Machinable steel

autonoz

autonoz

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I am making a ball turning attachment for my lathe. I need to make carbide cutting tip holder out of steel. Can someone tell me which steel will be easiest to mill and comes in flat stock. 12L14 only comes in round as you know or I would get that.
 
Get some 4140 annealed, I get mine off ebay lots cheaper shipping if you get the right seller.

Paul
 
Aside from cost, your main choices will be what most people lump under the misnomer "Cold Roll(ed)", which is a process rather than a metal type. In flat and rectangular, your likely candidates will be in the mild steel family, typically available in 1018 or 1020 easily. Most of it will come as a cold rolled (or cold finished) product. It is fairly soft, and some people have a difficult time achieving a nice finish on it, but it can be done. It does machine easily, even though it is not a leaded product like the 12L14 you mentioned. If you are machining all over, you can get burnouts from structural plate such as A36, but although it's soft, it's also rather gummy and doesn't tap all that well. Not that it can't be done. I have made plenty of parts out of it where the size or shape made it the logical choice.

Edit to comment on Paul's suggestion. 4140 is much stronger than the 1018/1020 I mentioned, and if you can get it in the size and shape you want at a price you're willing to pay, it would be much superior. It will be a little harder to machine, but not so hard to rule it out, to be sure.
 
+1 on 1018 cold rolled. It comes in a multitude of shapes and sizes and leftovers can be welded for a later project. Even by the likes of me, which calling me a welder is much like calling a Gibraltar Ape with a hatchet a surgeon. It's inexpensive so I don't mind ordering 36" when I need 6". It rusts but not like 12l14, since you can usually get it out of the machine before it starts rusting. It parkerizes. 1018 or 1020 isn't the easiest to get a great finish on but usually for tooling like ball turner, knurler, flambigglers, etc I don't bother with machining the cold rolled surfaces except where they must be machined.

There are lots of great examples of metallurgy available and all have their advantages. Alas most are beyond my price point for general use. I will buy the material that meets or exceeds the need. I like the alloy steels like 4140 but I don't like the price.

Steve
 
Thanks for all the quick responses. I think I will go with the 1018 as it is the most cost effective. And yes McMaster Carr does sell the 12L14, which I did not know, but man that stuff is expensive when you get into the upper dimensions.
 
A ball turner is on my to do list, but I haven't settled on a design. Which one are you using? Plans? Pics?
 
I have made 5 varieties of ball turning tools and hands down the best one is the last one I tried - figures! Its designed for use on a QCTP and may be a bit much for a newbie, requiring a good bit of mill work.

Just the plans or a kit come from Tallgrass tools (though it seems there is a problem with the web site just now??)

http://www.tallgrasstools.com/BallTurningTool.html

The Steve Bedair version is obviously the most popular ball turner, and it is also quite good - just do a search for that name.

Have seen several versions made from one of the cheapo Chinese boring bar (Which the Tallgrass tool is a type of)

In response to the use of what type steel, I use scrap yard findings which is probably mostly in the ten hundred series.

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