"Gunsmithing " steel ????

R

RoyB

Member
Brownells used to sell small bars of a particular type of steel that machined beautifully and blued very nicely with cold blues.

I had a few pieces of it that I used to make sights, bases and other small parts.

Anyone know what type of steel this was and/or can you recommend they type of steel I should be buying for these uses?

Thanks!
 
I think any make of type 'O-1' steel will do what you want.
 
Looks like I found the answer

Stressproof 1144 or 12L14

Both of these machine nicely, polish well and blue beautifully..........or so the experts say.
 
One advantage of O-1 is that it can be hardened with nothing more than a welding torch and a can of oil. It makes very good 1/2 reamers and the like.

Ray
 
Thanks Louis,

But I'm looking for flat / bar stock.

Brownells used to sell it in small quantities.

I found 1144 and 12L14 from various online suppliers for little cost.

Thanks again
 
If you know what you are looking for you can order steel direct from a supplier and small quantities much less expensive than Brownells.

Hot roll, or cold roll. 1018, 4130, 4140, 12L14, A1, 01, and Stainless, Aluminum, Brass in about any shape and thickness.

Nat Lambeth
 
Roy, Stress Proof is a .40 carbon resuphurized steel with a high sulphur content, it gets it's strength from the manufacturing proccess, which is a type of cold drawing. It is great for making parts that do not have to be welded, or require a high degree of ductility. We use it to make pins and body fit bolts. It has a phenominol anti-gall quality.

12L14 is leaded mild steel. It has about the best machining capability as any steel made. Once again, it can be used in any application where the strength of mild steel is adequate but does not require high ductility numbers.

The reason ductility, (impact strength), suffers in these steels is because the free machining element, ie Sulphur and Lead, literally get between the molecules of the steel. They are not an actual "alloying agent in the sense of other elements such as manganese, nickle, molybnemum, chromium, vanadium,etc...........jackie
 
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Has anyone blued O-1? I thought it was difficult to blue and would show a reddish tint when blued but I haven't tried to do it myself.
 
garywfisher said:
Has anyone blued O-1? I thought it was difficult to blue and would show a reddish tint when blued but I haven't tried to do it myself.
Click to expand...

If you harden it and leave it hard it won't blue well. In it's annealed state it blues fine.
 
O-1 does not take bluing very well when it is in its usable form. Why use O-1 as it comes in the annealed state?? 1144 machines much nicer and takes bluing better and does most things well. If I am making a tool, I typically use A-2 tool steel as it can be quenched with just a fan- most folks don't have quenching oil around which needs to be heated to about 200 before quenching anyway.

parts made with A-2 don't tend to warp as the air quench is pretty easy on it unlike W or O type tool steels. I have never tried the leaded stuff.
 
Newbie questions: which steel for making leaf springs ?

TIA
 
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