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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted -  07/01/2007  :  12:05
STELLITE

I had occasion to have a furtle for some information about Stellite today and was quite surprised when I could find no information in my favourite source; Osborne’s ‘Encyclopaedia of the Iron and Steel Industry’. No mention. So I turned to some more esoteric sources, the first was an old American book, ‘A Fortune in Formulas for the farm, home and workshop’ a strange mixture but very informative. Here’s what that had to say: “In the United States we have a stainless alloy termed Stellite, one consisting of 75% Cobalt and 25% Chromium invented by Elwood Haynes of Kokomo, Indiana. It is used for lathe tools, surgical knives and cutlery and is stainless.”

Machinery’s Handbook (15th Edition, 1956) has this to say: Haynes Stellite is an alloy of cobalt, chromium and Tungsten and is non-ferrous as it has no iron in its composition. The hardness of this alloy is not affected by heat up to 1,500F and is actually tougher at red heat than when cold. This important property explains its wide application as a cutting tool material. It works best at high speed with a comparatively light feed. The cutting material known as ‘J Metal’ is an improved grade of Haynes Stellite. This results in either higher cutting speed or longer production runs between tool grinding. It is used on all kinds of difficult materials except for Chilled Iron and Manganese steel. Hayne’s Stellite 2400 is an even better grade and gives higher performance.

Both these sources are a bit old-fashioned nowadays and I can’t remember the last time I saw Stellite used for cutting. I have some of the material and one of these days I’ll find a use for it but modern tool steel alloys and carbide tipped tools have largely superseded Stellite.

Wykepedia of course came up with a reference.
Stellite alloy is a range of cobalt-chromium alloys designed for wear resistance. It may also contain tungsten and a small but important amount of carbon. It is a trademark name of the Deloro Stellite Company and was invented by Elwood Haynes in the early 1900's as a substitute for flatware that stained (or that had to be constantly cleaned).

Properties
Stellite® alloy is a completely non-magnetic and non-corrosive cobalt alloy. There are a number of Stellite® alloys, with various compositions optimised for different uses. Information is available from the manufacturer, Deloro Stellite®, outlining the composition of a number of Stellite® alloys and their intended applications. The alloy currently most suited for cutting tools, for example, is Stellite® 100, due to the fact that this alloy is quite hard, maintains a good cutting edge even at high temperature, and resists hardening and annealing due to heat. Other alloys are formulated to maximize combinations of wear resistance, corrosion resistance, or ability to withstand extreme temperatures.

Stellite® alloys display astounding hardness and toughness, and are also usually very resistant to corrosion. Stellite® alloys are so hard that they are very difficult to machine, and anything made from them is, as a result, very expensive. Typically a Stellite® part will be very precisely cast so that only minimal machining will be necessary. Machining of Stellite® is more often done by grinding, rather than by cutting. Stellite® alloys also tend to have extremely high melting points due to the cobalt and chromium content.

Applications
Typical applications include saw teeth, hard-facing (wear-resistant welding) and also for acid-resistant machine parts. Stellite® was a major improvement in the production of poppet valves and valve seats in internal combustion engines; by reducing wear in them, the competing slide-valve design was driven from the market. The first third of M-60 machine gun barrels (starting from the chamber) are lined with Stellite®. Modern jet engine turbine blades are usually made of Stellite® alloys, due to their very high melting points and tremendous strength at very high temperatures. In the early 1980s experiments were done in the United Kingdom to make artificial hip joints and other bone replacements out of precision-cast Stellite® alloys.
Stellite® has also been used in the manufacture of turning tools for Lathes. With the introduction and improvements in tipped tools it is not used as often any more, but it was found to have superior cutting properties compared to the early carbon steel tools and even some High Speed Steel tools, especially against difficult materials as stainless steel. Care was needed in grinding the blanks and these were marked at one end to show the correct orientation, without which the cutting edge could chip prematurely.

Varieties
Talonite is a Stellite® alloy which has been hot-rolled and hardened in a particular way, to provide a combination of hardness, wear resistance and machineability. Not all Stellite® alloys respond to this process.

SCG/07 January 2007




Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk
Author Replies  
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt


2021 Posts
Posted - 07/01/2007 : 17:36
Ideal for swords if you are going head to head in the traditional manner with someone who thinks that they are invincible.


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catgate
Senior Member


1764 Posts
Posted - 07/01/2007 : 22:49


quote:
thomo wrote:
Ideal for swords if you are going head to head in the traditional manner with someone who thinks that they are invincible.
I repaired the kickstart pawl on my old Royal Enfield 350 with it, 50 years ago. It's been about a while.



Every silver lining has a cloud.


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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 08/01/2007 : 06:23
When I was a lad one of the gears in my Sturmey Archer hub lost a tooth and someone in the toolroom at General Gas made me a new one using stellite.  Never gave any more trouble.  I have an idea that N&R used to use stellite rods to build up the wearing edges on their bucket teeth and edges on the excavators.


Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
catgate
Senior Member


1764 Posts
Posted - 08/01/2007 : 11:13


quote:
Stanley wrote:
When I was a lad one of the gears in my Sturmey Archer hub lost a tooth and someone in the toolroom at General Gas made me a new one using stellite. Never gave any more trouble. I have an idea that N&R used to use stellite rods to build up the wearing edges on their bucket teeth and edges on the excavators.
I understood that that sort of thing was was the major use use of stellite. In fact the rod that mended my kickstart  pawl in 1950 came from Settle Limes at Horton in Ribblesdale, where they use it for much of their machinery



Every silver lining has a cloud.


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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 09/01/2007 : 07:04
Yes, one of the most common hard facing rods.  There are others that I understand are easier to use nowadays but I doubt if they will be any better at withstanding abrasion.  One other thing comes to mind about Stellite.  If you do a search you'll find lots on the site about Arthur Entwistle who was a tool room man for many years.  he once told me he could identify most metals just by feel and smell.  I tried him out blindfolded and the most impressive feat was identifying a bar of stellite amongs some high speed steel rods.  He reckoned a lot of it was because it wasn't magnetic.  probably heat-conductivity as well.  There was no doubt he had a skill.....


Stanley Challenger Graham




Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk Go to Top of Page
AiredalePete
New Member


29 Posts
Posted - 30/12/2008 : 12:25
I have a few sticks in my workshop. It's very handy for hard facing cold chisels and drifts for those awkward jobs like removing machine screws on lawnmowers that have become mangled and which no longer accept a screwdriver. I always keep an old nail punch, ground at 45 degrees and hard faced with stellite, in my toolbox.


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