MACHINABILITY OF 1015 STEEL
Steel 1015 is a Low Carbon Steel material with 0.2% carbon content. Most Carbon steels have between 0.08% to 1% carbon content. The machinability is very sensitive to the amount of carbon since carbon directly influences the hardness of steel. The "Sweet Spot" that yields the highest rating is 0.2%-0.3%.
Since Steel 1015 has a low carbon content, it is very soft. Thus, it is almost impossible to break the chips, and a "build up edge" (BUE) is easily formed on the cutting edge. Therefore, although Its machinability rating is 75%, it is a problematic material to machine. It is best to cut Steel 1015 with a sharp cutting edge to reduce the built-up edge.
You can find here a list of machinability Ratings for different Carbon Steels.
Summary:
For general turning of Steel 1015 at stable conditions use a grade with a Hard substrate and CVD coating.
If you are running at a cutting speed lower than 490 SFM (150 m/min), using a grade with a hard substrate and PVD coating is better.
For general milling,use a grade with a Semi-hard substrate and Thin PVD coating.
For detailed carbide grades recommendations, check the chart below.
Recommended cutting speed range for turning at stable conditions is 920 - 1250 [SFM] / 280 - 380 [m/min].
Recommended Cutting speed range for milling with stable clamping and short overhang is 570 - 770 [SFM] / 175 - 235 [m/min]
For detailed cutting speed recomendations,check the table below.