Steering tie rods ok for punches and slitters?

[norrin_radd]

I had some steering tie rods given to me, about 1" + diameter, and was wondering if that type of steel would be ok for punches, chisels, slitters etc..? I found one post about tie rods but it didn't really answer my question. I know nothing about steering mechanisms but some of them are thicker than others and they don't appear to be broken. Thanks for any advice.

[ThomasPowers]

usually a tough alloy good for tooling; not my top choice for tools that get buried in red hot steel; but if you are good with the hit hit hit cool, hit hit hit cool, they will work.

[norrin_radd]

Thanks, that's what I was looking for.

I want to try some twisted bar handled punches soon.

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning,

And some of the steering parts already have a hole that you can take advantage of, I just don't know what for.

I've been using that material for over 10 years, it works out well. Let your mind get creative.

Neil

[norrin_radd]

Morning !

Yeah, I have a few of the joints with the holes too. I actually used one to make the end cap for my mace. Don't really have a good picture of it though. The hole in the one that I have starts out about 1" and tapers a little, cant remember the dimension. Worked like a giant nail header for some upset 3/4 stock. I'm thinking about making a spring swage out of it now.

Edited April 21, 2015 by norrin_radd

[Quarry Dog]

Oh cool.  I just had to replace a set of tie rods on a '64 CJ5 Jeep.  Soundd like nice straight machining material for some large size transfer punches I've been wanting at work.

[ThomasPowers]

Well I know the one for jackhammer bits is WAY wrong, (and probably why too) Jackhammer bits are usually around plain 1050 steel and NOT S5. That info was from a guy who spent decades running a business that resharpened them and said that out of over a million jackhammer bits only a handful were anything but plain simple CHEAP steel.

Now "Machinerys Handbook" lists S5 as an excellent steel to make jackhammer bits out of and they are correct. However Titanium would be a really good material to make car bodies and solid gold is a spiffing material to make frying pans out of----you seen many of them around?  (Except for the frying pan they made for the National Geographic issue on Gold...)  In the real world cheapness often trumps "best" and so jackhammer bits are generally not made from top dollar alloys.

I have also ran into 1 low alloy strain hardened leafspring that could not be quenched hardened.  (1 in 30+ years....)

Such lists are "suggestions" not rules; TEST TEST TEST!

[Charles R. Stevens]

Dont forget about the tie rod ends and ball joints, balls on one end and a tapered stem on the other. Warning, the taper is self locking so you must draw it out or upset it before using the taper as a punch. And it is obvius that Norrin drove his stock in from the small side. 

Other good things under the front of a car, springs, sway bars (spring steel) torsan bars (replaces springs in some trucks, particularly GM 4 weel drive and Imports) 

[norrin_radd]

 And it is obvius that Norrin drove his stock in from the small side. 

Other good things under the front of a car, springs, sway bars (spring steel) torsan bars (replaces springs in some trucks, particularly GM 4 weel drive and Imports) 

​I was just experimenting but I guess I used the small side by accident because I did not know that it was a self locking taper. I know when I started using it I had to taper the stock for it to go through, maybe that helped it. I did have issues getting good angled strikes because of the shoulder of the rod, that's why the end cap came out like a flat button instead of a shallow point like I wanted. And it was a b***ch to hold, everything about that mace was a b***ch actually, but I learned a lot. 

I had intentions of turning that section of rod into a spring swage, hopefully it will work. I've got about 5 various types of them to mess around with.

thanks for all the input everyone great info as usual.