Metal Material Suppliers

[Ray SpreadburyParticipant @rayspreadbury58704]

[Ray SpreadburyParticipant @rayspreadbury58704]

I’ve been looking at a couple of Harold Hall’s books in the Workshop Practice Series with the intention of building a Grinding rest for Tool & Cutter sharpening. He specifies using 070M20 steel in one book & 230M07 in another book both in metric dimensions. I’ve looked up these steels and think I understand the principle difference is in their milling capability.

 

I then look in the magazines (ME, MEW) for material suppliers and those ads & websites I’ve noticed specify for example – BMS (British/Black/Bright? Mild Steel?) in flats, rounds hexagons etc all in Imperial or for example

Precision Ground Flatstock (in metric) or for example

Black Mild Steel or for example

Bright Mild Steel or for example Silver Steel

but certainly no mention of the 070M20 or the 230M07!

Just realised that 230M07 is also known as EN1A & that 070M20 is also known as EN3B but is this convention used?

So, which metal suppliers do you all use or recommend?

 

Do you bother whether it is070M20 or 230M07 or BMS or whatever?

 

Help Please

Regards

Ray

 

 

 

Edited By Ray Spreadbury on 04/12/2009 17:23:43

[wheeltapperParticipant @wheeltapper]

Most places will know the various code No’s.

I use en1a for most things(including this 

 

have you looked in yellow pages for steel stockists?

I found one near me in Norwich and he is waaay cheaper. He’ll cut off short ends as well.

 

cheers

Roy

[mgjParticipant @mgj]

230M07 is simply a  leaded sulphur bearing machining mild.in the cold rolled or drawn condition. lovely stuff – cuts a treat with a super finish.

070M20 is a bright drawn steel, without the lead and the sulphur, of about the same elongation, UTS as 220M07. But it tends to be a little harder.

 

I think you’ll find that 220M07 (which equates roughly with EN1a in oldspeak) comes as rounds. 070M20 will be drawn flats. 

 

Would I make the effort to get 220M07. Certainly did. – all my round bar is because its just so easy to machine. Purpose designed for the job.  Would it matter if I used 20 carbon or even 40 carbon steels for this job. Not at all. Just a bit stronger and a bit harder and doesn’t finish so well.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Support a fellow model engineer. call Folkestone Engineering Supplies, http://www.metal2models.co.uk   Talk to John for all your needs.

[Ray SpreadburyParticipant @rayspreadbury58704]

Posted by wheeltapper on 04/12/2009 17:30:48:

 

have you looked in yellow pages for steel stockists?

I found one near me in Norwich and he is waaay cheaper. He’ll cut off short ends as well.

 

cheers

Roy

 

 

 Hi Roy

 

 That’s the Grinding Rest I was thinking about!

 

I live in Suffolk so I’m interested to know which stockist in Norwich that you mean.

 

Cheers

Ray

Edited By Ray Spreadbury on 04/12/2009 19:44:52

[wheeltapperParticipant @wheeltapper]

Hi

They are called Ace Metals.

if you have the 2009-10 Yellow pages look on page 901 under metal, they have a box ad.

 

they are on an ind estate off the Dereham rd, just outside the western edge of the outer ring road.

It’s best to ring first to make sure they have what you need, ask for Greg.

 

hope this helps.

cheers

Roy

[Martin CottrellParticipant @martincottrell21329]

Hi Ray,

 

You pose a very interesting question regarding steel choices and the various coded titles given to the various grades. To novices like you and I with probably little or no formal “engineering” education (sorry if I’m making incorrect assumptions on your part!), it would be good to have some form of reference as to the  different properties of the materials and their corresponding codes. It doesn’t need to be a materials degree course, just something simple like the excellent reply from Meyrick.

 

This would also apply to the other commonly used materials used by us ME’s such as brass, bronze, aluminium, stainless steels, plastics etc. David, if you are reading this, would it perhaps be the basis for a short series of articles in ME or MEW?

 

Regards, Martin.

[wheeltapperParticipant @wheeltapper]

I just remembered something, if you go to the Folkstone engineering site http://www.metal2models.btinternet.co.uk/

they have a section of technical data on alloy, brass,copper,bronze,steel and stainless.

it lists all the codes and specs.

click on “engineering  catalogue” and “technical information” is down the l/h side.

 

there’s all sorts of interesting stuff.

 

cheers

Roy

[mgjParticipant @mgj]

You need the model Engineers Handbook – Tubal Cain.

 

Incidentally, look at live Steam models website. They have a comprehensive range of steel, and I have yet to find anyone cheaper. 

 

I bought basic stocks of 1/4″. 3/8 etc up to 1.1/8″ in 3 meter lengths form my local steel stockists – they guillotined them into 1m lengths.

Any other stuff plus stainless I get from LSM mainly in 1 m lengths.

 

Stainless. Goes by many names, but broadly there are 2 classes that we are interested in – and both are austenitic (refers to the grain structure) One is the weldables like TP304 etc. The others are the free machining ones. Get the right one for your purpose or you will really know about it. Its a nuisance because a lot of people still refer ot 18/8 etc. But the catalogues don’t call it that. so make sure you look for free machining stainless (which is quite pleasant stuff to use) and don’t weld it – silver solder instead using the right flux. (NOT Easyflo or equivalent)

Edited By meyrick griffith-jones on 04/12/2009 21:19:32

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Have a look at This site it gives some good info

 

If you click BS 970 steels it gives the EN equivalent of the BS ref and a general description of the steels properties.

 

Jason

[mgjParticipant @mgj]

Thats quite a good site for a general description.Trouble it is doesn’t quote values, so it doesn’t seem to say what E or the UTS is, which is a pity.

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