Tool steel or not tool steel, that is the question !

plunger said:
Good question. But for me living in darkest Africa I use what is available.I suspect for most things that dont need to cut or drill then mild steel would be good enough. I made my own toolpost holders about five years ago from mild steel and can honestly say they will outlast me in a homeshop environment.
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I also used mild steel for this purpose and it machines nice. Come now plunger don't give the yanks a bad impression of sonny South Africa,or is that a ESKOM joke :laughing:. Sorry guys, you most probably wont catch it if you don't live in our neck of the woods.
 
Suzuki4evr said:
I also used mild steel for this purpose and it machines nice. Come now plunger don't give the yanks a bad impression of sonny South Africa,or is that a ESKOM joke :laughing:. Sorry guys, you most probably wont catch it if you don't live in our neck of the woods.
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I just Googled ESKOM; I think I get it!
 
Thanks for all the help gentlemen....You have pointed me in the right direction. I guess it`ll take a lot of reading, time and mistakes to become proficient but for me that`s what it`s all about, LEARNING !
 
On this site we are all teachers and learners. Welcome and good luck. The learning is the fun part.
 
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JimDawson said:
There are entire books written on this subject, but I can give a quick recommendation for common uses.

As above A36 (standard hot rolled mild steel) would be my first choice for a grinder base.

If you need steel with some toughness to it, the 4xxx steels are a good choice. The most common are 4140, 4150, and 4340.

For shaft type uses the 10xx and 12xx are useful grades

Use stainless for corrosion resistant applications, most common is 303, 304, and 316. Then there are the 4xx grades with a bit less corrosion resistance.

For applications requiring hardness, the various tool steels would be a good option. O1, W1, A2, D2, and S7 are the most common.

Browse through the McMaster steel selection, they have a basic write up on many of the uses. Also the listings gives some technical specifications on the various grades. https://www.mcmaster.com/steel

I should add that whatever is on your shelf would proabaly work fine for home shop use. :)
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Hi Jim, thanks for the input. Do you, other then MCMaster have any books you would suggest I read ? I`m not looking to become a metallurgist but a good understanding of what metals to use for what purpose and why, plus maybe dive into it a little deeper would be ok. You said for applications requiring hardness, well I`m not sure what would require hardness and also how hard ? I also want to learn a little about hardening metals..Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, AJ
 
Here`s a question for someone...I have an old Keller power hack saw that needs a new guide bar. Someone tried to adjust gibs without any gibs . They ran the adjustment screws against the bar and really damaged it. What type of steel would I use for that ? I was thinking 4140, am I wrong ?? If so why and what should I use ? Thanks, AJ20180901_170907.jpg
 
I have a very similar saw that suffered a very similar fate. I think that was a very common thing to happen on these saws -- the bronze wear gibs had such shallow holes that it didn't take much for the screws to become slack. Once the gibs started sliding around, game over unless somebody was paying attention.

Anyway, I don't think the original bar was anything fancy. I reworked mine to get it back useable and it didn't feel like 4140 to me, more like just regular cold rolled 1018. Not to say 4140 wouldn't be better, but I don't think it was what the original ones are.

-frank
keller 3WA.jpg
 
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I'm thinking straight, square, and parallel is more important than grade of steel. With good bronze gibs and adequate lube I doubt you could live long enough to wear it out even if made of 1018. Probably the easiest fix would be if you can find a piece of correct sized flat ground stock and use it as is. A bit $$$ though. Depending on the carnage I'm guessing that the damaged area can possibly be stoned out, new gibs made and the saw would never know the difference.............Bob
 
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