territorialmillworks Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Have a hyd cyl with 2.25" shaft. When I made power hammer dies, they started to deform quicker than I expected. Anyone know what they're made of and if I can temper them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 It's what ever the manufacturer decided to use. You'll do better spark testing it than getting opinions. You'll just find out what some or many or what someone else's was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
territorialmillworks Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 Spark test suggest mild steel and a more thorough web search confirmed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngdylan Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 Have a hyd cyl with 2.25" shaft. When I made power hammer dies, they started to deform quicker than I expected. Anyone know what they're made of and if I can temper them? If you've got plenty spare material/ time on your hands try hardening some in oil, some in water, temper at purple (ish) then smack the **** out of it. Commonly known as "Suck it and See". Spark test may give an indication of carbon content but sucking it gives you more of an idea how useful it may be. I lucked out a while back. Bought 3m of 63mm rod from a scrap yard many years ago. At the time I was after mild(ish) steel but on a whim thought I do some alchemy heat treating and see what happend. No idea what it is but it doesn't crack when quenched in water, temper it at purple and it's tough as old boots, very useful for making small stakes etc. Would like to know what flavour it is but don't need to know (and never will). Still dining out on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drq Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 You'll be hard pressed to find anything better than a 1040 in cylinder rods. As Grant said, its whatever the manufacturer could find cheap. 99 % percent of repair work done in my neck of the woods is done with 1040 though so if you could find a re-rod you might be able to find something a little better than horrible. That being said they do make good anvils for projects if you can weld something a little more resistant on top. I've got 20' of 6" rod lying out back that I'll find a use for eventually. (Though I did use some 8" and 4.5" rod for my treadle hammer anvil and hammer weight.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 I have a lot of rods that where a gift from a local hydraulic repair shop... I was told by them that 1040 and 1045 are by far the most used but there are a handful of 4140 rods as well... And of course there is always the odd or special deal... I have made lots of hardys and tooling with them and had good luck quenching the working end in water and tempering blue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddog Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 Interesting. I have a bunch of 2" hydraulic cylinder rods. I tried to find out what kind of steel they are and all I could find was a wikipedia article which said mild steel. I must try quenching some. Any ideas for using the cylinder itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 Much of the normal hydraulic cylinder rod is 1045, is often chrome plated, and may have an induction hardened outer surface. For an aftermarket supplier, you can go to www.baileynet.com and click on rod and tube and can get a description of the rod they sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tala9 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 I have worked on hydraulics for 30 years and made many shafts. Normally you buy ground and chrome plated stock and machine the ends. There is two grades normally used 1045 and 1050. The 1050 will normally be case hardened where as the 1045 will not be hardened at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny O Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 What about removing the chrome plating, Grind it off, burn it off, is there a more expedient, less toxic process? Would the electrolytic method work (small chunks of course)? I was given some 3" shaft that took the teeth off of a band-saw and barely marked the chrome. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearhartironwerks Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Hi, Our local welding shop does a lot of repair/rebuild of hydraulic cylinders for the logging industry. Loggers are notoriously famous for bending rods. Some can be straightened, but others, especially the Caterpillar rods seem to not respond well to straightening and are thrown away. So, luckily for me, they save them for me and I like to make hammers from them. I don't know how they're initially heat treated, but they are designed to bend and not destroy the cylinder. As others have mentioned, they're probably 1045-1050 and I have found they respond well to a water quench and a light temper, say an hour at 300 deg. I tried heating the steel to 1550 deg and quenching in heated oil as per specs for 4140, but it left the steel too soft for a hammer. I don't worry too much about burning the chrome off as I have a good ventilation system and always place a fan to the side of the forge to blow the smoke and fumes away from me and the work area. The burned chrome leaves a light greenish cast to the steel before quenching. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 So what's the best method of hardening one of these type rods for a punch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Welcome aboard Bobby. Have you read this yet? It will help you to get the best out of the forum and keep the moderators happy. READ THIS FIRST Without knowing what they are made from, the only way to know is to make some test tiles and try different quench medium's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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