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Stellite is wonderful stuff - it grinds to a razor edge, it
happily cuts at red heat and has extreme wear resistance. The few bits
I own get more use than all the rest of my sizeable collection of
carbide and HSS lathe tools.

Absolutely true! Haynes Stellite is tougher at red heat than at room
temperature.

Where have you located the cutting tool grade? I've not seen any Stellite
cutting tools for sale from any of the supply houses. Could be I just don't
know what I'm looking for, though. Sadly, about the time Stellite was
really coming into its own, tungsten carbide, too, was being developed
rapidly. I get the idea that the carbide insert concept was the winner,
for obvious reasons (especially for NC or CNC applications, where you can
replace a tip without losing orientation). That's a shame in a way,
because there are applications where Stellite is superior to carbide.

The sad news is that the usual cutting tool grade is
stellite 100 (Rockwell C62). Stellite 6 (Rockwell C42) is a hard
facing grade for applications like guillotine blades where some
hardness is sacrificed for more toughness and wear resistance.

As I said, I have no knowledge of the alloys, nor how they were to be
applied. Ted, in particular, should be very pleased to hear what you had to
say, considering his application choice for his Stellite 6 was in keeping
with its design. His chisel seemed to benefit very well from his choice.

I've no
information on the 98M2 grade.

That's interesting, considering the information marked on the shanks I have
are factory markings, but I am also aware that they are old stock, perhaps
very old stock. In my mind, these go back to the late 50's, although I
can't recall what lead me to believe that. As I said, I got them off
ebay, and keep thinking that the seller had said that they had come from
some old facility.

In sorting thru junk piles Stellite is easily distinguished
from HSS because it is totally non magnetic.

If you're lucky enough to find some stellite 100, Deloro
recommend WA46J at 3,500 to 4,500 FPM for tool and cutter grinding.
8 deg front and side clearance, 12 to 20 deg top rake, nose radius 1/2
to 1/3 depth of cut. Grinding is slow because of the extreme wear
resistance.

Interesting, the slower than normal surface speed for the wheel. Typical
grinding is recommended at around 6,000 FPM. I think that speaks volumes
about it's resistance to grinding, as you said. The slower speed would
cause the wheel to act much softer than its rating. Someone running a
faster wheel would be well off to use a softer grade, perhaps a G or H.
That would be especially true if using a finer grit, which I am prone to
doing. I prefer a 60 grit wheel for sharpening HSS toolbits. Cuts hotter,
and somewhat slower, but I can grind tools with only one face, so they
require almost no honing after shaping. The fine surface left by the finer
wheel lends itself to better chip flow and a better looking tool in general.

It is not bothered by brazing temperatures so small chunks
can be silver brazed to steel carriers to make stellite tipped boring
tools or parting off cutters. EDM is the best way of slicing off
custom sized chunks.

HSS, too, lends itself to that very thing. I've even used silicon bronze
filler to heliarc toolbits to shanks. Heat is not an object so long as you
don't quench.

How I envy you your EDM! I'm stuck in the world of old technology, with a
cutter grinder, and not much of one, available for such things. Better
than nothing, but hardly an EDM!

Thanks for the great information, Jim.

Harold