Custom sized HSS blanks?

[rtchal]

Hard does not mean stiff. With steel anyway...

All steels have about the same elastic modulus, which means they are equally stiff. If you want something stiffer, you will need something like tungsten carbide.

That is very good to know. I thought harder steel would have less flex.

Not trying to be picky, but the better description is "tool rest" rather than fence. I couldn't figure what you were trying to do either until I read a few posts down. Nice work nonetheless!

-frank

Yes, my mistake, sorry! For some reason I always thought that was called the fence....
I am the farthest thing from a woodworker, haha.

 

[rtchal]

You can make your own . I have been experimenting with this type of set up to make custom tools out of HSS

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just mount in the mill spindle and grind away. I have used dremel cut off disks, their grinding wheels etc works very well so far. You should be able to use the cheapo's for it too.

Sadly, I only have access to a little CNC micro mill. I asked if it could cut steel and the guy in charge just opened the belt cover and pointed at a microscopic belt that was about 1/8" wide, haha.

I think I'm gonna go with the cheapest 3/8" x 1/2" steel that my local metal supplier has and see if that works, given the new information about steel elasticity.

 

[kvt]

How are you holding this, are you holding it in the normal tool holder, I have done that on my Sherline lathe to make some custom stuff for the wife, And also on my 10x24 to so some custom turning on a cannon I made. I did not use an over long piece, but just kept moving the it as I needed that way it was stiffer.

 

[rtchal]

Yeah, I've got it in the tool holder. In order to reach the angles near the base without the tool post being in my way, I need about 3-3.5" sticking out.

 

[francist]

Any chance you might be able to rig an adjustable leg on the extended portion? Nothing fancy, just something to take the flex? Support it off the bed or a short piece of something spanning the front and rear ways? Like....

 

[rtchal]

Any chance you might be able to rig an adjustable leg on the extended portion? Nothing fancy, just something to take the flex? Support it off the bed or a short piece of something spanning the front and rear ways? Like....

View attachment 289948

Hmm. That is a great idea worth considering. I'm still gonna get a bigger piece of metal in there to help as well. 1/4" is too thin to be trying to do this I think...
I'm pretty sure it is actually 6mm which is even less than 1/4". I think it is about .240"

 

[Cobra]

Not exactly you size request but have a look at the tool steel available at McMaster-Carr.

 

[benmychree]

I have been hand turning chess pieces out of brass on a fence. I have been using a spare piece of 1/4" x 1/4" HSS as my fence, but it has a bit too much flex. 3/8" x 1/2" is the max size that I can fit in my setup, and the length needs to be enough to reach across my chess piece.

I thought HSS would be the way to go as a cheap, hard steel, but after looking around and finding some close to my needed dimensions, it is gonna be a bit too expensive just to use as a fence. I may end up getting some cold rolled 1018 and hope it is hard enough not to flex. For the price of 1018, it will at least be worth a test.

Here are a couple photos of the chest pieces as well, since I haven't made a proper project log yet:

HSS is no stiffer than CRS, it depends on the material only, not heat treatment, it is governed by the modulus of elasticity, which is essentially the same for all grades of steel irrespective of heat treatment; the only material stiffer is a completely different material with a higher modulus, such as carbide.

 

[mikey]

I am hand turning each piece the same way a woodturner would. The ends of those tools rest on the fence while I make the desired shape.

What you are looking for is a tool rest. Those of us who use gravers call it a Graver Tool Rest. You will find that when hand turning metal, including brass, the tool rest must be rigid. Any give or flex in the tool rest results in chatter. Accordingly, most graver tool rests are made as a stand alone unit that mounts to the ways or to the cross slide.

Google "graver tool rest" and look at the images. That will give you a good idea of what you need. Most of these are based on the design used on watchmaker lathes because it is extremely rigid and it works. I've been using one for what must be close to 20 years now.

 

[rtchal]

Wow! With that Google search I found this post that you made a while back. That is exactly what I need! I did not know that what I was doing was 'graving'. Now to find one of those rests at a reasonable price.