High Speed Steel
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HIGH-SPEED STEEL
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The Working Of Steel
For centuries the secret art of making tool steel was handed down
from father to son. The manufacture of tool steel is still an art
which, by the aid of science, has lost much of its secrecy; yet
tool steel is today made by practical men skilled as melters,
hammer-men, and rollers, each knowing his art. These practical
men willingly accept guidance from the chemist and metallurgists.
A knowledge of condit
ons existing today in the manufacture of
high-speed steel is essential to steel treaters. It is well for
the manufacturer to have steel treaters understand some of his
troubles and difficulties, so that they will better comprehend the
necessity of certain trade customs and practices, and, realizing
the manufacturer's desire to cooperate with them, will reciprocate.
The manufacturer of high-speed steel knows and appreciates the
troubles and difficulties that may sometimes arise in the heat-treating
of his product. His aim is to make a uniform steel that will best
meet the requirements of the average machine shop on general work,
and at the same time allow the widest variation in heat treatment
to give desired results.
High speed steel is one of the most complex alloys known. A
representative steel contains approximately 24 per cent of alloying
metals, namely, tungsten, chromium, vanadium, silicon, manganese,
and in addition there is often found cobalt, molybdenum, uranium,
nickel, tin, copper and arsenic.