making Stainless steel joint collars

Dave38

Dave38

theemperorhasnoclotheson
Silver Member
Does anyone out there make their own Stainless Steel joint collar from scratch? I have some stainless stock 1.3" dia. that is not doing anything and am wondering if it's worth while to make my own joint sleeves, and if if it's easy enough to, without having to buy special cutters that I don't already have. Ther other question would be how to buff it to the high shine? Thanks,
Dave
 
Hi Dave,
Definitely NOT worth the effort. You can buy them for under $3. ea. and starting with 1.3" mtrl. is a tremendous waste. Do you know the alloy ? Some cut easier than others (but not much). SS is a ***** to machine but a treat to TIG. Seriously, you're going to need a lot of carbide tooling (expensive) & I don't see it as being all that much fun. Good Luck though !!!
 
Dave, you got to ask others if it is OK for you to make your own joint collars?
If you feel like spending the time making them then do it.
Only you can judge what your time is worth.
 
I do little work with stainless, but in general there are some very different stainless steels out there, with very different machinabilities. You need to know what alloy you have, then you can determin how easy/difficult it will be to work and polish.

Dave
 
The type of S.S. is 303. I just happen to have it and my mind started to think of ways to use it. I'm always up for some fun, but if it is that tough and dangerous to do, then I think I'll pass and just find something else to do with it - paperweight.:D Thanks for the input guys,
Dave
 
> 303 is a free-machining stainless,probably easiest to cut next to 304. Once you start getting up in the 440C range,it gets really tough without carbide tooling or a toolpost-grinding setup,and more scrap than you might be prepared for. Drilling holes in it is tricky,and once again it requires ultra-fresh carbide drills/boring tools,along with omnipresent flood cooling. In my limited experience as a machinist student,it's easier to work on A2 tool steel than 440C stainless. Tommy D.
 
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