Machining A2 Steel

[EdK]

I'm in the planning stages of making a carriage stop for my lathe and I have a chunk of A2 steel of the correct size. I'm wondering how this machines and if it's a good choice for the project? I also have a larger chunk of cast iron I could cut the piece out of to use if that would be a more appropriate material for the project. My mill is an Enco RF45 clone gear head mill.

Thanks,
Ed

[machine48]

A2 is an air harden tool steel that will machine with high speed or carbide tooling. Keep cutting oil on your cutting tool. It is a good steel for what you want to make.

[JimGlass]

When machining A-2 reduce your cutting speeds to about half when using HSS tools.

A-2 is my first choice when it comes to making parts that need to be heat treated. A-2 machines easily compared to D-2 and A-2 hardens readily after a minimum temperature is reached.

Jim

[737mechanic]

What software did you use to draw your parts with.

[Jose Rivera]

I would save that material for something in need of high quality hardening steel and use regular mild steel.
You'll have a screw acting as an adjuster that is going to take the load.

Just my 2 cents

[Harold_V]

I'm inclined to agree with Jose, although simply from an economical standpoint. It seems a waste of valuable material when more commonly available material will serve the purpose perfectly well.

Harold

[EdK]

Thanks for all of the comments. I think I'll follow Jose's and Harold's advise and save the good stuff for a proper application.

I'll just get a chunk of 1018 CRS since I need to make a visit to my local metal supplier anyway.

Thanks,
Ed

[EdK]

What software did you use to draw your parts with.

737mechanic,

I use Solid Edge 2D which is a free 2D CAD software package. It's a very powerful CAD package but fairly easy to learn. Any CAD software is going to have a steep learning curve though.

Ed