Qn about Steel & Applications

I have been trying to figure out which stainless steel to use. I would like to use something that would have an ease to machining and yet would be able to hold a nice surface polish.. a lot of the stuff that I will be making will have to have a certain "bling" apperence to it.
 
I try to help you with this one... Do you have any considerations regarding heat, contact with skin, chemicals or salt water?

Sadly though, the shinier compounds have more chromium which makes machining a little harder.

Ray


OakRidgeGuy said:
I have been trying to figure out which stainless steel to use. I would like to use something that would have an ease to machining and yet would be able to hold a nice surface polish.. a lot of the stuff that I will be making will have to have a certain "bling" apperence to it.
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Ray,

It appears that I am gettting that picture.. having not worked much with stainless, I will have to figure a "happy medium", to achive a good result. I guess it will take some experimentation.

Doc
 
... Sorry for late reply. Couldnt access the site today...

I work a lot with SS -that and 6061 aluminum are what I see most of around here because of all the boats/marinas.

In salty areas, anything other than 316 will only last a year or so before it turns white and starts to crumble.

All of the 3xx series machine about the same and have the brightest finishes. The 4xx stuff -tough as nails and hard to machine also darker finish.


EDIT: Fixed a broken sentence.

OakRidgeGuy said:
Ray,

It appears that I am gettting that picture.. having not worked much with stainless, I will have to figure a "happy medium", to achive a good result. I guess it will take some experimentation.

Doc
Click to expand...
 
Ray,
Machineries Handbook has all of the data on all the different grades of steel and ultimate tensile strengths. If yoou are looking for a material for a particular project I would be glad to look it up in my copy for you. I can also send you a copy (PDF) of a previous edition of the book too. Hope this helps you find your answer.
Bob
 
Rbeckett said:
Ray,
Machineries Handbook has all of the data on all the different grades of steel and ultimate tensile strengths... I can also send you a copy (PDF) of a previous edition of the book too. Hope this helps you find your answer.
Bob
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Bob

would you mind emailing me the PDF? That would save me some money I'm putting into tooling right now.
email accesible thru my handle

Thanks, Dave
 
If you can talk someone out of their copy (not likely, definitely not mine), try to find a Jorgensen blue book. They have a cd now, I believe, instead. Also online, they have a virtual copy:

http://www.emjmetals.com/Products.aspx?ptype=products&type=pbbk

As far as all 300 series stainless machining the same, that would be quite wrong. Ease of machining in the 300 goes to 303. But it's not the most chemical resistant, I believe that goes to 316 in the most common forms. Bad for welding, unless you use 316L, with the "L" this time not signifying lead, but "low carbon" which makes it better for welding. There are a number of 300 series stainless materials, but not all are available in all forms. Some just bar, and some only in sheet products.
 
You're right, I wasn't very specific and meant that the 3xx metals seem to cut, lathe and mill all about the same and produce a similarly nice finish. I've worked a lot with 303 and 316 -mostly ornamental items because I have a good source for it. FWIW, I have better luck with carbide bits and can get a nice luster surface -very pretty and it polishes very shiny. I haven't welded them enough to tell the difference although I've welded them all and managed to get really nice results. I can say though that the 4xx types really fight back against saw blades and all other cutting bits... I believe most of them work harden easily and I believe the 4xx types can be heat treated and tempered. My wife has a nice stainless kitchen knife set thats made 440 (if memory serves). -Very difficult to sharpen them with the ceramic knife wands... I had a good size hunk of 416 and played around with it in the shop. It must have been hardened because it was making the band saw cry. It's still sitting in the shed until I figure-out how to work with it...


Tony Wells said:
If you can talk someone out of their copy (not likely, definitely not mine), try to find a Jorgensen blue book. They have a cd now, I believe, instead. Also online, they have a virtual copy:

http://www.emjmetals.com/Products.aspx?ptype=products&type=pbbk

As far as all 300 series stainless machining the same, that would be quite wrong. Ease of machining in the 300 goes to 303. But it's not the most chemical resistant, I believe that goes to 316 in the most common forms. Bad for welding, unless you use 316L, with the "L" this time not signifying lead, but "low carbon" which makes it better for welding. There are a number of 300 series stainless materials, but not all are available in all forms. Some just bar, and some only in sheet products.
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Thanks Bob, I have the large print version of MH -saves the eyes. (was actually thinking about getting it on CD too).

Anyhow, I find that the descriptions have a lot of overlap. And what I'm really looking for is how/when to use the more common stuff like 1018-20, 1040-45, 414x etc... If you look at the descriptions, many all say things like: Good for shafts, camshafts, gears, piston rods etc... -Very similar descriptions really. This is very true when reading the descriptions of 104x vs 414x. And then there's 4140 and 4145. That's a difference of 0.05% carbon -and since both of these are commonly available, there must be a reason that the marketplace makes it available. Something's bugging and I feel like a piece of the puzzle is missing.


Rbeckett said:
Ray,
Machineries Handbook has all of the data on all the different grades of steel and ultimate tensile strengths. If yoou are looking for a material for a particular project I would be glad to look it up in my copy for you. I can also send you a copy (PDF) of a previous edition of the book too. Hope this helps you find your answer.
Bob
Click to expand...
 
Not sure if this will help with descriptions, but gives characteristics in terms of things like strength, corrosion, durability.

From the first page the types run down the left and the shapes (bars, structural, plate, etc) run along the top. To pick, select the red dot. When you get the list of grades, hover over and you will see the characteristics. Drill down further (red dots) and it will get you to a pdf about the grade.

http://www.alro.com/divSteel/Metals.aspx


Hope it helps!
 
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