Tool Steel

[John Powers]

I got a nice cheap Wards #45. Had one cutter in it. I had a little piece of 0 1 steel from McMaster and Carr and made another for cutting a 1/4 inch groove to accept a plywood panel. I followed advice on heat treating I got here and elsewhere and it seems hard and sharp although I admit getting a "straw" color in the oven was hit and miss.

If I were to buy one piece of steel to make a blade from time to time as needed what would that steel be? I was going to buy a piece 24" X 1/2" X ?, as I don't have a micrometer and I don't know how thick the real cutter is. Any advice is appreciated.

[William Drylie]

I used 1/8" thick O-1 to make blades for a stanley 45. Seemed a bit thicker than the originals but it worked.

Bill

[Matt Edwards]

Part Number: 9516K219 (http://www.mcmaster.com/itm/find.ASP?tab=find&context=psrchDtlLink&fasttrack=False&searchstring=9516K219) $27.41 Each
Alloy
O1
Material
Multipurpose Oil-Hardened O1 Tool Steel
Finish/Coating
Ground
Shape
Sheets, Bars, and Strips
Sheets, Bars, and Strips Type
Plain
Thickness
1/8"
Thickness Tolerance
±.001"
Length
18"
Length Tolerance
+1/4"
Width
3-1/2"
Width Tolerance
+.005"
Flatness Tolerance
Not Rated
Tolerance
Precision-Ground
System of Measurement
Inch
Temper/Condition
Annealed
Hardness
Rockwell B85-B96
Maximum Attainable Hardness
Rockwell C60-C65
Yield Strength
50,000 to 60,000 psi
Specifications Met
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
ASTM Specification
ASTM A681


This is what I would get. I am by no means an expert at making cutters, but I have made a few for a Stanley #50. Very similar cutters to the 45 except a little shorter in over all length and not as many different cutters for a 50.

My line of thinking is to keep the amount of cutting required for a blank to a minimum. With 3 1/2 wide stock, it'd be one long cut. But you'd be starting with 2 squared ends on the blank.

I'm sure some of the more experianced metal workers will join in with more and better info.

Matt

[Alan DuBoff]

There are various steels you could use, O1 is good because it can be hardened/tempered in oil, just as 5160 can. 5160 is the common steel to find in car leaf springs and coil springs for suspension, typically...

Other oil hardening steels would work also, like 1080, it's commonly used in knives.

For this application, even W1 which hardens in water, would probably work. I don't care to work with W1 though, it's not very tough.

I'm not too familiar with the 45, so not sure what the cutters look like. You might be able to file spring steel and not worry about tempering, if you don't have to heat it up. Once you heat it to anneal it, you will need to temper it for use. However, with a hand file you can create your own cutters for beaders and scrapers using spring steel, in that case any 'ol saw blade could work to cut up. Hack saw and a file could work for that.

A2, which is popular is more difficult to work with and temper properly, but I have heard of people having good success with techniques to wave it around to cool/harden it. I think O1 is safer for the home hobbyist myself, and would steer folks away from A2.

How thick are the cutters?

[Jim Koepke]

Blades for the Stanley 45 are not very expensive. I have bought a bunch of the #9 blade, which is 1-1/4 inch, for making custom blades.

Jake Darvall has posted a few threads on making custom blades.

Here is one of them:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=41979

What ever you do, let us know and post some pics.

jim

[John Powers]

The one cutter that came in the plane looks to be 1/8" thick. The cutter I ground out of 01 is shy of that thickness but resulted in a usable cutter. These things are really a gizmo heads dream aren't they.

[Matt Edwards]

Yes John they are. <g>

I started out with a 45 and 1 cutter, I now have 2 45's a 46 and a 50. I was fortunate enuff to find a full set of cutters for the 45's and the 46 came with them. The 50 had no cutters when I got it, so far I've made 5 and they all work well. I still have alot to learn about them, but I'm enjoying the trip so far.

I've heard/read that the 55 is the king of the gizmo's. Some day maybe one will come my way.

Matt