Tool steel

A silly question can tool steel be obtained in large sizes for example 9" X 9" X 2 3/8".

I think you'd be asking the steel manufacturers for that!

It's feasible you'd be able (even afford!) to buy a billet of some other steel that would perform as required, but "tool steel" in that size is likely to be an intermediate not yet cut to tool-making sizes.

Tool-steel rounds are made to hefty diameters, but nowadays very big twist-drills, milling-cutters and the like use carbide inserts for the cutting parts, on a high-tensile "chassis".

It might be better to assess and quote what specific alloy you really need for the task, and whether it would be more sensible to design it so the "tool steel" is a small component on a larger supporting piece.

Tool steel is any of various carbon steels and alloy steels that are particularly well-suited to be made into tools and tooling. Can you be more specific with its application so we could suggest something suitable.

Find a steel supplier who can cut a 9"x9" piece from 60mm [2.36"]plate

Edited By Paul Lousick on 19/08/2022 01:22:16

Suggest contacting a supplier of blocks for injection moulds and die casting dies. They sell blocks from 100 x 130 x 17 mm all the way up to several metres by several metres and a metre or more thick.

www.hasco.com are excellent and have a wide global dealer / distributor network. These top quality tool steel blocks are available worldwide in several grades and hardnesses but be warned - this is not cheap mild steel we're talking about - be prepared to pay accordingly for very good tool steel.

For plain undrilled blocks and rounds see the P section of the catalogue at https://www.hasco.com/en/Product-catalogue/P/c/PIM02 (drilled-for-moulds plates and rounds are in K section.)

The reason I asked is that I was not sure if it came in those sizes. I have been given a block that size by a family member who said the man who gave it too him said it was tool steel he worked in a Engineering firm.

If it is tool steel how easy is it to work

Your question is not in a form to which anyone can make a sensible, precise or informed answer.

There are dozens of steel alloys that are classed as tool steel all with various properties and also supplied as standard in many different states. So even if we could pin down the specifcation of your block, the way it may have been supplied is still open ended.

Cut off a bit and try to work it. If it meets your requirements, great. If not, weigh it in for scrap.

Cut off a bit and send it off to a lab for analysis. You can then correlate the lab. report with published specs. to narrow it down considerably. Then you will have spent money and still not know if it is easy for you to work with the tools you have. Maybe you have a 5-axis waterjet in the shed (currently switched off due to the hosepipe ban). Whatever the steel is, it will be easily worked on the waterjet.

In my working life as a mould and die toolmaker I learnt a lot about "Toolsteel". Be warned it is a very complex world, "Hotwork" steels for mould and die vary from "coldwork" steels used for presswork tooling.

Factor in the heat treatment to harden/temper the steel, this can cost as much as the steelcost per kilo. Best stick to known grades for what you want to make.

All things are obtainable. It is just a matter of $$$$$$$$$$. "Tool steel" comes in blocks big enough to make a die to stamp out a car roof if you want. But even a little bit like you are after is not going to be cheap as a one-off purchase. Is there any alternative for your application? Are you making a die or mould for production use?

DC31k is right, except it is possible to generalise a bit.

Tool-steel is often a simple high-carbon steel, which can be hardened and softened by heat-treatment. It can be bought hard or soft. In hardened form, it's difficult to machine, and has to be ground to shape rather than turned, milled, sawn or drilled. The soft form can be forged and machined before the metal is hardened, but hardening is liable to warp and crack the object. Run a file over it to find if it's hard or soft: files don''t make much impression on hardened steel.

Hardened steel is softened by heating to red-heat and holding it at that temperature for 'n' minutes. Softened steel is hardened by heating to red-heat, holding steady briefly, and then rapidly cooling by plunging into oil or water. As rapid cooling tends to over-harden and make the metal brittle, tool-steel is often tempered immediately after the plunge by leaving it in an oven at about 200°C for some time. The exact temperatures and timings depend on the particular metal and the volume being treated. Important to know what the metal is: HSS is extremely difficult to heat treat correctly, Silver Steel is forgiving, and other tool-steels are somewhere in between. What you have could be straightforward or a pig, my guess is will be fussier than Silver Steel but not a monster.

Soft tool-steel can be machined in an ordinary way but cutting it may not be nice. Try and see.

My impression is tool-steel is easier to buy in standard hobby-useful sizes in the US than here. In the UK it seems to be an industrial material, less common because HSS and stainless steels are better for most workshop and domestic purposes, but it's still used for things like rotary grass-mower blades.

Apart from making edged tools, the metal is useful when hard-wearing strength is needed, or springs. As always the value of the material depends on what you're doing: I rarely work with hardenable steels, others do it all the time.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 19/08/2022 09:19:55

Hopper, the OP has a piece of that size, just wants to know how to work it.

As others have inferred "how long is a piece of string". As someone else who spent many years working tool steels of various grades it's unknown quantity makes for little use save a decent base plate or 'anvil' for use on the bench. I have such a lump - wouldn't even consider trying to cut anything off it to machine but it comes in handy at times as suggested.

As far as basic model engineering goes Silver Steel and Gauge Plate are all the home user needs when through hardening materials are required.

All the tool steels I have machined have been tough-er to do so, some more than others and consequently are difficult to machine compared to basic mild and low carbon steel. Other than carbide face mills that was all done using HSS cutters - at the time carbide end mills were some way off. Obviously cutters wear quicker so personally I only use tool steel when it is actually required for the job - mainly home made small cutters.

The result of heat treament of an unknown material is another matter of course.

Best - Tug

Sounds like a try it and see for ease of machining I have been out and tried a file and it certainly does not appear to be hardened.

For my Rob Roy build I am only using brought known steels and metals

Ah, I missed the second post and took the first at face value.

But agree that the description "tool steel" could mean almost anything thing. Generally, it was traditionally supplied unhardened but could be as tough as billy-o to machine on a light machine even so. Should make a good anvil/bench block though.

Did you hope to machine your Rob Roy out of a solid piece of tool steel ?

Stating the painfully obvious, whatever tool is used to machine / cut the workpiece must be the harder of the two, or the workpiece will cut the tool.

Angle grinder, Surface or Cylindrical grinder, Carbide tooling.?

The difficulty would be centre drilling, although a carbide centre drill would probably do the job.

Howard

Now that would be a feat and a half especially for a man of my skill level. The Rob Roy is the first project I have undertaken so on a scale of 1 to 10 I am possibly at the lower level

Used to use various forms of tool steel for different uses. Most came from Carrs here in the UK. They were always helpful in choosing the correct steel and heat treatment for the particular application. All of this was for cutting tools and fixture components. As has been said that size would probably be a die making steel rather than one for cutting tools.

Tool Steel or Machinary Steel?

Sometimes things get lost in translation. Spark test should narrow things down a little. Check if it's magnetic. Hardness test would be usefull. Saw a lump off and see if it will harden.

regards Martin

Have a look at P20 tool steel. It was the most used tool steel I used in toolmaking for plastic and press tool blanks and bodies.

David

To know how to work it, you need to get a better idea of what the makeup of the 'tool steel' is.

Some ways of getting more info include hardness testing, observing the sparks that an angle grinder makes, etching it and looking at it under a microscope, a XRF analyser...

Maybe chop a bit off and see how it behaves to heat treatment.

I'd start with spark testing and basic hardness testing.

Best advice was probably 'try it and see'.

I have learnt to avoid investing large number of hours into mystery steels.

You really need to what the steel is to harden it successfully.

A bit more constructive than at least one of the replies.............

Jim