need help with steel choice (non knife)

S

SR_matt

Joined
Jan 4, 2007
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623
ok so i know we have a lot of metallurgical types here, and a lot of real world experience with steel so i am turing here for info.

i am looking for a steel that will not create scale (or more realistically the least amount of it) when held at 900-1000*f for up to an hour at a time, and then heated in a 2200-2500*f furnace for a few mins at a time to keep it between 1200-1400*f (at least the glass it is holding in place gets to that, i think the steel might heat slower) for up to 10 mins. it will also be covered in "kiln wash" (supposed to be kaolin and alumina hydrate) but that usually flakes and wears off pretty fast. it will have to be able to hold up to air cooling, being dropped 3 feet while just glowing, and repetitive use.

any suggestions or am i looking for a steel that doesnt exist (i.e. no, to very low scale in this situation)

thanks
 
I am no metalurgy expert or anyting but sounds like you want low to no carbon steel, so maybe some sort of stainless or cobalt.

So what are you doing anyways?


-Xander
 
I dont think you need a steel at all. I think you need a "super alloy" called Inconel 625 I believe it will meet your requirements just fine. Sounds like your blowing glass?

Jason
 
If the steel isn't getting over 1400F the I don't think you're going to see a lot of scale. 4140 or some such should work just fine, imo.
 
I agree with Jason S Carter, you want inconel or a similar alloy. You could use pure tantalum, made by Cabot Super Metals, but getting your hands on it is difficult. Or pure tungsten.

As for something that is relatively affordable and available, 304H might work:

"Dual certified 304/304H is used as a material of construction up to 1500°F. Slight scaling begins at about 1200°F. "
 
thanks everyone,

i do not need very much of it (and will use it all the time so it might not be too bad to have to get somethign expensive. a foot of 3/8X3/8 is probably more than i need even.

acridsaint, i do not know exactly what temp it is getting to, it is being put into something that is 2200*f + for a min or 2 at a time, it doesnt really glow too much but what ever the crappy steel we are using has a good thick layer of scale on it (then again part of that might be from the amount of use they get).

yep i am blowing glass. xander for the basic explanation of exactly what i am doing:

i take rods of glass (that are either color with clear on the out side, color over clear or patterned) that are about pencil thick usually cut to about 5-6 inches. those get laid out side by side on a kiln shelf and then short pieces of steel about 3/8 thick are placed on the sides to keep them from rolling off. that whole thing gets preheated to 910*f then it gets put in the reheating furnace (a glory hole, yeah go a head and laugh) and we heat it and heel turning the plate until it is hot enough for the rods (cane) to stick together, then knock off the metal and fuse the glass a bit better. then i get some glass on the end of a pipe, clear out the hole and then roll up the flat sheet to make a tube with the pipe in one end of it. close off the end and gather more glass over it, make something with that and then you have a striped piece of blown glass ;)

thanks. i will start to shop and see what the prices end up being
-matt
 
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