The shop I work at just finished cutting some stainless. I looked up the Heat Number and the certs and it is defined as 17-4PH H1150. Am I missing something? I thought 17 - 4PH is different than 17-4 H1150..

Anyways. I'm going to use the bar ends to turn out some shifters to mess around with some ideas, and I was wondering what cutting speed I need to use? And, will I be ok with using a G50 of 1800?

After turning, I'm planning on getting them chromed, or powder coated. So, what surface finish do I need to produce? Would a feed of .006 be ok, or do I need to go rougher?

And my last question... is it imperative that I use an insert specifically for stainless, or can I use a standard coated carbide for turning 4140 HTSR and get by with it?

Looks like you got some 17-4 with an 1150 degree solution and age temper.

17-4 can be first tumbled and then electropolish finished and essentially look like it is chrome plated when done properly. Plan on a multi-stage tumble and finish if you have a rough as a cobb part to begin with. Basically, the smoother you cut/finishe it, the less polishing will be needed to affect a smooth/shiney surface on the finished part.

Should you chrome plate ANYTHING, the chrome merely provides the shiney surface. The chrome will NOT fill in holse or scratches of a poorly prepared and/or unpolished surface. Basically, the nicer you finish your part, the better it will look after chroming/plating.

Check out Carpenter Technology (Cartech) as they used to have a handbook on precipitation hardening stainless (which is what 17-4 is) and it gave machining guidelines. We've used HSS and/or carbide to cut and drill it but that ultimately depends on the temper.