Different tool steel types.........

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
.............Ok, maybe this should have been in the turning area, as it is about lathe tools, but, I hope that maybe some non-spinny side guys might have some info.

I'm looking at a few tools, like these........

skewchigouge.jpg

three_point_tool.jpg

Basically, they are just a straight steel rod, with a special grind on it, so I do not see why I could not make such a thing myself.

I just bought these on auction..........
jis_sk4_drillrod.jpg

They are JIS SK4F Drill rod, I'm hoping these will be good for making lathe cutting tools.

I can also get JIS SUM24L rods in various sizes.

If anyone knows about this kind of stuff, I'd sure like to hear about it.

Cheers!
 
Stu,

There are way too many steel types out there and the problem you have is just how do you heat treat and anneal each type. In knives the popular steels are ATS 34, 154 CM, and the regular stainless (don't remember the proper name). Then you have D2, O1, and A2 in tool steels. IIRC they heat treat at temps ranging from 1200* to 1900*F and are annealed at 3-500* for differing times. There are some web sites that have info on the different steel types along with HT and Annealing temps and info, however the ones I'm familiar with may not have much on steels formulated and rolled in Japan, unless it is widely imported to the US.
 
I found this:

High carbon type free cutting steel with quenched hardness over HRC 61 and improved machinability than JIS SK4,due to Pb and S addition.

If it queches at Rc61 that is going to be brittle. I would try it like it is and see what happens. If you harden it I would think you need to anneal it back to the upper 40's? Man it's been a while since I messed with this stuff.
 
Stu,

There's a lot of tool steel that you could use, that will work fine. Leaf spings from cars is a good source of it, as-is coil springs.

Tool steel is high carbon, so requires you forge at a slightly lower temp.

The key is in how you anneal and temper it.

I have a center punch and a scribe I tempered in oil, and both have held their tip fine, in working metal. I would stay away from the D2 and harder steels like that, they're difficult to work with. Coil springs is an excellent source of good steel, as-is axles (half shafts for instance).

EDIT: in regards to annealing, anytime you move the metal around, forging, you must let the metal settle by annealing it. It basically relaxes the metal after displacing it. When you temper it, it hardens up the steel at the expense of making it brittle. Once you temper it you should not heat it up very much after, if at all.
 
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