Hardening of pipe threads

[SoCal Dave]

I want to take 2" pipe, cut off the threaded end, flatten the threads out, and use them as a fuller to impart lines in 1/4" and 3/8" round stock. I don't think the threads will hold up very long and wonder if I can do anything to harden them. I assume that most threaded pipe is mild steel. My goal is to make the stock look like vines, or small branches.

[monstermetal]

I would just try it. If it does not hold up you can stop the flat bit into some steel then a bit of tool steel In to your negative

or you could try some casonite or cherry red

[SoCal Dave]

I have some casonite I will try. I also thought that some bolt threads might be harder that pipe threads, but I'm not sure?

[Swamptroll]

Allen head screws are tougher material

[mike-hr]

I think this has been covered before, but don't know how to look for it.. my vine dies(borrowed the idea from many other folks),make some spring clapper dies,mine are flat so I can use various size stock. I think Off-Center tools makes them semi-round, a better idea. Take a .040 slit wheel and slit a bunch of lines randomly, 1/8 apart or so. It works in the anvil hardy hole, or the power hammer. Hit, pull, index, hit, repeat. looks like vines to me.

[jimmy seale]

maybe use the heel of a old pipe wrench?or maybe a piece of a file, let us know what workes ok, jimmy

[thecelticforge]

You could try superquenching them and using them to make a negative, then transfer the negative to some more usable tool steels.

[SoCal Dave]

Sorry, but I don't know what superquenching is?

[David Browne]

I would just try it. If it does not hold up you can stop the flat bit into some steel then a bit of tool steel In to your negative

or you could try some casonite or cherry red

I'm with Larry... "just try it" (and let us know how it goes).

[John B]

I want to take 2" pipe, cut off the threaded end, flatten the threads out, and use them as a fuller to impart lines in 1/4" and 3/8" round stock. I don't think the threads will hold up very long and wonder if I can do anything to harden them. I assume that most threaded pipe is mild steel. My goal is to make the stock look like vines, or small branches.

You could use a large single cut file or the end bit of a farriers rasp where it is single cut, normalise first before use

[SoCal Dave]

I found an old rasp with some good single cut portions still left and will try that on Monday or Tuesday. John B. - Do I run the colors and temper the rasp after normalizing or just normalize it. I will report back on what happened and what worked best.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

If it was me I would just pop a piece of good steel into the mill, or shaper, and knock one out B)

[John B]

I found an old rasp with some good single cut portions still left and will try that on Monday or Tuesday. John B. - Do I run the colors and temper the rasp after normalizing or just normalize it. I will report back on what happened and what worked best.

Just normalised should be OK

[son_of_bluegrass]

Sorry, but I don't know what superquenching is?

Super quench is a quenchant that was created to be very fast to harden mild steel as much as it can. You mix it up yourself. I don't know the recipe off hand but a search should find the recipe easy enough. I've heard some of the ingredients are becoming harder to find and there are a few variants of the recipe.

ron

[Steve McCarthy]

Wore out pipe thread dies would work if you flattened them out a bit.

[Sukellos]

You could try to forge a Mark Aspery-type spring fuller out of a length of threaded rod.

[ThomasPowers]

Usually when you are trying to mimic natural stuff you want a bit more variety than regular machined stuff. I'd suggest making your own die with a slitting chisel rather than trying to use pipe threads and *don't* go for perfectly space lines!

[SoCal Dave]

Test #1 Report. I took a two inch pipe nipple and cut it. The nipple was all threads, with no unthreaded space. I opened it up and made it flat with the threads running the length of the rectangle. I heated up 1/8 and 1/4 inch rod and used a wooden mallet at first but then changed to a light weight auto repair hammer. The wooden mallet wasn't getting the job done. I hit the stock when it was going with the threads but not perfectly in line and at 45 degree angles. I followed that up with just hammer blows to the stock on the anvil just to impart some texture. The best results came on the 1/4 inch stock during this first test run, and it looks pretty good with definite lines. I would like to get some deeper lines and so I will be more aggressive when I run a 10' section through tomorrow or thursday. I hope to send pictures in the next report, but I have never included pictures with my postings, and I'm not sure how to do it so they are not extremely large and difficult to view.

[SoCal Dave]

I took some pictures of the pipe thread fuller.