1/2" x 1/2" M2 steel

[odie]

Anyone know where I can get 1/2" x 1/2" M2 HSS steel in lengths of around 8-10", or longer, if possible?

Something like this, but longer:

I have been buying these Sorby extra heavy duty scraper tools from Woodcraft, but would like to just get the steel without having to buy the entire pre-made tool:
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/sorby-extra-heavy-duty-scraper-1-2-round-nose

Any help is appreciated.
thanks, -----odie-----

 

[Dwight R Rutherford]

Have tried MSC and McMaster-Carr?

 

[Joe Kaufman]

KBC tools & Machinery https://www.kbctools.com/itemdetail/1-420-125
1/2" X 8 HS Square Bit - $19, 5% Cobalt More $'s

Call and ask if they have longer lengths. I purchased 1/4 round X 12" a few years ago, it was not listed in the catalog.

 

[Bill Boehme]

McMaster-Carr has M4 and A11 high speed steel, however, it hasn't been hardened and tempered to maximum hardness so it will have a hardness of about HRC 30 which might be hard enough. The process of hardening and tempering any high speed steel is way beyond our capability because of the precise high temperature and timing profile. I think it would be much better to use a tool steel such as O1 or W1. The cost is far less and the hardening and tempering can be done using a MAPP torch and an oven. If it isn't being used as a cutting tool then mild steel might be sufficient.

 

[Dean Center]

I didn't find any at MSC, but Grainger has the tool steel, albeit at an "Ouch!" price.
https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Oil-Hard-Flat-Stock-33D777

 

[Richard Shelby]

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/00370999

This is M42, bu tthey have other grades of steel and lots of dimensions

 

[Bill Boehme]

You're probably not going to save much money, but you could see if Griggs Steel will sell small quantities of M2 or M42.

 

[Michael Mills]

I usually get mine from WTTools.
https://www.wttool.com/search/go?w=bits
They are under "bits"; the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 are all they normally have in 8" length.
The 1/2" standard M2 is usually $9 or with 5% cobalt $15.

 

[robo hippy]

@odie, What is the intended use for this tool. The blank above looks like a bedan type tool. I am wondering if some of the tantung, which is the cutting material I use on the Big Ugly tools would work...

robo hippy

 

[odie]

@odie, What is the intended use for this tool. The blank above looks like a bedan type tool. I am wondering if some of the tantung, which is the cutting material I use on the Big Ugly tools would work...

robo hippy

I use them for shear scraping, robo.......

I usually get mine from WTTools.
https://www.wttool.com/search/go?w=bits
They are under "bits"; the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 are all they normally have in 8" length.
The 1/2" standard M2 is usually $9 or with 5% cobalt $15.

Thanks for the heads-up on this suggestion, Michael. The 1/2 x 1/2 M2 here is only 6" long, but at $7.50 each, I think I can use them and still save some money. I'll only be able to use about 2" of it's length before it's too short for my purposes.

(Note: I'm not interested in cobalt, or any of the exotic steels more commonly used by other turners. IMHO, the M2 steel is perfect because it dulls at just the right rate to keep the cutting edge within the best range of sharpness. Granted, you do have to sharpen more often, but the overall results on the tooled surface of a cross grain bowl is better by adhering to this philosophy.....)

Thanks to all for your replies.....
-----odie-----

 

[robo hippy]

Hmm, Odie, for me, that piece is very small for shear scraping, but I do prefer bigger and heavier tools because they feel better in my hands than smaller ones. Look up Doug Thompson's fluteless gouge. His 5/8 one might work, but again for me, I find it a bit small for shear scraping the inside of a bowl. I prefer a spear point type tool for the outside, and a ) nose on a scraper for the inside.

robo hippy

 

[odie]

Hmm, Odie, for me, that piece is very small for shear scraping, but I do prefer bigger and heavier tools because they feel better in my hands than smaller ones. Look up Doug Thompson's fluteless gouge. His 5/8 one might work, but again for me, I find it a bit small for shear scraping the inside of a bowl. I prefer a spear point type tool for the outside, and a ) nose on a scraper for the inside.

robo hippy

Thanks for the suggestion, Robo......but, I definitely know what I want, and have been using. I have a specific purpose for this 1/2 x 1/2 scraper, but it's far from the only scraper that I use......I use many scrapers in various shapes and configurations.

-----odie-----

 

[Richard Shelby]

I use these frequently for small details. Galvanized water pipe with replaceable bits.They can be ground to shape for details like cove or bead for basket illusion, etc.




Harbor freight also has a set of M2 metal lathe bits at $4.49 https://www.harborfreight.com/5-pie...-tool-bits-for-metalworking-lathes-40641.html Includes a 1/4 x 2" piece.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Odie I think that a more derailed description of what you want to do would help

 

[odie]

I usually get mine from WTTools.
https://www.wttool.com/search/go?w=bits
They are under "bits"; the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 are all they normally have in 8" length.
The 1/2" standard M2 is usually $9 or with 5% cobalt $15.

Thanks again, Michael.......I ordered 5 of the 1/2" x 1/2" x 6" standard M2 tool bits.....(too bad they're not available in longer lengths).....I can use about 2" of the length before they get a little too short for my purposes. That makes about 10" of usable length.....and still MUCH cheaper than buying the Sorby heavy duty scrapers I had been using for this.

Odie I think that a more derailed description of what you want to do would help

Bill......I'm using them as detail shear scrapers, using my homemade handles. For these, I use manually raised burs exclusively. Visualize this: With the 1/2" x 1/2" square tool bit, and using it as a shear scraper, the weight and fulcrum of the tool is closer to the cutting edge......I think that's an important consideration to contemplate, as well as put into physical action.

I've been so financially handicapped that, over the years, I've made hundreds of home made tools and jigs......Being so short on budget cash can be viewed as a blessing, as well as a handicap......depends on how you look at it! I haven't had the luxury of being able to throw money at my turning endeavors, so for many of my turning tasks, I've had to improvise, with a little added "fly at the seat of my pants" creativity! (In the final analysis, it does tend to make the overall learning process take on a whole new perspective that isn't apparent when you just buy tools and jigs that are pre-made for someone else's purposes! )

(BTW, Bill......hope you are making progress, and will be making shavings again very soon! )



-----odie-----

 

[Clifton C]

Odie, growing up I always heard, "poverty is the mother of invention". Left home and learned, "necessity" started the actual proverb. I still use the former...
As for pre-made jigs, I've had to fix, fettle and fine tune some to the point it would have been quicker/cheaper to have made them myself... Still learning after all these years.


I can see that the top of this tool is sharpened/profiled for shear scraping, but what about the other edge? Is this tool sharpened "on the bias"?

 

[odie]

I can see that the top of this tool is sharpened/profiled for shear scraping, but what about the other edge? Is this tool sharpened "on the bias"?

Howdy, Clifton........

Well, it could be used that way, I suppose......interesting that you thought of that. It wouldn't be difficult to give that a try, and I may do just that! I have a duplicate tool sharpened with the opposite curved angle that serves the same purpose.......

-----odie-----

 

[odie]

As for pre-made jigs, I've had to fix, fettle and fine tune some to the point it would have been quicker/cheaper to have made them myself... Still learning after all these years.

I'd have to go look and verify this......but, I've also purchased pre-made jigs, and off hand, I don't think there is a single one that I haven't modified in some way, or another.

On the other hand......."necessity" and "poverty" have some inclusive relationship to one another......you think?

Thanks for the comments.......made me contemplate a bit!......could be dangerous!

-----odie-----

 

[Bill Boehme]

Thank you odio. I'm still in the hospital. Some days I feel good and last night I figured that they might as well dig a hole and throw me in it. I'm starting to feel a little better this morning.

I can relate to your financial difficulties. After the war when I was a small child, we were so poor that we lived in a shed with a dirt floor. My dad would try to kill rabbits with a slingshot by the RR tracks. I was the first in my family to go to college, but I had to work my own way through. But, after a few years I was finally able to start earning a good living.

 

[Jim Selby]

I bought a2 hss at the metal supermarket, 1/4 x1 1/8 x 36 cost me about 40.00, I know they do online ordering and quotes for nationwide service. I'm lucky to have one local to me.

 

[Reuben Flax]

Odie,
Have you considered welding your m2 square stock onto the end of a longer piece of mild steel? It will increase the overhang and give you a better chance of using the full length of your good steel. If you are buying it already hardened you could keep a wet rag on the steel while you weld to act as a heat sink. If you're going to be heat treating it then no additional precautions are necessary.

 

[odie]

Odie,
Have you considered welding your m2 square stock onto the end of a longer piece of mild steel? It will increase the overhang and give you a better chance of using the full length of your good steel. If you are buying it already hardened you could keep a wet rag on the steel while you weld to act as a heat sink. If you're going to be heat treating it then no additional precautions are necessary.

That is a thought, Reuben.........Off hand, it may, or may not interfere with sharpening operations on my Wolverine platform......that is, if the welded piece isn't in perfect allignment with the M2 shank.......?

-----odie-----

 

[Roger Wiegand]

these folks appear to sell pre hardened M2 in most any size you want: https://www.griggssteel.com/inventory/hardened-bars/

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Of course Thompson does sell a ½” blank, $35--, doesn’t say how long it is though, but easy to find out ;-))