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Supplies Am I seeing this right?
- Thread starter Arbutus
- Start date
Supplies
TorontoBuilder
Sapientia et Doctrina Stabilitas
How do I say this without violating the rules, I'll just say that this is the result of artificial inflationWhat on earth has happened ?
Thats four times what I paid last year.
Local supplier:
View attachment 60090
I just needed a 2x2x0.25" piece!
Coincidentally I was specifically looking for metric O1. First in euro suppliers (spendy) then Ebay (slim pickens) then in my usual dark alley (AliExpress). If 'tool steel' is there, its well disguised. They have reasonably priced HSS as in cutting tool blanks. All kinds of carbide in many shapes. Hardened tool steel (I guess shafting & ground blanks?. But yet to see classic O or W or A. I've tried as many keywords as come to mind: O1, A2, oil, water, air, with/without 'quench', high carbon, tool steel, annealed. soft... No hits. Yet you can find oodles of finished products that were obviously made from the stuff. Surprising really, they offer stock in so many other alloys. Now would it be real or come with a spec sheet... the usual disclaimers. First it needs to be found. Maybe this is the domain of Alibaba not AliExpress?
Maybe the Bladesmith crowd has some sources, these prices must be killing them
Maybe the Bladesmith crowd has some sources, these prices must be killing them
McMaster Carr stocks Metric O1. But....
Drill rod (aka silver steel, eutectic steel, etc) is also available from MSM but not metric.
Noted.
Also add to list - Travers & KBC. Both sell rod form & rectangular stock. In rod form, metric was available up to certain sizes. But I don't think as much, if any metric square/rectangular bars but it's been a while since I looked. Usually for me doesn't matter as it is being machined to some dimension anyways so next closest size is typically OK. But like you, I noticed price spike so was kind of looking around for that reason. Now I wonder if this political turmoil will result in X years from now we say, dang that was cheap :/
Also, cant recall where I saw it, some suppliers make a distinction of 'precision ground' flat stock vs 'ground flat stock' in tool steels, with a big price difference. If you don't require that precision then obviously something to be aware of. I recall the regular grade round was something like +/-0.0003" sectional for reference & maybe varies by diameter. Can't' recall tolerance on rectangular but I'm sure its specified somewhere.
Also add to list - Travers & KBC. Both sell rod form & rectangular stock. In rod form, metric was available up to certain sizes. But I don't think as much, if any metric square/rectangular bars but it's been a while since I looked. Usually for me doesn't matter as it is being machined to some dimension anyways so next closest size is typically OK. But like you, I noticed price spike so was kind of looking around for that reason. Now I wonder if this political turmoil will result in X years from now we say, dang that was cheap :/
Also, cant recall where I saw it, some suppliers make a distinction of 'precision ground' flat stock vs 'ground flat stock' in tool steels, with a big price difference. If you don't require that precision then obviously something to be aware of. I recall the regular grade round was something like +/-0.0003" sectional for reference & maybe varies by diameter. Can't' recall tolerance on rectangular but I'm sure its specified somewhere.
gerritv
Gerrit
KBC Tools is my go to for drill rod. Metric and inferial. Better pricing than anywhere else in my experience (I love the stuff 
They also stock Starrett brand flat stock. The A2 is available in 18" lengths as well as 36"
O1, W1, A2 are north american designations, not likely to see those referred to elsewhere. There are of course equivalents in rest of world.
gerrit
They also stock Starrett brand flat stock. The A2 is available in 18" lengths as well as 36"
O1, W1, A2 are north american designations, not likely to see those referred to elsewhere. There are of course equivalents in rest of world.
gerrit
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That's a very good point. Still no search hits on Ali. For what I need the usual N-Am suppliers have worked ok, But like many things prices going nutty.
O1 Tool Steel | 1.2510 | 100MnCrW4 | SKS3
O1 Tool Steel VS DIN 1.2510/100MnCrW4 VS JIS G4404 SKS3, cold works tool steel, widely used cold forming dies, blanking dies, and cutting tools operating
www.astmsteel.com
MrWhoopee
Well-Known Member
Don't know if it will help up north, but I've been getting better prices than McMaster, and some sizes they don't offer, here, :
Tool Steel Service of California, Inc.
Tool Steel Service of California is a premier distributor of Tool Steel, Low Carbon Steel, Drill Rod, & Precision Ground Flat Stock. Buy Tool Steel online!
toolsteelservice.com
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