Awl--

I suppose it's not quite as magnetic as plain carbon steel.
And perhaps a spark test? Characteristics?
Oh, I guess you could use the O/A test: it don't cut!! But that's pita...

I've heard of machinists/heat treaters who have "catalogued" hundreds of
alloys merely by the spart test on a grinding wheel--keep a box w/ reference
samples. wow...
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll

With a magnet?

Yeah, but if both carbon and some SS are magnetic, how to tell the diff?
Even if the SS is *less* magnetic, it still is not always clear, depending
on the magnet, etc.
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Footy" wrote in message
...
With a magnet?

Proctologically Violated©® wrote:

Yeah, but if both carbon and some SS are magnetic, how to tell the diff?
Even if the SS is *less* magnetic, it still is not always clear, depending
on the magnet, etc.
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Footy" wrote in message
...


With a magnet?








And....even non magnetic 300 series stainless becomes magnetic when work
hardened. Sometimes the magnetization can be high enough that the "not
as magnetic" standard is hard to judge.

Get a rare earth magnet instead of the cheepies to test. Have a couple
of known samples to get the feel for it. It will never be the final
word but but you can easily learn to kick out the carbon steel and best
guess worked 300 series from 400 series. Just when you think you've
finally got the hang of judging by magnet, a sample always shows up that
doesn't fit the profile.

And just to poke the newbies to stainless: It's not called "stain free"
it's called "stain less"....that's for a reason.

Koz (who constantly gets people thinking the stainless was bad because
it didn't stay shiny after 5 years of washdowns with chemical soup)

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message
...

I've heard of machinists/heat treaters who have "catalogued" hundreds of
alloys merely by the spart test on a grinding wheel--keep a box w/
reference samples. wow...

Grind a small surface, and lick it.

Regards,

Robin

"Robin S." wrote in message
...

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote in message
...

I've heard of machinists/heat treaters who have "catalogued" hundreds of
alloys merely by the spart test on a grinding wheel--keep a box w/
reference samples. wow...

Grind a small surface, and lick it.

All right, what's the punch line?

--
Ed Huntress

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

Grind a small surface, and lick it.

All right, what's the punch line?

?

If you can keep a straight face, it sometimes works...

Regards,

Robin

"Robin S." wrote in message
.. .

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

Grind a small surface, and lick it.

All right, what's the punch line?

?

If you can keep a straight face, it sometimes works...

Regards,

Robin

OK, but what does it tell you? Does mild steel have an unassuming aftertaste
of jasmine and myrhh? Is stainless a rich vintage with chocolate highlights,
or what?

--
Ed Huntress

In article , Ed Huntress says...

OK, but what does it tell you?

It tells you to take the hook out of your lip....

:^)

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

In article , Robin S. says...

All right, what's the punch line?

?

If you can keep a straight face, it sometimes works...

LOL!

Reminds me of one of the old-school toolmakers at work.
Some post-doc would come up to him with a piece of stock,
and say, "is this moly or niobium" or something like that.

Angie would take the piece, sniff it appreciatively under
his nose like a cigar, and say ".....moly, with five
percent titanium."

Jim


--
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at pkmfgvm4 (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================

"jim rozen" wrote in message
...
In article , Robin S. says...

Angie would take the piece, sniff it appreciatively under
his nose like a cigar, and say ".....moly, with five
percent titanium."

I actually saw an apprentice run off and start machining a piece of stock
after an instructor had told him what the material was via this method...

Like telling someone to go to the tool crib and get a "long weight" which
really just turns into a "long wait".

"Oh yeah, I'm getting it ready for you. Just a little while longer..."

Then there's the left-handed hammer, etc.

Regards,

Robin

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
Grind a small surface, and lick it.

All right, what's the punch line?

I don't see one! g

Hey, I can tell you the difference between stainless, carbon steel, monel
and copper. All different odors/flavors when moistened or handled.

Stainless, being... stain...less... won't do anything.

I should hope so, since I've got some on my teeth for two years.

Tim

--
"California is the breakfast state: fruits, nuts and flakes."
Website: http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms

On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 12:58:20 -0400, "Proctologically
Violated??" wrote:

Awl--

I suppose it's not quite as magnetic as plain carbon steel.
And perhaps a spark test? Characteristics?
Oh, I guess you could use the O/A test: it don't cut!! But that's pita...

I've heard of machinists/heat treaters who have "catalogued" hundreds of
alloys merely by the spart test on a grinding wheel--keep a box w/ reference
samples. wow...
----------------------------
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll



Copper sulphate solution - about one teasponful per
cupful of water plus a few drops of battery acid.

Scrape surface clean and apply with a Qtip. Carbon
steels will almost instantly develop a bright copper sheen.
Stainless steels will remain unaffected.

The solution will work without the battery acid
addition but the action is much slower.

Jim