Drill Rod Question

Re: Drill Rod Question

Barry Irby

>Doesn't the letter mean Water hardened, Oil Harden, and Air harden? Beyond that I'm not sure what it means to you and me. I have made some tools out of drill rod and now that i think of it, I don't know which one.

I made a bowl gouge by cutting the flute with an abrasive cut off wheel on a Radial Arm Saw. I hardened it by heating the business end with two propane torches until a magnet would not stick to it and then plunged it into some oil to quench it. Then I drew the temper by baking it in the oven at about 450 degrees for a couple of hours.

Some smaller things I have just heated and quenched the tips.

They seem to work well, but I have no sense of whether they are half as good or 2/3 as good or whatever as a "real" store bought tool.

Re: Making your own tools *LINK*

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Ron,

If you're making hollowing tools, the most you want is O-1; the others get rather expensive.

BUT

Regular cold rolled round bar stock will do just as well for much less in diameters of 1/2" and over. Very Good pricing at ENCO on the link. [Don't mention my name - they don't know me from a rock]

If, like Barry, you are looking to make gouges and such, the drill rod is your choice and O-1 is fine. If you plan on going further up, you can look for HSS rod in various alloys, but now you're talking MONEY, and materials that require more than a propane torch to work, harden, and temper.

M


ENCO

Re: Drill Rod Question

John Trant (Baltimore/DC area)

>Al Lacer recommends using O-1 for hook tools and avoiding W-1. He says W-1 has larger grain size therefore doesn't get as sharp or hold the edge as well. I don't know if this is true or not.

I have made boring bars from cold rolled (1014 steel I think) with a mounted HSS bit and from bent high carbon drill rods (both O-1 and W-1). Used as a scraper, I doubt O-1 is much different than W-1 in effectivness.

A, D and HSS grades of drill rod need to be professionally hardened and tempered. I have used HSS as it comes from the distributer (annealed and relatively soft). I have no idea if annealed HSS is harder or more wear resistant than tempered high carbon steel.

John

Re: Making your own tools

Fred in NC

>For HSS I get metal-working tool bits. They can be ground and used without having to harden and temper. As a matter of fact, it would be almost impossible to heat HSS to the required temperature with home equipment.

HSS is much more resistant to heat when grinding. When grinding the edge in a HSS tool, DO NOT COOL IN WATER the way we do for carbon steel, because it produces tiny fractures in the edge.

CRS - Cold Rolled Steel does not have the carbon contents necessary to harden it. Its uses as a tool are very limited.

O-1 drill rod or HSS are the best material for homemade tools.

DISCLAIMER: Just my opinion, $2.22 indexed to the price of gas!

Re: Drill Rod Question

Fred in NC

>The edge in HSS lasts much longer. Carbon steel (O-1 drill rod) can produce a finer edge if ground properly, but does not last as long.

Re: CRS

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Thought that was "Can't Remember "

Well, anyway, Cold Rolled will work just fine for boring bar shafts that are then fitted with HSS a/o hardened cutters and bits. As stated, it will not have any use in making cutting edges.

M

[Gas is cheaper in Jersey]

Thanks!

Ron in Drums PA

>

Re: Drill Rod Question

John Lucas

>I have never heard that W-1 made tools that weren't as sharp. I'm like you I can't dispute the claim. I have made tools from w-1 and 0-1 and they both get sharp enough to do the job. In fact I have a home made carving tool that I made from some scrap 0-1 and it will easily shave hair.

To make my tools I generally use w-1 simply because I don't like quenching in oil. I's messy and smells and I have to dispose of it. Water is free. John

Re: Drill Rod Question

JamieDonaldson

>What about the old practice of quenching in brine(saltwater solution)- does that act any differently from H2O other than rusting the carbon steel?

Re: Drill Rod Question

tek-Brunswick, Ohio

>Quench in Olive Oil. Alan Lacer does it when he makes his hook tools. It's still messy but it smells good. He claims that he has had motor oil flare up on him, but Olive Oil hasn't.He made a hook tool at a demo for our club and used O1 drill rod with an Olive Oil quench and it worked fine. Maybe if you got some used french fry oil it would smell real good!

Re: Drill Rod Question

John Lucas

>Jamie

The manufacturer of different steels will tell you what type of medium to quench in. Sometimes it's is brine water, sometimes it's just ash or lime. There are also a lot of legends about using this or that. Personally I like quenching in the blood of a slave. (just kidding for those who might take this the wrong way)

Re: Drill Rod Question

John Lucas

>I actually use Peanut oil. It has a higher flash point than automotive Oil (or so I've heard I've never actually seen the stats on the flashpiont). Peanut oil is cheap and also easy to dispose of.

When quenching in oil if you make sure the redhot portion of the steel is completely submerged it rarely will ignite. If you leave some of the glowing red above the oil it will ignite much easier. At least that's my experience.