Tool steel

[transatlantic]

Does anyone have a link to a source of tool steel (for making wooden plane blades) that comes in at around 2-3mm thick, but with a range of widths 4-10mm? It seems that all the sources of o1 tool steel I can find starts at 10mm widths.

I have currently been using tool steel that I have been purchasing from ebay, but it only comes as square stock (3x3mm, 4x4mm, 5x5mm etc)

I came across this but I am not sure if it's going to be cheese, as it's super cheap.

 

[Inspector]

I think the risk of it being cheese is remote. The square stock you have been getting is likely from China too but with an added middleman or two. Any HSS tooling I have seen made in the US, Japan, Europe etc have all been individually etched saying so.

Pete

 

[Hlsmith]

Cromwell tools or zoro stock knife making steel in 3 and 4 mm by 20 to 50mm

 

[Phil Pascoe]

https://www.coventry-grinders.co.uk/pro ... uge-plate/

Might be of use.

 

[transatlantic]

Cromwell tools or zoro stock knife making steel in 3 and 4 mm by 20 to 50mm

I am looking for widths less than 10mm, about 2-3mm thick

E.g

2-3mm x 5mm
2-3mm x 6mm
2-3mm x 7mm

Etc

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[transatlantic]

I think the risk of it being cheese is remote. The square stock you have been getting is likely from China too but with an added middleman or two. Any HSS tooling I have seen made in the US, Japan, Europe etc have all been individually etched saying so.

Pete

I might try it then

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[transatlantic]

https://www.coventry-grinders.co.uk/product-category/gauge-plate/

Might be of use.

Still square stock for the sizes I want. [PERSEVERING FACE]

I did see the custom size option though.

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[Trevanion]

I'm guessing you're making plough plane blades or something similar? You could always do what they did with the older irons and grind down the first inch or so to the width you desire and leave the rest of the iron wide.

 

[marcros]

Are you wanting 01 or has? The former should cut fairly easily before hardening.

 

[transatlantic]

Are you wanting 01 or has? The former should cut fairly easily before hardening.

No real preference, just experimenting really. So either works for the time being. I thought o1 is harder (takes longer to sharpen), longer lasting edge, where as HSS is softer, easier to work, shorter lasting edge.

I assumed it was already hardened as the o1 steel I have recieved has been a nightmare to cut/grind, and was much easier to just snap

 

[bob543]

Just use gauge plate comes in sizes you want, so you can cut to length. I use it alot for making cutters etc... and i just heat in a normal propae/butane torch the bit i need hard and quench in water. (although i think your supposed to use oil for gauge plate). Never had any problems using the cutters on very hard hard exotic woods that i use.
Bob

 

[bob543]

I made a few planes recently for violin bowmaking and used cut up old hss planer blades off ebay for the blades.Though thats alot more work cutting them out using a diamond blade in an angle grinder and using those flat diamond lapping discs to shape them.

 

[lurker]

Might not be big enough, but I have made knife blades out of jigsaw blades

 

[transatlantic]

Just use gauge plate comes in sizes you want

Not that I can find? do you have a link?

It's always either 10mm or wider, or square stock

 

[Trevanion]

It's always either 10mm or wider, or square stock

I don't think you'll find anything narrower than 10mm, I think that's the beginning width for gauge plate from what I've seen everywhere.

I've always bought my O1 gauge plate and silver steel from Ground Flat Stock (GFS) who have very fair prices. As someone said above, O1 gauge plate isn't hardened in any way but it is a very rigid and brittle material to work with compared to mild steel so in some cases it is easier to snap pieces off as it doesn't really bend much without heat. On pieces that small it's fairly easy to harden and temper yourself with a MAPP blow torch.

 

[transatlantic]

It's always either 10mm or wider, or square stock

I don't think you'll find anything narrower than 10mm, I think that's the beginning width for gauge plate from what I've seen everywhere.

I've always bought my O1 gauge plate and silver steel from Ground Flat Stock (GFS) who have very fair prices. As someone said above, O1 gauge plate isn't hardened in any way but it is a very rigid and brittle material to work with compared to mild steel so in some cases it is easier to snap pieces off as it doesn't really bend much without heat. On pieces that small it's fairly easy to harden and temper yourself with a MAPP blow torch.

See, now this is what confuses me. I thought that hardened metal WAS rigid and brittle? and that non hardened was soft/malleable.

 

[Trevanion]

See, now this is what confuses me. I thought that hardened metal WAS rigid and brittle? and that non hardened was soft/malleable.

Well, hardened O1 is even more rigid and brittle than it's annealed state! :lol: It is workable in it's annealed state but it is much harder to saw or pein than say mild steel, in my experience anyway.

Some other steels will be much softer in their annealed state compared to their hardened state, even some unhardenable steels such as regular EN3 mild steel will be far softer than it's cousin EN8 mild steel because of the added nutrients and flavours in EN8.

 

[transatlantic]

See, now this is what confuses me. I thought that hardened metal WAS rigid and brittle? and that non hardened was soft/malleable.

Well, hardened O1 is even more rigid and brittle than it's annealed state! :lol: It is workable in it's annealed state but it is much harder to saw or pein than say mild steel, in my experience anyway.

Some other steels will be much softer in their annealed state compared to their hardened state, even some unhardenable steels such as regular EN3 mild steel will be far softer than it's cousin EN8 mild steel because of the added nutrients and flavours in EN8.

So could O1 in it's annealed state be usable as a plane blade? how would it compare to say, hardened HSS?

 

[Hattori-Hanzo]

Am I right in saying 01 tool steel/guage plate comes in an annealed form so you can cut it with a hack saw and shape it, you then have to heat treat it to harden it and then temper it.
You cant use 01 tool steel as a blade in its annealed form as far as I know.

HSS is already hardened so wont cut with a hacksaw, if you need to change its size you would have to grind it.

for a plane blade I'd go with 01 tool steel and harden, temper it. like mentioned you can do this easily on a small blade with a propane torch and some vegetable oil. Then temper it in an oven.

 

[rxh]

MACC Models have gauge plate (O1 steel) in a large number of thicknesses and widths.
As supplied in the annealed condition it can be sawn, drilled and filed but it is harder to work than mild steel (as stated by Trevanion). It is suitable for "backyard" heat treament, unlike some other tool steels.