matt993fod Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 One of the first tools I intend to make is a hot set. I can't see the point in heat-treating the finished product, as the heat from whatever you were cutting would knacker this pretty quickly. Since I am not going to heat treat, is there any particular point in me making it from (harder to work for a beginner like myself) tool steel, or would it work perfectly well when made from mild steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 5160 leaf spring is a good choice as well. It's very forgiving and takes impact well. H13 being probably one of the best but it's harder to work and expensive by comparison. I wouldn't use mild but I wouldn't go for expensive specialty alloys either. For decent field expedients think; splitting maul, jack hammer bit, large hot chisel, etc. For salvaged material think, leaf spring, rail clips, coil spring, (more work) axel, (lots more work) and so on. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt993fod Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 Many thanks for the advice. I have a scrapyard around the back of my house, so scrap metal is no problem. I was thinking perhaps of using a halfshaft? It would be a lot more work, but all of the leaf springs I have kicking around use multiple slim leaves, so wouldnt make a very good size set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt87 Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Some vehicles have axles designed in two halves, each going to a wheel from the differential. Each of these is a half-shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt993fod Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 That's the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 H13 makes an excellent hot cut. I have one forged from 3/4 round that is spread to 2" wide by 2" tall and about 3/16 thick at the shaft, tapering down to 1/32" or so. It will cut through a piece of hot 3/4 square in 3 good licks. The edge will not curl or deform if I use a soft piece of scrap aluminum or copper underneath the stock. You can also water cool H13 to keep the edge from overheating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 My experience has been this: known scrapped items such as hex key stock ( allen wrenches ) make excellent tools ( I have a round nosed punch forged from 1" hex key stock). sometimes you will find a broken piece of this in a scrap bin. Yes, it forges hard- very hard. Coiled or leaf spring works well, yes. I have used broken breaker bar or ratchet handles for inserts on spring fullers ( placed in the hardy hole ). I have used broken bearing races to use in guillotine tools ( and also have mild steel fullers in the same set of tooling ). Mild steel will forge hot steel in many instances. H-13 is mighty nice for tools too. Overhead door spring will make nice little chisels and gouges for gunstock work as well as strikers and points for forged dividers and the like. A water quenched fine point may break off but still will cut glass. Tools found in a garage sale box ( or auction ) will re-work into many needed items if you know old tools in any respect to what they were designed for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I get plenty of free big rebar here (1" plus) . Junk yard rules apply so sometimes I have to experiment to get the heat treatment just right but that is no big deal. It makes good hot or cold sets. I would certainly heat treat. You are not going to have your hot steel on there long enough for it to be altering the nature of the set unless you are doing huge amounts of repetitive high temperature work. Even if this is likely to be the case make the tool big with a wide edge and you will reduce the effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 depends if you mean mild steel or the steel that we buy from the steel supplier. The steel we buy now is not mild steel. Some of it is called A36 and is called this because it has been recycled so many times it can't be call mild steel. This steel can be case hardened very nicely. I haven't seen good mild steel in years. A little over 20 years now. I buy old cold chisels and the like at second hand stores for usually $1 each if I buy all they got. This makes most of my tools and I bought a bunch of H13 a number of years ago which I am using up. Axles make good tools and a collection of sledge hammers I got from a foundry i forge into tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I am going to have to agree on the new steel being junk comparitively speaking ( some of it for sure). Calling this mild steel, I do use it for tooling to forge into or forge with from time to time though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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