Friday Brainstorming Fun

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KillerGriller

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Sep 4, 2018
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A friend of mine who works in heavy manufacturing were talking about tools, knifemaking, etc. Half joking, he asked me what he/we could do with an unused "mixed alloy" piece of steel he had at the office, I asked him for details and here's what he sent me:

~3" x 3" cylinder shape

C .25-.3% max
Mn .50-1%
Si .5-1.0%
P .02%
S .02% max
Cr 27-29%
Co 48-52%
Cb 2- 2.2%
Fe balance
​
As you can see it's mostly Cobalt, with very very little carbon, the question is: what can you do with it?

Any/All/Every ideas are accepted, creative is encouraged
 
I have no Idea of what the steel our friend has could be used for. I highly suggest checking out the health hazzards associated with grinding high cobalt steels.
Jim A.
 
I would use it as a paper wight or keep it in the cup holder of my car for self defense purposes ;). I'm probably not helping you Larrin but i'm interested to see what people come up with o_O.
 
Larrin
Thanks
I stand corrected! Well actually I'm sitting but it makes no difference. You are correct, it is not steel. I'm guessing whatever metallurgical category it falls into, that the grinding dust from it is not good for the lungs.
Jim A.
 
Larrin said:
If there is 50% cobalt and 20% iron it isn't steel.
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Sorry Larrin Larrin , I meant to write ""mixed alloy" piece of metal" ;)

From what I've gleaned from google machine, similar alloys are used in medical prosthetics (hips etc.) because of the high wear and corrosion resistance, though they tend contain more Ni. and not much Cb.

When we were discussing uses, my friend was joking about how many grinding disc/belts/wheels I'd need to do much with it, seeing the risk for particulate and gas inhalation I think I'll steer clear of that idea altogether. He mentioned heating too, though the main issue would be getting a ~1600C setup to get things moving :confused:

Does the wear resistance etc. of Cobalt/Chromium translate to impact resistance as well? i.e. - could this metal be used in a hammer/sledge/axe capacity?
 
KillerGriller said:
Sorry Larrin Larrin , I meant to write ""mixed alloy" piece of metal" ;)

From what I've gleaned from google machine, similar alloys are used in medical prosthetics (hips etc.) because of the high wear and corrosion resistance, though they tend contain more Ni. and not much Cb.

When we were discussing uses, my friend was joking about how many grinding disc/belts/wheels I'd need to do much with it, seeing the risk for particulate and gas inhalation I think I'll steer clear of that idea altogether. He mentioned heating too, though the main issue would be getting a ~1600C setup to get things moving :confused:

Does the wear resistance etc. of Cobalt/Chromium translate to impact resistance as well? i.e. - could this metal be used in a hammer/sledge/axe capacity?
Click to expand...

I doubt a cobalt-nickel alloy would be used as a human implant, due to the toxicity, allergic reactions, weight, mechanical properties, etc. but possibly for a medical tool of some sort. Maybe a good hammer, as some of the cobalt alloys are wear resistant because of carbides(?) but still pretty soft. Gonna have to beat on some things with the cylinder to find out. Sounds like it would be a great weapon if you put it in a sock.

If it was mine, I'd cut it into some blade handguards and pommels.
 
Im probably generalizing too much here but M42 cobalt drill bits have 8% cobalt I think. This is a completely different material but was designed for high heat high hardness applications. Awesome drill bits but very prone to chipping.
 
scott kozub said:
Im probably generalizing too much here but M42 cobalt drill bits have 8% cobalt I think. This is a completely different material but was designed for high heat high hardness applications. Awesome drill bits but very prone to chipping.
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Definitely not the same.
 
A little google-fu reveals the alloy you have is called "UmCo-51". It's a special purpose superalloy used in certain (but unspecified) jet engine components.

From what I can find, it's used in applications that require high strength at very high temperatures. It's a precipitation hardening material that also has to be properly aged to reach full strength.

I agree with Mecha Mecha - cutting it into guards & pommels is probably the best use you'll be able to find. It's pretty much useless for anything else knife related.

On a side note, that stuff is probably insanely expensive and will eat drills & saw blades for breakfast. It may not be worth the hassle.
 
Sam Dean said:
A little google-fu reveals the alloy you have is called "UmCo-51". It's a special purpose superalloy used in certain (but unspecified) jet engine components.

On a side note, that stuff is probably insanely expensive and will eat drills & saw blades for breakfast. It may not be worth the hassle.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sam! I bow to your Google-Fu mastery. It is a discarded piece from a production facility, and yes it's probably expensive but only if you need exactly that specific metal. I think you're probably right though, might not be worth the hassle.

Cheers
 
KillerGriller said:
Thanks Sam! I bow to your Google-Fu mastery. It is a discarded piece from a production facility, and yes it's probably expensive but only if you need exactly that specific metal. I think you're probably right though, might not be worth the hassle.

Cheers
Click to expand...


Totally worth the hassle for guards and pommels, imo! :D
 
Looks like one of the many alloys produced by the Cabbot Corp...(think Stellite)…..cobalt based...non-heat treatable...
and a real bear to grind...….but very wear resistant...…..and(since there's little iron) it won't rust....
 
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