Tool steel id

Oct 25, 2004 5 Replies
T

I am going to buy about 2,000 lbs of steel round bar ranging 1" to 6" dia. in @ 3' long. The types are unknown although I suspect a lot of it is



0-1...it just feels and looks like 0-1 (I didn't smell it) I can spark-test for 0-1 and crs and try heat-treating some samples in-house. I was thinking of sending some slices to my heat-treater and have him treat it like various popular steels and see what comes out right. Is there a better way of distinguishing the types? I knew the guy that bought it to supply a small die operation but he's dead now. I just "feel" he would have bought 0-1 and D-2 and not exotic stuff.

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R

D-2 and O-1 are not interchangeable (perhaps you meant "or"?)

But anyway, I recently went to a materials test laboratory where they can test the composition of any steel, stainless steel or aluminum in about five minutes (spectroscopy, IIRC). Depending on the detectors installed on the machine, virtually any material can be tested.

I'm not sure how much the test costs, but if all your material is the same, it would probably be worth it.

Regards,

Robin

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T

There's about 40 pieces about 3' long of various dia. and "look" Some is sure to be 0-1 and some is sure to be D-2 but I am sure that it's not all the same.

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W

"There's about 40 pieces about 3' long of various dia. and "look" Some is sure to be 0-1 and some is sure to be D-2 but I am sure that it's not all the same."

O1 & D2 have distinctly different machinability characteristics. D2 is the 1 that is a miserable bitch to drill & mill compared to O1.

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T

I use both a lot. I'd rather machine 0-1 but D-2 holds-up longer in dies, under the right configuration. The answer for machining either is lots of horsepower and infallible rigidity.

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D

Spark test to determine if there are one, two , or three types of steel. Then spark test against know alloys. Dan

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