Joe Michaels
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2004
- Location
- Shandaken, NY, USA
I spent some time many years ago on jobs in the backwaters of South America. Ever since then, I have been in the habit of using using scrapped auto & truck parts for stock for various jobs. I have not spark-tested the tie rod steel to get some idea of alloying elements. It is fairly hard (file test), yet machines quite well. Whatever steel is used for tie rods and drag links is forgeable, aside from being machineable. I've made quite a few parts and odds-n-ends of tooling from the tie rods and drag links. I like using the tie rods and drag links as they do not require any annealing prior to my cutting and machining parts from them.
The other steel I use a good bit of is salvaged from truck rear axle shafts. These are often too hard to be saw cut or machined, so I anneal them. I've not tried re-heat treating the axle steel as it holds up well for what parts and tooling I make from it. I am planning to make some tooling from the axle steel requiring forging and will try oil-quenching and drawing to maybe a bluish temper color.
I've been using spring leaves for forged projects like wrenches and knives. The spring steel is likely a 5160, and oil hardens nicely. I have no clue as to the axle or tie rod steels, and wonder if anyone has some knowledge as to what type steels the axles and tie rods might be made of. Different chips when machining, so I am thinking different steels. Maybe I've watched too many youtubes of Pakistani and Vietnamese mechanics and machinists, and with my past experience in South America, it's instinctive on my part to grab likely scrap (aka "mystery metal") as material for non-critical jobs. I suppose I could do the simple test we learned in metallurgy lab at Brooklyn Technical HS: saw cut partway thru a piece of round mystery steel bar, making the cuts about 1/2-3/4" apart, kind of like pre-cutting an Italian or French bread. Heat the bar to an orange-red heat and water quench just above the first saw cut, and as the bar cools, immerse more of it in the quench. When the bar is fully cooled, put it in a vise and using a hammer, try to snap off the first segment at the saw cut. The appearance of the fracture and a file test for hardness is checked at each saw cut, as is the brittleness or lack of it when hammer testing. Of course, if the specimen picks up a quench crack at the first saw cut, the steel is most likely oil hardening. We did this test on various bars of mystery metal when I was a HS student, and did Rockwell hardness tests on the saw-cut ends of each segment. We also did the spark tests and had to write down what elements we thought were alloyed into the steel specimens. Our teacher had the actual steel data on the specimen bars, and it was up to us to determine as best we could what the 'mystery metal' was. I'm kind of lazy in my old age, so not about to go thru the whole 9 yards of what we did way back when in HS metallurgy lab, nor do I have a Rockwell hardness tester. A clue from some members who have knowledge as to typical steels used for these automotive parts would be appreciated.
The other steel I use a good bit of is salvaged from truck rear axle shafts. These are often too hard to be saw cut or machined, so I anneal them. I've not tried re-heat treating the axle steel as it holds up well for what parts and tooling I make from it. I am planning to make some tooling from the axle steel requiring forging and will try oil-quenching and drawing to maybe a bluish temper color.
I've been using spring leaves for forged projects like wrenches and knives. The spring steel is likely a 5160, and oil hardens nicely. I have no clue as to the axle or tie rod steels, and wonder if anyone has some knowledge as to what type steels the axles and tie rods might be made of. Different chips when machining, so I am thinking different steels. Maybe I've watched too many youtubes of Pakistani and Vietnamese mechanics and machinists, and with my past experience in South America, it's instinctive on my part to grab likely scrap (aka "mystery metal") as material for non-critical jobs. I suppose I could do the simple test we learned in metallurgy lab at Brooklyn Technical HS: saw cut partway thru a piece of round mystery steel bar, making the cuts about 1/2-3/4" apart, kind of like pre-cutting an Italian or French bread. Heat the bar to an orange-red heat and water quench just above the first saw cut, and as the bar cools, immerse more of it in the quench. When the bar is fully cooled, put it in a vise and using a hammer, try to snap off the first segment at the saw cut. The appearance of the fracture and a file test for hardness is checked at each saw cut, as is the brittleness or lack of it when hammer testing. Of course, if the specimen picks up a quench crack at the first saw cut, the steel is most likely oil hardening. We did this test on various bars of mystery metal when I was a HS student, and did Rockwell hardness tests on the saw-cut ends of each segment. We also did the spark tests and had to write down what elements we thought were alloyed into the steel specimens. Our teacher had the actual steel data on the specimen bars, and it was up to us to determine as best we could what the 'mystery metal' was. I'm kind of lazy in my old age, so not about to go thru the whole 9 yards of what we did way back when in HS metallurgy lab, nor do I have a Rockwell hardness tester. A clue from some members who have knowledge as to typical steels used for these automotive parts would be appreciated.