What type of steel

I'm a woodworker but like using older machines.

i need to make a runner for an old table saw. It needs to be around 35cm long, 6mm deep and 19mm wide. I often make them out of UHMW plastic but in this case would prefer something more rigid with at least some rust resistance.
It needs to fit tightly in the tablesaw slot with no sideways wiggle.

What material is easily bought in 6mm x 19mm bar in shorter lengths that has a machined face?

Hi pgrbff You can get either mild steel which is smooth but not very accurate or ground gauge plate which is ground to size and more wear resisting and also can be hardened easily but they only come in 6mm x 20mm stock sizes. You have the options of altering the slot in which the piece fits in or alter the steel to suit. Anyone with a mill could alter either in s few minutes perhaps you know someone who could do the job for you. If you lived anywhere near me I would be happy to supply it to suit.

David

Most old cast iron woodworking machine slots will be 3/4" wide as will anything still coming from the US like Delta table saws.

Only strip with a "machined face will be Gauge plate which is ground you can buy 13" lengths of 1/4" x 3/4"

The strips of UHMW I have that fit perfectly measure precisely 19mm. The saw is English and mid 20C so I guess it will be 3/4" x 1/4". Where can I find gauge plate?

Look for suppliers of "Ground Flat Stock"

It is tougher than mild steel, so will wear much more slowly, but will be a little more difficult to drill and countersink. But it is by no means that difficult..

You may unable to buy it in lengths longer than 13"

In UKI it is possible to buy silver steel in 1 metre lengths, so it may nbe possible to find in longer lengths.

If you can find a 1 meter or 3' length, a bit of work with a hacksaw and a file and you have you runner!

Howard

Have found some suppliers thanks. Now the real work starts,; trying to convince them to post to Italy.

Silver steel comes in 333mm (aka 13" lengths, as well as 1m and 2m lengths. But standard gauge plate length is 500mm (aka 18".

Andrew

One of the requirements was that the material should have some rust resistance. Gauge plate and silver steal have good wear properties but will rust.

Agreed, but not had a problem with gauge plate rusting, unlike plain low carbon steel such as EN1A which can rust overnight, even in the house.

Andrew

Well Yes and no

Agree that imperial silver steel comes in 13" or 1m lengths 

But depends on where you buy your gauge plate / GFS as the imperial sizes can also be had in 6" or 9" nominal lengths or 250mm for metric from several ME suppliers as they know most of us hobby users don't want to buy in industrial lengths..

Have a look at page 54 here they do the 1/4 x 3/4 in 9" lengths, drop Lynn an e-mail and hopefully she will give you a price for overseas delivery.

I suggested GP as I could not think of any other steel that met the requirement of a machined surface. never seen stainless in this situation on all the woodworking machines I've used

Edited By JasonB on 20/02/2022 10:14:23

I buy ground flat stock from Cromwell (cromwell.co.uk). They offer 1/4" x 3/4" x 18" long Order code IND-413-0704E. As for shipping to Italy - who knows!

Dave

Yes, I found Cromwell, they seem more reasonably priced than elsewhere. I have asked them if they will post to Italy.

Thank you all. Helpful as always.

YOu can get key steel in those sorts of sizes too. Ground to size on all sides and zinc plated to boot.

Never knew that; I've always bought silver steel and gauge plate in standard lengths, as it is more economical. I buy both from Coventry Grinders.

I also buy key steel (EN8) from Coventry Grinders. It's bright drawn, not plated, and is to the appropriate British Standard, meaning that it is slightly oversize, so can be drawfiled to be a snug fit in the keyway.

Andrew

The OP makes no mention of the need to be hard and has used plastic but wants rust reistance

A saw or good file and 6x20 stainless, 304 or 316. in europe called inox. Try a company that runs laser cutters for an off cut or for a beer or 2 they may even cut it to size. Noel

Edited By noel shelley on 20/02/2022 11:13:10

Very occasionally I am lucky and find somebody helpful. I recently had 4 pieces laser cut from 20mm mild steel, but it cost me £40.

Most people just think I'm mad, DIY is really not as popular here.

I help a local garage that builds replica rally cars, rally cars and kit cars for clients. It is almost unthinkable that someone here would build a kit car themselves. When importing vehicles from the UK the authorities here simply won't accept that the kit was built at home, they want to know the name and address of the company that did it.

Finding 20mm x 6mm inox in anything less than probably a 6m length would be difficult. There just does not appear to be the market here.

Edited By pgrbff on 20/02/2022 15:44:47

I may be able to get you some, I have friends in the trade ! postage would be the only stumbling block. I will see what can be done. 20mm x 6mm x 35mm YES ? Noel.

Cromwell are consistently more expensive than their alter ego Zoro. Their prices for 1/4" x 3/4" x 18" ground stock are no exception.

Edited By Bill Phinn on 20/02/2022 18:04:19

I am not sure I understand this but for creating a face parallel with the machine I would make a ‘fence’. This is a length of bar with tapped holes in. A screw is fitted in each hole which acts as a jack to push the fence against one side of the tee slot. The job can be moved up to this fence and slid along as needed, so the screws in the fence are down inside the tee slot and the fence stands on its edge at the bottom of the slot, the top of the fence is above the machine table.