Key steel BS4235

[sbwhart]

Does any one know if key steel can be hardend and tempered like gauge plate.

I want to make a form tool out of it for cutting brass.

Tried to get a copy of BS4235 but they charge £120 for it on line, strewth    use to be able to get them for free when i was working for a living with the company picking up the tab.

 

Stew

[John Stevenson]

Provided that it is proper key steel then yes it can.

Key steel is 0.45% carbon, 0.25% silicon, 0.7% manganese, 0.05% sulfur and 0.05% phosphur
EN9 is the closest commercial steel with all the above figures except that the carbon has been increased to 0.50% from 0.45%

John S.

[John Rudd]

Stu

I'll try and d/l a copy of the BS when I get to work on Monday....We have a subscription to a site 

[sbwhart]

Thanks John and John

Thats great information, I was going to order some from macmodels but I'll check on the spec with them first, there is one or two people who do supply to the BS spec but they are more geared to commercial quatities.

Getting access to info like that is one of the few things I miss work for, that and their big scanner/plotter

 

Stew

[Fergus OMore]

Cromwell Tools has a depot in Chester and has large quantities of ground gauge plate.

No connection apart from being usually a satisfied customer.

If you are desperate, you can use old allen keys as lathe tools!

Regards

[David Jupp]

If you just need to refer to a BS document, many library services have a subscription.  I joined Manchester Library (free) purely so I can view BS documents on-line.

Printing of the documents isn't part of the deal - but it's fine for just checking stuff in current standards. 

[doubleboost]

I welded some key steel
It went that hard i could only grind it
John

[Fergus OMore]

It all depends on*************

Seriously, if you were using oxy/acetylene, you could well have been increasing the carbon content.

Adding carbon to iron and then mild steel to make tool steel is quite normal for your neck of the woods.
I'm refering to the sword makers of Shotley Bridge who made swords so well that gentleman of the day could wind a sword in their top hat.

It all started in 1691 and since then, things have got- well,  less interesting!

[doubleboost]

It was welded with tig and mild steel filler rod
They were just tacked together for machining
The welds blunted a milling cutter
The steel used was en6a
John

[Fergus OMore]

Perhaps the most obvious question is whether the steel was quenched- and 'let down' to a normal state-- or not.
Again, the next question is what was the shielding gas? and so it goes.

What I can tell you is that there are plenty of steels today that will crack- not just become unmachinable in this world- today.
Again, there is no guarantee that today's metals - are what they are claimed to be.

Perhaps you should have crossed the river to Gateshead Tech-- and become very very sceptical about - a lot of things.

Anyway, perhaps a start with an angle grinder might have saved a lot problems. What I surmise was your problem was that you failed to bring up 'the dottle' which is Geordie Pitmatic for inclusions that lead to porosity and hard dross.
If you think of it, this is what steel makers do by blowing through the melt to remove the impurities!

Might I add that I probably learnt all this as a child in the blacksmith's shop when my father was 'tubing boilers' for locomotives?

[Anzaniste]

If the items were just tacked together there would be small localised hot spots which would be quenched by the adjacent comparatively large mass of cold steel hence the hardness associated with the weld.
This phenomenon is what causes the cracks when welding high carbon steels.

[SKIPRAT]

Hi Stew

Just been having a sort out of my material stash and found this stuff .The writing on the wrapper says that it is KE672 -AISI 01 type oil hardening  alloy tool steel  analysis as follows.

Carbon                0.95%
Manganese         1.20%
Chrome               0.50%
Tungsten             0.50%
Vanadium            0.50%

I have 2 bits 0ne is 20x8x500 other is 16x10x500 if you are still stuck for some tool steel i could cut you a bit off one of these .Seems pretty tough stuff to me.

Cheers Paul

[sbwhart]

Thanks for the offer Paul if I get stuck I'll send you a PM.

 

Stew