Available Shapes
Key Steel
Bright drawn steel in square bar profile, key steel is an unalloyed medium carbon steel with reasonable tensile strength. It is supplied bright drawn in flat square sections conforming to the specification requirements of BS46 and BS4235.
Imperial sizes of key steel bar are bright drawn to plus tolerances conforming to BS46 “keys and keyways”.
Metric sizes of key steel bar are bright drawn to minus tolerances conforming to BS4235 “parallel and taper keys”.
Applications
Analysis
Heat Treatment
Tolerances
Size Range
Applications
Key Steel is widely used for many general engineering applications. Typical key steel applications include taper, gibhead, plain and parallel keys.
Analysis
| Carbon | 0.35-0.45% | Phosphorous | 0.06% max |
| Manganese | 0.60-1.00% | Sulphur | 0.06% max |
| Silicon | 0.05-0.35% |
Heat Treatment
As a bright drawn steel bar it is uncommon to harden key steel. In its supply condition key steel has an approximate tensile strength of 500 to 700N/mm2.
Tolerances
| Imperial Squares | |
| Up to and including 7/8” | -0/+0.002” |
| Over 7/8” Up to and inc. 1 ¼” | -0/+0.003” |
| Over 1 ¼” | -0/+0.004″ |
| Imperial Flats | |
| Up to and inc. ¾” x ½” | Width -0/+0.002” Thickness -0/+0.003” |
| ⅞” x ⅝” | Width -0/+0.002” Thickness -0/+0.004” |
| Over ⅞” x ⅝”” up to and inc. 1¼” x ⅞” | Width -0/+0.003” Thickness -0/+0.004” |
| Over 1¼” x ⅞” up to and inc.1¾” x 1¼” | Width -0/+0.004” Thickness -0/+0.006” |
| 2″ x 1 1/4″ | Width -0/+0.005” Thickness -0/+0.006” |
| Metric Squares (mm) | |
| Up to and inc. 6 | +0mm/-0.030mm |
| Over 6 and up to and inc. 12 | +0mm/-0.036mm |
| over 16 | +0mm/-0.043mm~ |
| Metric Flats | |
| 8 x 7 up to and inc. 10 x 8 | Width +0/-0.036mm Thickness +0/-0.090mm |
| Over 10 x 8 up to and inc. 16 x 10 | Width +0/-0.043mm Thickness +0/-0.090mm |
| 18 x 11 | Width +0/-0.043mm Thickness +0/-0.110mm |
| Over 18 x 11 up to and inc. 28 x 16 | Width +0/-0.052mm Thickness +0/-0.110mm |
| 32 x 18 | Width +0/-0.062mm Thickness +0/-0.110mm |
| Over 32 x 18 up to and inc. 50 x 28 | Width +0/-0.062mm Thickness +0/-0.130mm |
Size Range
| Imperial Sizes | Metric Sizes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/16″ sq | 5/8″ sq | 4mm sq | 16mm x 28mm |
| 3/16″ x 1/4″ | 5/8″ x 3/4″ | 5mm sq | 18mm x 32mm |
| 1/4″ x 5/16″ | 5/8″ x 7/8″ | 6mm sq | 20mm sq |
| 1/4″ sq | 5/8″ x 1″ | 6mm x 10mm | 20mm x 25mm |
| 1/4″ x 3/8″ | 3/4″ sq | 7mm x 8mm | 20mm x 36mm |
| 1/4″ x 1/2″ | 3/4″ x 7/8″ | 8mm sq | 22mm sq |
| 1/4″ x 5/8″ | 3/4″ x 1″ | 16mm x 20mm | 22mm x 40mm |
| 5/16″ sq | 3/4″ x 1 1/4″ | 8mm x 12mm | 24mm sq |
| 5/16″ x 3/8″ | 7/8″ sq | 9mm x 14mm | 25mm sq |
| 5/16″ x 7/16″ | 7/8″ x 1″ | 10mm sq | 25mm x 40mm |
| 5/16″ x 1/2″ | 7/8″ x 1 1/2″ | 10mm x 12mm | 25mm x 45mm |
| 3/8″ sq | 1″ sq | 10mm x 16mm | 28mm sq |
| 3/8″ x 7/16″ | 1″ x 1 1/4″ | 11mm x 18mm | 28mm x 50mm |
| 3/8″ x 1/2″ | 1″ x 1 1/2″ | 12mm sq | 30mm sq |
| 3/8″ x 5/8″ | 1″ x 1 5/8″ | 12mm x 20mm | 32mm x 56mm |
| 9/16″ sq | 1 1/8″ sq | 14mm sq | 32mm sq |
| 7/16″ sq | 1 1/4″ sq | 14mm x 22mm | 36mm sq |
| 7/16″ x 5/8″ | 1 1/4″ x 1 3/4″ | 14mm x 25mm | 38mm sq |
| 1/2″ sq | 1 1/4″ x 2″ | 15mm sq | 40mm sq |
| 1/2″ x 5/8″ | 1 1/2″ sq | 16mm sq | 45mm sq |
| 1/2″ x 3/4″ | 1 1/2″ x 2″ | 8mm x 10mm | 50mm sq |
| 1/2″ x 1″ | 1 3/4″ sq | ||
| 3/8″ x 3/4″ | 1 3/4″ x 2″ | ||
| 2″ sq |
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