Anyone knows what steel are Hydro-Axe blades?

[jake pogrebinsky]

Just in case,if anyone has any idea,would appreciate it.(Sparks very carbonaceously,cuts with mech.hack-saw some,slowly,and possibly airhardening in the process...).

Thanks in advance.

[John McPherson]

Anybody know what a hydro-axe is?

[Bentiron1946]

I have no Idea what a Hydro-axe is but if I look at the word "hydro" that must be Greek or Latin for water and an axe is an inclined plane tool used to cut things, therefore a hydro-axe must be used to cut water or is driven by water to cut up something. You know I think Jake just needs to up and tell us what it is used for. :huh:

[Guest Moderator52]

First blind guess would be a blade for cutting through water but that would be silly. From what you show it looks like a blade off of a bush hog. Or just a hunk of steel with a hole. Where did you get it Jake?

Amazing what a google search will tell you.

[jake pogrebinsky]

Sorry,guys,in AK it seems such a common tool,and a term,that i didn't even think about it...It's a hydraulic(thus,hydro...it may be a brand,too...)attachement for a front-end loader,used for clearing brush and trees.Commonly,the road shoulders,for visibility,but any clearing job at all.It uses blades,such as above,or sometimes sections of chain,to beat the trees into pulp.
I was given a truck-load of these by our DOT guys,when they swapped them out for new ones.
Now a friend,in Fairbanks,is looking for med/high C steel to build up his tooling,and i thought that these may make him some dandy guillotine bits,or some such.
But,actually,the sawzall blades REALLY object to cutting these,so it may be a moot point in any case.It does spark fancy-several different sparkler kinds B)

[jake pogrebinsky]

Shoot,that's how long it takes for my comp.to load stuff-only noticed above video after i was done writing! :D

[K. Bryan Morgan]

That is a pretty impressive piece of kit. It eats bushes. I want one. :D

[ThomasPowers]

So I'd guess that they were more like AR stuff used for grader blades to be tough and wear resistant and so would make great tooling as long as you don't have to cold cut or grind them!

[jake pogrebinsky]

Thanks,Thomas.They're used-up,but still weigh about 20-30lbs a piece.I lack the technology to cut them right now,but will find an occasion to throw one on the plane for Bryan to tangle with (tooling out of it may last a while).

[Bentiron1946]

Impressive machine! Kudzu eater supreme more like it! Tough steel alright to make up a guillotine cutter or other such tooling, to bad you aren't closer to the rest of us.

[Steve Sells]

lol you are asking US, people that dont even know what the tool is, to ID the steel used to make it? I love this place :)

[K. Bryan Morgan]

Heck, send it down when you get a chance. Or gas to cut it with your torch. I'll try it. what the hay. I'll get it hot and cut it on my hardy. Old school. :D

[Old N Rusty]

those poor trees! think of the spotted owls! Oh! somebody should run out in front of that machine and HUG a tree.

[pkrankow]

I was cutting a piece of leaf spring today, and my hacksaw really objected to it. For that matter my center punch did too (blunted one and shattered the tip of the other)

Try an abrasive cutoff wheel on it. They are probably hardened, so a saw is going to object.

Phil

[Sask Mark]

Would it be worth contacting Schulte? They still manufacture equipment.

[pkrankow]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Schulte-Rotary-Cutter-Blades-Set-Two-2-/170280963564

this seems to indicate they are 5160, but I don't know how much to trust it.

Phil

[jake pogrebinsky]

Wow,Phil,you must be pretty good at this research stuff-it sure seems like the same,or very similar thing.
I'm a little embarassed for not being able to ID an 5160 or similar alloy,as i've molested leafspring aplenty,in the past.
But makes good sense,that that's what they'll be,and i thank you for your help!

[ThomasPowers]

Spotted owls like old growth forests; this beast chews up young growth stuff. What I don't like about them is that they leave the wood splintered, "beaten into submission"---very nasty to try to pass through and unusable for basic wood craft

[stevomiller]

Unless you can get the mfg to tell you, or have it analyzed, I can think of a dozen alloys appropriate for making these. Water, oil, air hardening. Bainitic steels, AR work hardening steels, you name it. I would be leary of putting a name on it (like leaf springs are 5160) too quickly.

[pkrankow]

Unless you can get the mfg to tell you, or have it analyzed, I can think of a dozen alloys appropriate for making these. Water, oil, air hardening. Bainitic steels, AR work hardening steels, you name it. I would be leary of putting a name on it (like leaf springs are 5160) too quickly.

That is why I question the source, its an ebay auction. My comments about leaf springs a few posts earlier was regarding sawing hardened steel - it is difficult at best, and frequently impossible, the saw skating, or the material taking teeth off the saw.

However, I doubt the stuff is super exotic, and the auction states 5160 FWIW. I suspect the stuff will cut fin with an abrasive cutoff wheel, and probably will forge adequately.

Phil

[Marksnagel]

I have a piece that is @4" square that was broken off of a bush hog. When the blade broke, it broke at the hole and it shattered. Really hard blade. I"ll save it for a rainy day. A really rainy day before I do anything with it. It is on a shelf waiting for my skill level to increase a hundred fold.
Mark <><