I made several tight toleranced parts yesterday. All of them about .2800"
round with a number of different diameter steps that call for tolerances
down to .0003. I made them from W-1 drill rod. The parts turned out nicely
with all fits and tolerances just right. Then I hardened them...

Problem is that after hardening, the diameter of the parts increased
anywhere from .0005 to .0007. Of course, they are now unusable. I hardened
them by heating to bright red then quenching in water.

I'm wondering what I can do the next time to avoid this problem? Could it
be that I heated the part too hot before quenching? Does W-1 always have
this problem and/or is there a better steel to use? Thanks for all
suggestions.

Robert