[modeleng] Re: Against the grain

  • From: Jesse <fernj1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:58:43 -0500

Gents,
Just get yourself some 12L14 or 12L15 round stock and quit worrying 
about finish.  These leaded steels are what the big boys play with and I 
have managed to locate some supplies here in West Tennessee. I make 
ramrods for Civil War muskets and keep a pretty good stock of leaded 
steel on hand from 1/4" to 3/4".
Jesse in very nice Troy TN where we await the next tornado alarum.
> 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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