an ongoing project if mine is to make bumping dies. i have annealed and bored out to .625 several conventional dies. i'm going to loctite or epoxy in .625 steel to drill and ream for the various sizes that i want to make. the question that i have is . is 12L14 ok to use? i also have 1144 which i think is tougher. i8 choose these because of the quality of the finish. i'm just a home hack machinist. comments please.
steel for bumping dies
- Thread starter porthos
- Start date
Ian
Notorious member
12L14 is low-carbon, not very hard, and doesn't heat treat well.
1144 stress-proof is tough but not really heat-treatable.
O-1 is what I'd use. It machines poorly (.4 on the finish scale) but polishes well in its annealed state and will heat treat without warpage to be hard as coffin nails. You want almost glass-hard for a bump die. Swaging dies take a lot more stress and must be tempered slightly.
1144 stress-proof is tough but not really heat-treatable.
O-1 is what I'd use. It machines poorly (.4 on the finish scale) but polishes well in its annealed state and will heat treat without warpage to be hard as coffin nails. You want almost glass-hard for a bump die. Swaging dies take a lot more stress and must be tempered slightly.