According to Tim Williams :
"Bill Swears" wrote in message
...
alloying material to have my 'expert' character tell the journeyman to
"try using a little less (or a little more) X" where X is my manganese
placeholder.

Manganese, nickel and carbon are good starting points as mentioned above.
Sulfur is by far the most sensitive impurity, however; steel gets pretty
crappy about 0.1% S! In contrast, a typical mild steel has around 0.5 to 1%
manganese and 0.2% carbon (1020 alloy).

Note that sulfur is always quoted as an impurity -- no alloy specification
has it within a range; it's always less than X. Likewise, you would never
add sulfur except to intentionally spoil a batch.

Earle M. Jorgensen Co. Steel book #71:

1141 Hot Rolled Bars:

Carbon 0.37/0.45
Manganese: 1.35/1.65
Phosphorous: 0.04 Max
Sulphur: 0.08/0.13 ----------

1213 -- 1215 Free Machining Cold Finished Bars (Screw Machine
Stock)

Ingredient 1213 1215
==================================================
Carbon: 0.13 Max 0.09 Max
Manganese: 0.70/1.00 0.075/1.05
Phosphorous: 0.07/0.12 0.04/0.09
Sulphur: 0.24/0.33 0.26/0.35 ----------

And -- on the next page, under "Super Free Machining Steels -- Leaded"

Leaded Grade B:

Carbon: 0.15 Max
Manganese: 0.85/1.35
Phosphorous: 0.04/0.09
Sulphur 0.40 Min --------------------

Yes -- it says "Min" in the book for "Leaded Grade B"

"Leaded Grade A" has the Sulphur at 0.26/0.35, and the AX, AY
and AZ grades have added Tellurium, Selenium, or Bismuth respectively.

Grade A is also known as 12L14 (among other names) FWIW.

So -- There *are* steels to which Sulphur is an intentional
addition, including at least one where there is a "Minimum" instead of a
"Max" or a range.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---