Qn about Steel & Applications

Ray C

Ray C

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Hi...

Been reading-up various topics related to heat treating, general metallurgy, steels & applications and a have basic question. This is driven by the fact that most of the steels I use are 1018, 1040, 4140 and of course A36 and I wonder what I'm missing-out on with such a limited variety as, there are so many dozen's available. I could get some insight if anyone knows what types of steel common shop equipment is made of. For example, does anyone have a good idea of what the following are likely made of?

QCTP fixtures and holders.
Steel (not CI) Mill table.
5C Collets.
Morse taper shafts (for drill chucks etc).
Live center.
Dead center.
Endmill holder such as for R8 mill.
Precision squares, angle blocks etc.
Sine plates etc.
Steel gears inside a lathe or mill headstock.

-Feel free to add a few more examples if you have an accurate idea of what material they consist of.

I'm having a hard time pinning-down this kind of information. It's easy to find characteristic information and some application information exists but, there's really a lot of overlap in the recommendations. ...Wishing my uncle was still around, he was a metallurgist.

Thanks for any thoughts/info.

Ray
 
i recently made a set of 1-2-3 blocks out of 1018CRS, but tool steels like A-2 and D-2 are also good for making them, too. both are air hardening but I'm still learning the various pros and cons to those tool steels like wear resistance and compression strength, etc. you can flame harden a small enough piece of A-2, but if it's too big it needs a vacuum to quench in
at the shop i work at we make a lot of pins out of O-1, b/c we can flame harden (and oil-quench) them in house.
8620 is another material we use for pins.
of course stainless is great for it's resistance to corrosion and if you need something strong but non magnetic. it can be a real pain to machine, though, depenending on the type(which is related to its nickel-chromium content)
i apologize if i'm too vague but i'm still learning and i wouldn't want to post anything totally wrong. I will ask some of the "more seasoned" guys at the shop tomorrow.
I also have a chart of powdered metals that i picked up at a recent trade show, i'll share some info from that as well.
 
Great post & I will definitely be keeping an eye of this thread. I'm about to make a new draw bar for my mill & didn't know what to go with. Many people say 4140 but I don't do production work. I choose 1144 for better machinability, I think I will be ok but I'm not sure. I guess I will find out & if the hard way, I'll go the 4140 route.
 
This much, I do know... For a basic 7/16" drawbar, just about anything will do. Check the clearance in the spindle tube and see if you can get away with a 1/2" rod turned to 7/16" for a few inches at the ends and threaded. And I'm assuming you're not one of those guys that tightens the living heck out of your tooling.

...And in the mean time, I'm going through as much info as I can to answer the original question. Will post back if I hit paydirt.

darkzero said:
Great post & I will definitely be keeping an eye of this thread. I'm about to make a new draw bar for my mill & didn't know what to go with. Many people say 4140 but I don't do production work. I choose 1144 for better machinability, I think I will be ok but I'm not sure. I guess I will find out & if the hard way, I'll go the 4140 route.
Click to expand...
 
Ray C said:
This much, I do know... For a basic 7/16" drawbar, just about anything will do. Check the clearance in the spindle tube and see if you can get away with a 1/2" rod turned to 7/16" for a few inches at the ends and threaded. And I'm assuming you're not one of those guys that tightens the living heck out of your tooling.

...And in the mean time, I'm going through as much info as I can to answer the original question. Will post back if I hit paydirt.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ray. I also have a PM45, there's just one slight nub towards the center of the spindle that won't allow a 1/2 rod to fit all the way through, well from the top it fits half way through. Yeah I don't crank down on the draw bar, wonder why people see a need to?

I am starting off with 1/2 stock & will turn it down just enough so the rod fits through, then thread the ends. The draw bar that came with my mill wobbles like crazy, no big deal but it bugs the hell out of me. Although I could easily fix that the 7/16" thread is junk, it got better after chasing it but I'm going to make one anyways.

I started using 1018 but my dumb ass was too lazy to put on the follow rest & by the time I did, bam! Broke the tool (insert only) & bent the rod so that's scrap. I hate machining 1018, it was my only piece, & I had to place an order with Mcmaster anyways so I figured I try something that machines better (hopefully). I'll post if I'm successful. :)
 
Gotcha...

For easy machining, go with the 11xx. It's resulfurized and that's the magic ingredient for easy cutting. Might want to try speedymetals.com or onlinemetals.com -or even eBay. The trick to stopping that wobble is making sure the shoulder of the fixed nut is perfectly flat and also perpendicular to the threads. Cut the threads on a lathe and the problem will go away. -Dollars to donuts the threads on the original bar are crooked. Took one look at mine and threw it away and made one but it's been so long, I don't really remember doing it.


darkzero said:
Thanks Ray. I also have a PM45, there's just one slight nub towards the center of the spindle that won't allow a 1/2 rod to fit all the way through, well from the top it fits half way through. Yeah I don't crank down on the draw bar, wonder why people see a need to?

I am starting off with 1/2 stock & will turn it down just enough so the rod fits through, then thread the ends. The draw bar that came with my mill wobbles like crazy, no big deal but it bugs the hell out of me. Although I could easily fix that the 7/16" thread is junk, it got better after chasing it but I'm going to make one anyways.

I started using 1018 but my dumb ass was too lazy to put on the follow rest & by the time I did, bam! Broke the tool (insert only) & bent the rod so that's scrap. I hate machining 1018, it was my only piece, & I had to place an order with Mcmaster anyways so I figured I try something that machines better (hopefully). I'll post if I'm successful. :)
Click to expand...
 
Ray C said:
Gotcha...

For easy machining, go with the 11xx. It's resulfurized and that's the magic ingredient for easy cutting. Might want to try speedymetals.com or onlinemetals.com -or even eBay. The trick to stopping that wobble is making sure the shoulder of the fixed nut is perfectly flat and also perpendicular to the threads. Cut the threads on a lathe and the problem will go away. -Dollars to donuts the threads on the original bar are crooked. Took one look at mine and threw it away and made one but it's been so long, I don't really remember doing it.
Click to expand...

Cool, thx again. Sounds like I made a good decision for once! 6ft rod should arrive tomorrow so I have two tries (but hopefully only one). Yup I'll be single pointing on the lathe & faced the flange nut just to be sure. Going to make it with a two piece/size nut design like the original one to make tightening arbors easier with adjustability.
 
Check out this index from diehl steel. I was going to share some info from a flyer that I got from them at a trade show but this link'll be much more helpful I think.
http://www.diehlsteel.com/products.html
Here you can click on a steel and it will give you characteristic summary, alloy info, heat treat info, and APPLICATION!:thumbsup:
Enjoy!
 
Thank you very much. There is similar information for each material at www.speedymetals.com but your page is more convenient and the descriptions are better.

Thanks again...

Ray


JBrentMac said:
Check out this index from diehl steel. I was going to share some info from a flyer that I got from them at a trade show but this link'll be much more helpful I think.
http://www.diehlsteel.com/products.html
Here you can click on a steel and it will give you characteristic summary, alloy info, heat treat info, and APPLICATION!:thumbsup:
Enjoy!
Click to expand...
 
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