where to buy tool steel?

Re: where to buy tool steel?

Raymond Overman in SC

>Try WT Tool in Charlotte, NC. They have a catalog they'll send you. You may also look for Starrett (the manufacturer) on the web. I just purchased some oil quenched steel for making a bit to go in a boring bar from them a couple of weeks ago. The web is mostly geared toward larger machine shops.

WT also sells drill rod and the orange or blue box sell cold rolled for handles. Good luck.

PS

Raymond Overman in SC

>The stuff I bought wasn't hardened so I could work with it using a hacksaw, drill press, and grinder. I then hardened it with a propane torch and 30W motor oil.

If you want a prehardened m2 steel bar WT might not be able to help.

Re: where to buy tool steel? *LINK*

Paul Porter in Phoenix, AZ

>Hi Carol,

Try MSC Direct, they carry tons (no pun intended) of stuff like that.


MSC Direct

Another link  *LINK*

Paul Porter in Phoenix, AZ

>


Another link

Re: where to buy tool steel? *LINK*

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>MSC has 5/8" square HSS tool bit in an 8" (see link below). Why do you need 12" of HSS. I have made bedans from 3/8" and 1/2" square 8" long tool bits but boring bars are typically made from O-1 tool steel (with or without a HSS tool bit as the cutter).

Hope this helps

John


tool bits

Re: where to buy tool steel?

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Carol, I don't know what you're going to use if for, but are you sure that you want 5/8 in. steel? Perhaps 1/2 in. square might be better?

Wally

Re: If you hardened it with a propane torch,

Al Crandall

>If you hardened it with a propane torch, it wasn't HSS. It was high carbon tool steel like most of the drill rod available. With a propane torch, you will be lucky to get the steel to 1200deg F, which is about 1000deg F cooler than necessary to harden HSS. It will give you a servicable edge, but be aware that this is the steel which started the old warning about never getting the edge blue while sharpening the tool. HSS has good "red hardness" which is why it doesn't hurt it to get it blue while sharpening it.

Re: where to buy tool steel?

Fred in NC

>I have used HSS bits for machining aluminum and steel. I just grind them to shape on the wheel. I just don't let them get way too hot, and I DON'T dip them in water, because that will cause microscopic cracks on the edge.

I have ground HSS bits for woodwork too, like (oops, conffesion time...) for beading tools. Most of the time I use regular machining bits, and they are 3-5" long. I use a metal bar with a hole and set screw, and that goes into a handle, some of which I have made from PVC pipe, and some from wood. The PVC is only an insulator, it is not that strong. The bar runs the length of the PVC.

Re: If you hardened it with a propane torch,

Arch

>Al, I'm out of my depth here, but I wonder if HSS can be heated to a temp. high enough to be bent without fracturing, but not so soft that it would need to be hardened and tempered again? Does % of cobalt affect the bending process? I'd like to bend some bits to different angles so I can insert them into one hole at the end of a CRS bar instead of drilling crosswise holes at different angles. Bent hss bits are in Craft Supplies' catalog but they were probably softened, bent and hardened. I have a small hi-temp oven for ashing tissue & blood plasma, also Mapp, propane and carbon arc flame, so I think I can get high enough temperatures for bending, but I don't want to even think about hardening/tempering HSS. Seems like impossible black magic.:) Thanks for your advice.

Turn to Safety, Arch

Re: where to buy tool steel? *LINK*

Randy Rhine

>For all sorts of metal, including tool steel (don't know about HSS though) try onlinemetals.com


http://www.onlinemetals.com

I saw no HSS posted

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>

Re: Not sure of the bending part.

Al Crandall

>Arch, I would rather drill a hole one time and be done with it than bend several consumable tools and know that I was going to have to do it all over again at some later date. I looked at the bent tools and can see no advantage to using them over using a boring bar which has an angled hole. I use a bar which has a straight hole in the end and another hole in the side which I drilled on approx. 45deg. Where they intersected, I drilled and tapped a set screw hole so one grub screw will hold either bit in place. I have yet to turn a form which I can't hollow using these holes and a combination of different length tool bits. If you want to undercut a very wide rim, put the bend in the boring bar instead of the toolbit. It just doesn't make sense to me to keep making the same tool over and over. I thought the prices of the bent bits in the catalog were a little high when I can buy the straight bit for $0.59.

Re: where to buy tool steel? *LINK*

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>One thing I would like to offer. MSC sells HSS M2 drill rod (see link) which I have used to make 3/8" hollowing tools (straight and bent) for ornaments and other mid-sized hollowing. It is far better than the 3/16" hollowing tools sold by Sorby. I believe I bought an 18" rod and made 2 tools that are longer than needed.

John


M2 Drill rod

Re: Not sure of the bending part.

Arch

>Thanks Al, No argument here. For years I've been happy with shopmade inserted bit tools with both concentric and angled holes and various bends in CRS boring bars. I just wanted to know if I could bend HSS bits but avoid the heat treating. I figured somebody here would know.

The storebought ones are too expensive just to mess around with. Like most tinkerers, I enjoy making tools and make more than I can use or for that matter, more than _can be used.:)

Turn to Safety, Arch

Re: where to buy tool steel?

Randy Rhine

>John,

On the HSS drill rod, I assume you heated it up to bend it. Did you have to then go through a hardening/tempering process afterwards?

Re: where to buy tool steel?

John Trant (Baltimore/WashDC)

>I have a small press so I just bent it slowly. No cracks and no flaws have erupted after years of use. I made the bends in the middle of the rod when it was full length and then cut the rod into the "bent tool" and the "straight tool".

John

Re: Is that rod soft when purchased?

Al Crandall

>I followed your link to the HSS drill rod, and I assumed that it was being sold in an unhardened state. They state that it is highly resistant to decarburization, a tidbit you would only need to know if you were to try to harden it yourself. Since you were able to bend it, I feel reasonably safe in thinking that it is soft, having myself broken a few HSS endmills, drills, and drill blanks in times past. If you are using it soft, what qualities make it better for your application than soft O1 or W1 or even CRS? I'm not too old to learn something new. Thanks. Al