>Hello: I got a card a while back saying that I can get free shipping on an order from MSC. Not wanting to let a deal like this pass unused I had to come up with something that I need[????] to take advantage of it. I want to order some steel to make some scrapers out of. I am not a metalurgist or machinist and the wide variety of steel available has me puzzled. I believe I read somewhere that M2 is the right stuff to make scrapers out of. Is that correct? If not, what is the right kind? THanks in advance. Jared Herbert
MSC is a terrific company. Order something this evening and it will very likely be on your door step tomorrow.
You would do better to think of stuff like a Jacobs chuck to fit in your tail stock. Or some allen wrenches of a drill bit with a MT that fits directly in your tailstock.
The issue with M2 or M4 steel is that the stock you will get is almost certainly annealed. That means that the tool steel is "soft". At that stage you can drill or cut the steel to the shape or form you like. To use the steel it needs to be hardened and tempered. There isn't a practical way to harden M2 or M4 steel at home. The temperature required are much much to high. What you can do is get some drill rod and some cobalt cutters to make a hollowing tool. The small cutters will be hardened and tempered. The drill rod will be soft enough to drill and tap for attaching the cutter.
You could also get some high carbon steel to make some turning tools out of. You can harden high carbon steel at home with a MAP torch. Tempering can be done by eye.
>I agree with Richard but I use cold roll steel from Lowes. It's a lot cheaper than drill rod. I've known several people that have used the HSS bars from MSC and as Richard says you can't harden it at home without a specialized furnace. They seem to like their scrapers as they came from MSC. I haven't tried it myself so I can't tell you how they compare to my store bought scraper.
