Reference
Tables worth bookmarking
The data most people in this niche still get out of a distributor's PDF handbook. Here it is as web pages instead: filterable, readable on a phone, and linkable down to the individual grade.
All of it is free to reuse underCC BY 4.0with a link back. No email required, nothing gated.
- Guide
Machining processes for hardened steel
Hard turning, hard milling, grinding, wire and sinker EDM, drilling and threading, cutting, lapping and polishing. Tolerance and finish of each process, its limits and the drawing notes it needs.
- Guide
Hard steel materials
12 families of hard steel with grades and working hardness. Background pages on hardness scales, heat treatment, alloying elements, surface hardening and material certificates.
- Table
Tool steel grade reference
16 grades with AISI / JIS / DIN / GB equivalents, working hardness, machinability rating, quench medium, distortion risk and what each one is for. Filterable, and every grade has its own anchor.
- Table
Heat treat stock allowance
How much material to leave for the finishing pass after hardening, by grade type and part size — plus the four-line drawing note that makes quotes comparable between shops.
- Glossary
Glossary
The terms that appear on quotes and drawings in this niche, defined in plain language: white layer, recast, comb cracks, CTQ, machinability rating, retained austenite and the rest.
Found an error?
These tables are maintained by one person who places this work for a living, not compiled from other websites. If a figure does not match your experience on the floor, that is worth knowing — corrections get published with the change noted.