"Silver Steel" and "Tool Steel"...what's the difference?

cazclocker

cazclocker

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Is there a significant difference between "silver steel" and "tool steel"? I've been under the impression that "silver steel" is just a term used in merry old England for the same material that we, in the United States, call "tool steel".

I've been reading a book printed in England concerning advanced watch and clock repair, and there are a handful of suggested tools mentioned that can be made in the home machine shop. The suggested material is consistently referred to as "silver steel". Can I just ignore that term and use tool steel? I'd sure rather just order domestically from OnlineMetals or one of the other stateside suppliers.

By the way, I found a source for "Genuine BS1407 approved Precision Silver Steel" - it's British, of course. You can see it HERE. I've never ordered from them, but if I really needed to insist on silver steel, they look pretty good...I guess. Who knows?

Thanks! Happy New Year, gents.
 
It is a common british term. I think it's what we call "drill rod".
 
The composition is defined by UK specification BS-1407, and is as follows: carbon 0.95–1.25, manganese 0.25–0.45, chromium 0.35–0.45, silicon 0.40 max.[SUP][/SUP] In the annealed state it has a hardness of 27 HRC. It can be hardened to 64 HRC.

Spec sheet:

http://www.ozct.com.tr/en/pdf/1.2210 115CrV3.pdf

If you find something domestic with close Chrome, Manganese and Carbon, you will essentially be equivalent. The rest of the elements are not critical. I haven't looked at the tool steels we see here, but I'm sure there is something very close.
 
xalky said:
It is a common british term. I think it's what we call "drill rod".
Click to expand...
In Australia we call it silver steel too. Although Drill rod is becoming more prevalent

Cheers Phil
 
Actually,the 1860 Colt Army and Police revolvers were described as being made of "silver steel" in England at the time. And they were just made of mild steel. They were enabled to be made more slender than older models which were made of wrought iron,because mild steel is stronger,and does not have the weak silicon inclusions in it that wrought iron has. Colt had a Dragoon pistol barrel burst wide open that he submitted to the Navy for tests. They blamed the gun. He blamed them for "loading it with enough powder to burst a cannon",which was not possible,of course. About 40 or 50 grains is the limit they can hold. The unreliable wrought iron was really the problem.

I have an early 19th. C. Stubbs hand vise right here at this time. It is bright case hardened wrought iron,but I can still see fine grained silicon inclusions in it,looking like fine wood grain. They used to case harden and polish wrought iron to make it more rust resistant,also. There exists an 18th. C. shotgun with a case hardened barrel made to be more rust resistant. It is very rare.

Wrought iron,even when polished and smooth,has a gray color to it. I use it frequently in antique parts I reproduce. Mild steel polished is more silvery colored due to the carbon content.

Case hardened wrought iron articles made in the 18th. C. were often polished to a silvery appearance. It was a novelty to them at the time,as well as being more rust resistant. Today we expect COLOR case hardened parts. Some were color case hardened back then,but sewing tools and the like were polished bright. Probably,in their case,to make them "cleaner" to use around fabrics(wrought iron can shed a little gray),and likely to make them more dainty for the ladies.

These days,they call high carbon steel,like drill rod "silver steel" in England. Tony presented actual guide lines. Definitions have changed over the centuries.
 
Ah! Drill rod...alright, thank you all very much. I really am thankful to be part of such a friendly and patient group of folks. I have a bit of a curious mind, and being pretty new to machining, it always seems like hearing a new term sometimes answers one question but creates several new ones. At least that's what it seems like to me.
Thank you!
...Doug
 
cazclocker said:
Is there a significant difference between "silver steel" and "tool steel"? I've been under the impression that "silver steel" is just a term used in merry old England for the same material that we, in the United States, call "tool steel".

I've been reading a book printed in England concerning advanced watch and clock repair, and there are a handful of suggested tools mentioned that can be made in the home machine shop. The suggested material is consistently referred to as "silver steel". Can I just ignore that term and use tool steel? I'd sure rather just order domestically from OnlineMetals or one of the other stateside suppliers.

By the way, I found a source for "Genuine BS1407 approved Precision Silver Steel" - it's British, of course. You can see it HERE. I've never ordered from them, but if I really needed to insist on silver steel, they look pretty good...I guess. Who knows?

Thanks! Happy New Year, gents.
Click to expand...

I've looked over the chemical profile of the silver steel, and read the hardening and tempering instructions. It is an annealed and premium form of water hardening tool steel (although looking at the chemistry, oil quenching might work more safely). Usually selected because of the extreme dimensional accuracies that are held in manufacturing. You would have to harden this stuff yourself according to their recipe. I has a bit of Cr in it so it will be somewhat corrosion resistant and the Mn would make it harden easily and to a high degree. If it was me, I would look locally for an oil or air hardening tool steel. That is if you are determined to heat treat this yourself. Check with the manufacturers for the heat treat recipe. Or, you can just go buy a chunk of M2 tool steel already to be ground into a tool bit. Let us know what you end up doing here.
 
Doug,
Morning from merry old England……..

Silver Steel rod is primarily used here as it comes pre-ground and dead straight to a size suitable for bearings. In plate form it used to be called gauge plate which is also ground dead flat and size. The name “Silver” probably came from the shiny appearance

It sits between Mild steel (low carbon) and tool steel (high carbon) and is possible to harden and temper. It machines badly and welds worse. If I am describing drill rod then you have your comparison.

Trevor
 
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