Tool Steel

[Dingo Dog]

Blokes

What is Tool Steel and where can I locate some. Looking for something in the 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch rods. I understand its bleeding hard stuff, I am making one of those hand benders that a fellow forum bloke put up on this site.

The list of goods to purchase says I need to use "Tool Steel" for the bending pins. Is there anything else I can use if I cant get that. I gave up my gas axe last year so cant heat anything up to anneal carbon steel.

DD

[echnidna]

I think silver steel is a type of tool steel

[Kody]

Gudday DD
I've not read the post/s on making a bender so I dont know exactly what you require of these pins. I assume that the pins are turned to a specific diameter and polished. The term "Tool Steel" covers a wide range of steels (hundreds). So I will suggest a few that you could use that you should be able to obtain. Perhaps the easiest steel to find might be round Spring Steel. This is the stuff used for coil springs in cars and trucks etc. If you have a springmaker close to you you're in buisness. OK, no springworks near you. You could use precision ground shafting in the form of 4340 or 4150 or similar. Any good steel supplier should be able to supply small cut to length pieces for you. The shafting is usually ground to size and the steels mentioned can be heatreated to be very tough and have good hardness. Spring steel round bars would need to be machined so may nt be suitable for you. Spring steel can be heatreated with a good lpg torch which is a plus. Just my 5 cents worth.

Kody

[Woodlee]

You can get 01 oil hardening tool steel from Bohler in Brisbane or any of thier outlets .
Also there is a guy on the OZtion auction site that sells silver steel which is what 01 tool steel is .
The smaller sizes (under 3/4 " ) he sells in 900mm lengths above that he sells in 100 and 200 mm lenghts .His prices are reasonable ....to me anyway.
To harden this stuff you heat to cherry red and hold it there for a while and then submerge it in oil ,polish it back to bright finish and temper to straw colour .

[.RC.]

As Kody says tool steels cover hundreds of types, but generally tool steel is the higher carbon type steel...

It goes Mild Steel with the lowest carbon content-->> Structural steel (carbon 0.2%-0.3%) -->> Constructional Steel (carbon 0.2%-0.6%) -->> Tool steel (carbon 0.3%-1.5%)

[new_guy90]

you should be able to buy hardened and ground pins from somewhere, should come in a good size and length for what you want. or you could use old HSS drill shanks but they could be a bit to brittle. go have a chat to your local steel suppliers and see what they have. remember HSS is a tool steel so you cant turn or machine tool steel with HSS (its a no brainer, just reminding you) use carbide its way harder and will love it :D

Patrick