Cleaning up bar stock

SYD32

SYD32

Well-Known Member
I recently purchased 6 feet of 5/32 x 1 1/2 CPM 154 CM. The steel is very rough on the surface, lots of pits and dimples. I've been cutting out the profile of the knife then trying to true it up on 9" disk sander or on the flat platen of my TW-90. I am not getting very good results with this. A: it is very time intensive. B. I burning through a lot of belts and disks. I guess I should order my steel precision ground next time. Any other suggestions or tricks to cleaning up the flats of the blades?


Thanks

Sabri
 
soak in vinegar overnight and alot of the scale will dissolve. You can do a much shorter soak in hydrocloric acid but that is alot more dangerous to work with than vinegar.
 
I know EXACTLY what you are dealing with, because I am doing the SAME thing with a some CPM154CM I got this summer! Its not a matter of scale, it is actual pitting in the surface of the material. The only option is to grind it out, or evenly work it down, until you can leave the flats with a "rough and tough" texture... I guess....
 
Ronald P. Rochon said:
?. Is there any purveyer out there that sells cpm-154 precision ground ? Ron.
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I know exactly the pain of getting it down to bare metal. I hate it myself. Before I got into the supply business I always bought my material surface ground despite the increased price. It was worth it to me. I see I am not alone in thinking that. On my last few orders I have been bringing in surface ground material (surface ground is flat with no scales or pits but not to a precision ground thickness).

>surface ground steel click me<
 
I have Also been frustrated with the pits! Other than buying it already ground, I free hand surface grind my steel on a smooth contact wheel before cutting out the blade. I cut the bar about 1/2" to 1" longer than the blade I will be cutting out, this allows me to cut the rounded ends off. Using a 60 grit belt to start, hold your bar of steel with some good magnets and make long even strokes the entire length of the bar until you get to good steel, then I switch to 120 grit and clean things up before cutting out the knife. You will round off the ends of the bar, hence leaving it long to remove later! I can usually keep my bar very consistent in thickness, almost as good as precision ground. Try it, It actually works !!
Sincerely,
Clint Sampson
 
While I havn't ordered any from him, I belive Aldo offers surface grinding on his steel. Might check with him and see.
His customer service has been top notch!

God Bless
Mike
 
Get a surface grinder and PG it after HT using Norton "SG" wheels or a belt conversion. Or you can send it out for grinding (IE surface, blanchard, or double disk grinding). When doing my large batches, I have all the blanks blanchard ground.
Phil
 
Diamond G Knives said:
While I havn't ordered any from him, I belive Aldo offers surface grinding on his steel. Might check with him and see.
His customer service has been top notch!

God Bless
Mike
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I'm currently grinding off the surface pitting on some of Aldo's CPM 154. I didn't see a surface grinding service offered on his website. I didn't talk to him when I ordered it, I placed the order online. Maybe this is something that you can ask by ordering it on the phone. I'm doing some 3" tall cleaver/Santoku hybrids on a 2x42 and using ceramic belts (36, 60, 80, 120) and let me tell you, you'd better pack a lunch! A Royal PITA for sure!
 
I have about 10 feet of 440C I had given to me by the ex-knifemaker who gave me all his knifemaking stuff. He bought it in the mid 80's and I'm not sure from where. the issue I'm having is once I grind off the surface scale / coating (not sure if it's actualy scale or some sort of coating to protect the steel) there is what appears to be slag lines in the steel. They dont go all the way through into the middle of the bar but are deep enough to catch a fingernail in so require some grinding to get them out before I can use the steel. will most deffinately be ordering surface ground stock once I'm out of this stuff (mabye sooner depends on how annoyed I get)
 
Use a 5 inch cup stone on a 7 1/2 inch right angle grinder to clean up bar stock. It will take care of it in just a few passes.

Fred
 
Hello,
I haven't bought that rough bark 154 steel in years because of that, I have a Bubble Belt that I purchased from www.trugrit.com/ In Ontario Ca, Scott or his son Ryan will most likely answer the phone.

They will take the time to explain your options, I get most all of my abrasives from them.

I purchase my CPM steels as close to the source as possible Niagara Specialty Metals
www.nsm-ny.com/ ask for Andy, Very helpful Man!

I get my CPM-S35VN steel from them and they have it three different ways up to ground, What I order is about 60 grit.

Good Luck!

Laurence
www.rhinoknives.com
 
Hey Don,

We do offer grinding and it is on the Web Site. It's just not real apparent. The new site will be up in about a month. There will be a lot of changes and there will be pricing for ground stock as well. We normally grind to a 180 grit finish. A 3 x 36 piece of CPM 154 will normally be within 5 thousandths across the piece when we're done. We can also get you within 5 to 10 of your finished size if you request it. If you would like to do something with the remainder of the stock you have, E-Mail me and let me know. We'll work something out.
 
Aldo said:
Hey Don,

We do offer grinding and it is on the Web Site. It's just not real apparent. The new site will be up in about a month. There will be a lot of changes and there will be pricing for ground stock as well. We normally grind to a 180 grit finish. A 3 x 36 piece of CPM 154 will normally be within 5 thousandths across the piece when we're done. We can also get you within 5 to 10 of your finished size if you request it. If you would like to do something with the remainder of the stock you have, E-Mail me and let me know. We'll work something out.
Click to expand...

Can't wait to see the new site Aldo! The next order of CPM 154 I order I'll be sure to ask for surface grinding! Thanks for letting us know you offer this service!
 
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