Another mystery metal (tool steel)

This topic has 8 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 6 December 2025 at 17:58 by Fulmen.

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

Author

Posts
5 December 2025 at 17:03 #827824
Fulmen
Participant
@fulmen
So they threw out a bent die for the press brake and I couldn’t avoid noticing the marking:

Anything you can harden to 56HRc should be useful material, right? But what could it be? O1?
Advert

5 December 2025 at 22:14 #827856
Huub
Participant
@huub
Silversteel and C45 can be hardened to 56 Hrc and more
5 December 2025 at 23:23 #827861
duncan webster 1
Participant
@duncanwebster1
There are lots of steels which can be hardened to 56 Hrc, the chances of finding which one you’ve got are slim. Best chance is to find the original drawing if this is a bespoke component.
6 December 2025 at 05:25 #827873
Diogenes
Participant
@diogenes
It looks like a guide rail, so probably at 56Hrc already.

Ask Lefebvre, Van Neste and Dewulf what it’s made of.

https://www.lvdgroup.com/en/about-lvd
6 December 2025 at 09:35 #827887
Fulmen
Participant
@fulmen
I know it’s impossible to identify the actual steel, but perhaps we could ballpark it? I agree you can get simple carbon steel up to 56HRc, but it would be pretty brittle at that point and not very suitable.

When I get my furnace fixed I can test it more thoroughly but it’s nice to know roughly what I’m dealing with.
6 December 2025 at 11:35 #827914
Robert Atkinson 2
Participant
@robertatkinson2
Likely to be a high alloy steel. A common type for this application is chromium-molybdenum alloy e.g. 42CrMo4.
Depends on what material the die was being used for. The hardness value on the die is likely to be what it is, not the maximum the steel can acheive.

A scrapman with a spark spectrometer or it’s modern replacement the X-ray fluorescence “gun” will be able to tell you what it is.
6 December 2025 at 11:43 #827915
Tony Pratt 1
Participant
@tonypratt1
On 6 December 2025 at 09:35 Fulmen Said:

I know it’s impossible to identify the actual steel, but perhaps we could ballpark it? I agree you can get simple carbon steel up to 56HRc, but it would be pretty brittle at that point and not very suitable.

When I get my furnace fixed I can test it more thoroughly but it’s nice to know roughly what I’m dealing with.

You are missing a fundamental part of steel heat treatment, first the steel is heat treated to it’s maximum hardness, say 62/65RC and then tempered back to the desired hardness, in this case 56RC. This figure is not particularly brittle.

Tony
6 December 2025 at 12:50 #827921
jaCK Hobson
Participant
@jackhobson50760
At that hardness I’d guess steel is more like D2 or some version of CR12.

D2 is tricky to anneal if you wanted to machine it. It should forge OK but stiff under hammer. Good for tooling and even knife blades.

(I refer to the android app: Knife Steel Chart from zknives.com)
6 December 2025 at 17:58 #827956
Fulmen
Participant
@fulmen
Something like D2 or CR12 sounds like good candidates. I guess it’s worth hanging on to even if it’s a bit large and unwieldy.
Author

Posts