File Test for Work Hardened Steel
File Test for Work Hardened Steel
(OP)
File Test for Work Hardened Steel
Saw steel for sawmills should be in the low Rockwell C about 40 – 45 roughly.
The heat from brazing the carbide tips to the steel saw plate can raise the hardness to somewhere in the low 60s Rc.
Saw steel also work hardens. The gullets will work hard after enough use.
Hard saw steel is likely to snap off in use. Saw steel with an outer hardness layer is likely to be a source of crack initiation and consequent ripping of the steel.
The current test for hardness is a round file test. An ordinary round file will slide across Rockwell C 60 steel. It will bite into Rockwell 40 steel.
Unfortunately, any sort of a test that causes any kind of an indentation in the steel is out of the question.
The file test, as it stands now, is pretty unsophisticated.
I would sincerely appreciate any comments anyone cared to make about the current test method or about the situation in general.
Sincerely,
Tom Walz
Saw steel for sawmills should be in the low Rockwell C about 40 – 45 roughly.
The heat from brazing the carbide tips to the steel saw plate can raise the hardness to somewhere in the low 60s Rc.
Saw steel also work hardens. The gullets will work hard after enough use.
Hard saw steel is likely to snap off in use. Saw steel with an outer hardness layer is likely to be a source of crack initiation and consequent ripping of the steel.
The current test for hardness is a round file test. An ordinary round file will slide across Rockwell C 60 steel. It will bite into Rockwell 40 steel.
Unfortunately, any sort of a test that causes any kind of an indentation in the steel is out of the question.
The file test, as it stands now, is pretty unsophisticated.
I would sincerely appreciate any comments anyone cared to make about the current test method or about the situation in general.
Sincerely,
Tom Walz
Thomas J. Walz
Carbide Processors, Inc.
www.carbideprocessors.com
Good engineering starts with a Grainger Catalog.





RE: File Test for Work Hardened Steel
There was a post somewhere on this site where a poster wanted to use a hardness tester that few had heard of. Some European company had a hardness tester that worked on an (as near as could be determined from my admittedly brief look at their website) electrical resistivity principle. I'd think it hard (but not impossible) to calibrate electrical resistivity to hardness for a given alloy...might be worth a google search and a phone call.
RE: File Test for Work Hardened Steel
http:/
apparently, the electrical resistance is changing due to depth of penetration of the indenter, not bulk resistance change of the alloy due to cold working. Not sure if this is the same site or not, but it might be the same principle.
RE: File Test for Work Hardened Steel
RE: File Test for Work Hardened Steel
Lastly, using the non-standard methods above, or some other direct measurement (does the thickness of the plate near the gullets increase as they work harden) - could you serialize the saw plate and keep a data log book for it, and track changes over time to indicate work hardening?
RE: File Test for Work Hardened Steel
RE: File Test for Work Hardened Steel
Aaron Tanzer
www.lehightesting.com