Best screw material?

I would use 1045.... Try to get something hot rolled so it doesn't move on you after you turn it....
 
I want to single-point thread some 8-32 knurled-head screws for my Sheldon Lathe. The only material I have on hand ...
Just to be a contrarian, have you considered making the heads in a decorative material, and just fit some
bits of all-thread rod into a threaded hole with glue or solder? It's easy to get creative with brass or aluminum,
without sacrificing the stregth of the threaded portion, and rolled steel threads are a lot less trouble than
single-pointing #8-32. If strength were important, McMaster-Carr has grade 8 threaded studs in various lengths.
 
saverin: You kids and your new-fangled metric jobbies. Why when I was a kid....! (actually I think I'm younger than you LOL :p ) Stainless isn't a terrible Idea but I don't have any stock for that and I think it's harder to machining than most steels so while I'm doing this the hard way I want to keep the learning curve as low as possible.... ( I'm doing it the easiest hard way! )

whitemore: It's tempting, but this is a working lathe not a decorative one. I much prefer function over form and I don't like unnecessarily flashy stuff. If there is any brass on this machine it's well hidden so brass would look out of place here.
 
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