[modeleng] Re: Against the grain

  • From: "Clifton" <clif.gwr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:37:16 +0100

Hi Alan,

I can remember some years ago having the same sort of steel. It didn't 
matter how or what I machined it with, it always came up with a rough 
finish.

It's funny how even today some bits of metal machine better than others.
I suppose that as we only ever deal with comparatively small pieces we don't 
have the quality control that large companies have so we never know what we 
have got.

The worst bit of junk box steel that I had was used to make some buffer 
heads. Machining every head wore out a changeable tip.

Regards

Clif
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "stepney" <alan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012 6:15 PM
Subject: [modeleng] Against the grain


> We all know that wood has a grain, and most of us will have read that
> metal does too.
> However, you can go for a long time without noticing it or it being a
> problem.
>
> I cant remember the last time that the grain in metal caused me any
> trouble, until today.
>
> I needed to do a simple turning job.
> What it ended up as was:
> a piece of steel, 1" at 1/4" dia, then 3/8" at 0.600 dia, and then 1/2"
> of 1/4" dia.
>
> In one of the "junk" boxes I have some 4" lengths of 3/4" steel (of
> unknown specification) with surface rust, so I decided to use one of them.
> Put in chuck and turned down about half the length to get back to a nice
> clean surface.
> Then reversed in chuck to do the same from the other end.
>
> The first end had a superb finish, and looked excellent.
> However, the other end looked as if it has been chewed away by a rat!
> Same tool, same setting, same feed and speed.
> I then tried several different feeds etc, but nothing I tried enabled e
> to get a decent finish on the "rough" end.
>
> Ahh well, enough playing about. Reversed in chuck, and turned the 1" and
> 3/8" lengths, so they ended up with a decent finish.
> Then reversed again and turned the 1/2" length (of 1/4" dia).
> Finish lousy, but it didnt matter for that particular section.
>
> Having made the part, I then tried another piece from the same batch,
> and found exactly the same effect.
> I assume that it is a heat treated steel, and must have a particularly
> coarse grain structure.
>
> Unusual, and consequently, interesting.
>
> Alan
>
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