Steel…what kind?…

[lancelotParticipant @lancelot]

Hi folks…working on my Corliss build and making fork ends for the occilating drive rods…I managed to scrounge a section of steel from an engineering shop and went ahead to make them…I was soon to discover easier said than done…this stuff was like armour plate…very hard to get a good finish on cut …tended to tear rather than cut and difficult to file…also gave off streams of small yellowish white tiny sparks on touchíng the buff wheel…any thoughs on what this material could be…

Lancelot.

[lancelotParticipant @lancelot]

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Useless

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

Sounds like very high carbon. Bin it and start again with a known quantity.

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

What size size/shape of section did you scrounge? Would you say it was heavier or lighter than mild steel or about the same? Is it magnetic or not?

Rik

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

What you have described sounds just like titanium! You can test it if you have some swarf from the material. Gather a small pinch and light it with a blowtorch. If it bursts into bright white sparks it's titanium.

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