suggestions as to what kind and where to get it?
I live near Columbus, Oh if there is a source in driving distance, that would be great.

-06
 
oughtsix said:
I have been machining and turning odd bits and pieces and screws out of stuff I had laying around or that came with my used equipment. Now I want to buy my own stock, trouble is, there are a lot of choices out there. I am looking to make screws for old rifles. I think I need an easily machinable, hardenable steel that will blue or case color easily. Any suggestions as to what kind and where to get it?
I live near Columbus, Oh if there is a source in driving distance, that would be great.

-06
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ebay and mcmaster are you friend when it comes to getting material, although if you want a great deal you have to be patient on ebay
 
Do you want a material that you case harden or one that can be hardened by some other process?
 
Don, any type of hardening, I am looking into getting a furnace for CC but oil or water hardening is the current plan,

SM-Spiff, the McMaster catalog is what prompted the question, too many steels, too little knowledge

-06
 
I use ALRO Steel. Ask for inside sales. They do not care how small your order even is. No minimums. Great service. An outlet in Columbus as well it seems. They have a cool outlet store by me in AnnArbor MI. But I do go up to my rep and place orders for larger stock to keep prices lower. I use the Plasma table or saw to downsize. My 3cents. Let us know if you find a honeyhole someplace.
 
I'd probably go for a medium carbon steel, like 1040 or 1030. Th bluing process is just making the oxide on the surface.
 
You can case harden just about any steel but it requires a bit more control than starting out with a carbon steel to begin with. I would probably go with something like 1144 stressproof just because it machines nicely. Some of the CrMo stuff like 4140 would be usable as well but I have no first hand experience with it.

Alternatively, you could go with some simple tool steel like a W1 or O1. I find W1 a bit easier to machine than O1 but take your time and you can get a good finish with either.

The drill rod is usually easy to get at industrial supply houses if you want to buy local. Unfortunately, most will not have a wide variety of sizes in stock but it is good to know where you can get local if needed. I just buy on ebay or onlinemetals.com. It's not really expensive at small sizes. It is useful enough to get an assortment of sizes just to have around.

As long as you are paying shipping, you should get a supply of assorted hex rod. I like exact_metals because they sell short lengths of 12". I picked up some assorted sizes in 12L14 and brass. It is fantastic stuff to have around to whip up a custom bolt and already have the hex formed for a wrench.
 
David Kirtley said:
You can case harden just about any steel but it requires a bit more control than starting out with a carbon steel to begin with. I would probably go with something like 1144 stressproof just because it machines nicely. Some of the CrMo stuff like 4140 would be usable as well but I have no first hand experience with it.

Alternatively, you could go with some simple tool steel like a W1 or O1. I find W1 a bit easier to machine than O1 but take your time and you can get a good finish with either.

The drill rod is usually easy to get at industrial supply houses if you want to buy local. Unfortunately, most will not have a wide variety of sizes in stock but it is good to know where you can get local if needed. I just buy on ebay or onlinemetals.com. It's not really expensive at small sizes. It is useful enough to get an assortment of sizes just to have around.

As long as you are paying shipping, you should get a supply of assorted hex rod. I like exact_metals because they sell short lengths of 12". I picked up some assorted sizes in 12L14 and brass. It is fantastic stuff to have around to whip up a custom bolt and already have the hex formed for a wrench.
Click to expand...

Warning! I placed and order with Exact Metals last month. I was immediately billed but never received the product and when I called I got an unintelligible voice mail about "box 124". I left many messages and sent many emails and never got a response, let alone my 12L14. I finally filed a dispute yesterday with my CC. ChuckO mentioned he found the same when he tried to contact them as well. If you do go through with your order and get it, please let us(me) know!
 
Thanks guys, that will get me started. The ALRO store is just a few miles from me in Columbus, and I drive past one on the way to my son's place in Ann Arbor!

I like the idea of a hex rod, too

Thanks,

-06
 
drs23 said:
Warning! I placed and order with Exact Metals last month. I was immediately billed but never received the product and when I called I got an unintelligible voice mail about "box 124". I left many messages and sent many emails and never got a response, let alone my 12L14. I finally filed a dispute yesterday with my CC. ChuckO mentioned he found the same when he tried to contact them as well. If you do go through with your order and get it, please let us(me) know!
Click to expand...

Interesting. I bought from them many times on ebay but not in the last few months. I went back and looked and see:


exact_metals (14248) No longer a registered user
99.2% positive feedback

Another one bites the dust. :(
 
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