oakwoodforge Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 I am looking at a small collection of older trailer hitch balls , they are solid steel no chrome plating, just wondering if anyone knows what they may be, I was thinking they were 10xx series med. carbon but I am not sure. I spark checked one and it has semi compound sparks. I was thinking they might make nice Hardy Hole tools. Any Ideas ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 They have a flat spot on the top that can be delt with or, used to your advantage. They do make nice balls for anvil tools. There are two schools of throught on using "whatevers" for a tool. One is, will it deform in use, and the other is use it and see. The "use it and see group" generally hammer on hot iron, which is softer than the tool material. If you work the metal cold, then the quality of the tool material may be a much larger issue. Then there is the "one time use" vs the "one tool made one time" issue. For one time use, who cares as long as it works - one time. Now if you put 2-3-4 days into making a tool, and you want it to last a lifetime, that is another issue. Tools, if they are used, will wear out. So while your at it, and remember how, make 2 or 3 of the same tool at the one time and store the extras for use later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodforge Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 Great advice, I have one trailer hitch ball mounted to my bench with some big scrap iron for a stand making it like an armorers stake anvil , Been using it for quite a while, no problems deforming. I just ground a crown to the top and sanded it smooth I use it for truing the inside of curved/contoured objects I also have a series of holes drilled next to it , makes it a wonderful adjustable turning cam when you drop a long bolt with a stop-nut through one of the holes . What I really want to know is if I make a cut off hardy or a set of spring swadges/ fullers when I harden do I oil quench as if they are 10xx series , or are they air or water hardening. I suppose I could just experiment and post my results, I think I will try the oil quench first. Seems like the safest bet to me :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 trailer balls are more than likely made of Stressproof shafting. They take a lot of abuse so they have to be tough not hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Thomas Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 irnsrgn: The only information I could find was that some ads for hitch balls said they were "cold forged". One article I found was for a spec for a contract that said: "like a ball hitch" and accepted mild steel. But I couldn't find steel composition of the ball itself anywhere on the net. Do you think they might be an S series steel? Almost no matter what, I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to heat one up and see what it does. It might not even harden that much with a water quench. Oak: Do you have a whole bunch of these hitch balls? If not, I really recommend you get a truck axle instead of using the hitch balls. The steel of a axle definitely hardens and tempers and the size is just about perfect for anvil hardies. Once you get an axle or two, they just started showing up everywhere, and they must be cheaper than hitch balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodforge Posted July 7, 2005 Author Share Posted July 7, 2005 Ed, I have about a dozen or so of the hitch balls , just looking to find a good use for them. I do have a couple of broken m-37 axle shafts an a Dana 70 outer stub shaft that I have been working down into hardy and fullering tools, but necking the shoulder down to fit into the hardy hole has been a bit time an fuel consuming even at a very bright yellow heat. I was hoping that the hitch balls might be hardenable steel as their shape might save some of the really hard work. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 LOL, Cold forged, read CNC lathe forged. Can you imagine what they would cost made out of S series steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Thomas Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 irnsrgn: Sounds about right oak: I'd take one of the hitches and try heating it to non-magnetic. Quench in water. See if file teeth will bite or just skip right off. If it hardens in water, clean it up and look for cracks in good light. If no cracks and it's hard... I'd say you got 12 hardies coming up. You can still use the one you just hardened, but make sure you heat it fairly high (bright yellow) and let the heat penetrate into the ball for awhile before you start hammering it. You did say these were black finished hitch balls? If not, be careful about burning off the finish. The typical coatings will be either zinc or chrome, neither of which is good for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Old hitch balls - read 1960's or before were sometimes drop forged from medium carbon steel and left unhardened. I have one that is two piece, shank thru the middle of an outer shell - very old, was on an old Jeep. It sparks like carbon steel. That was when you often saw small hitch sizes - 1-1/2, 1-3/4, etc. I think Irnsrgn is right about modern manufacture - CNC chucking lathe (big screw machine) is fast and almost hands free using bar stock. Everyone's advice on trying to harden one is probably the best way to check whether you can use one as a hardy. A very good hardy can be made from those big air hammer, pavement breaker bits. I think they are S series steel or something similar. They are hexagonal stock and have integral collars that make nice shoulders to sit in the hardy hole. You can find them in junkyards or at paving contractors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodforge Posted July 7, 2005 Author Share Posted July 7, 2005 Ed, they are older ones, maby '60's or 70's no finish unless you count iron oxide I think I will experiment with them this weekend. I'll build a nice deep fire and let them soak at critical for a good while. Do you think a brine or dish-soap quench would have better luck than just water also room temp or warm quench? what would you recomend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Quench least severe first. You can always move up in quenching. But if you start with the most severe quench, a broken or shattered tool can not be requenched. :cry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodforge Posted July 8, 2005 Author Share Posted July 8, 2005 So probably to be safe try a warm (150-160 deg ) or a room temp water quench ? and see what happens. On the plus side I conviced my little bro to perform striking duty this weekend so one way or another I'll get atleast a few hardy tools roughed out. Thanks for the help Guys !!!!! I just gotta say my Wife is awesome! she got me a brand new cuting /welding Oxy/Lp gas torch set up for my birthday, they are delivering the gas bottles tomorow. Thats a awesome woman that gets you tools for your birthday !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 Very nice wife, keep on her good side. Start with a veggy oil or new ATF quench first, (caution about fire) then hot water, room temp water, ice water and superquench. As your not sure of the parent material, expect it to shatter and take precautions. And what works for one ball may NOT work for another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Thomas Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 In this case, I don't think the hitch balls are a big mystery. If they are old, they are almost certainly mild steel. The only unknown, in my opinion, is if there is enough carbon to harden at all. You can also spark test the ball to see if there is a lot of carbon or not. Use things you know as a comparison. Take a piece of mild steel and compare that and a piece of spring steel and so on. I tend to do the most abusive quench test first, especially if I have plenty of spare. This usually saves some time. This is just for shop tools, not high end knives and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodforge Posted July 8, 2005 Author Share Posted July 8, 2005 Ed, to my eye mild steel has " single " sparks leaf spring steel has compound sparks, these hitch balls have somewhere in between- what I would call semi-compound sparks( a few single sparks and a few " featherd sparks "). I have spark checked several of them and they all seem to be the same. I figure I can heat and quench one before I start working them down that way I am not wasting my time/fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodforge Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 Its is my experience now that trailer hitch balls make good Stake anvils , but will not make a good cutting tool. I think that because the were used they could have "work-hardened" to some degree. even a cool Brine quench didnt do much, a file will still bite. I brough it up to non magnetic, banked the fire and let it "soak" for a good while , first quench was in dex.III ATF, #2 was warm water, # 3 was cool water , #4 was cool brine. I did the file test after each quench. Oh well :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 I think you are forgetting that trailer balls have to be tough. If they were subject to work hardening, they might break form rough use, and can you imagine what would happen if one broke and the towed thing came loose and hit a van load of kids or a school bus. I have had people come in with them bend almost 90 degrees after some kind of accident or stupid attack and I will not touch them cause they have stress from the bending in them already and if I straighten them it will only increase the stress and make them really unsafe, not to mention I would be responsible for the liability on them and I would be leaving myself open for a humongous lawsuit. I still think they are stressproof, I have made things out of them and the chips coming off them in the lathe look like stressproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodforge Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 Ya , you are right, regardless I don't think they will make good cutting tools, defintley not enough carbon. But as stake anvils , tinner's tools, or custom swage tools they should work fine. Just a little custom grind work and I should have a pretty cool hardy hole swage tool for contouring leaves and flower petals. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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