I recently came into possession of a chrome plated Hydraulic cylinder rod.  It is 2" diameter and 8 feet long.  All chrome is intact, and one end has the eye other end is threaded.  Do you know what the steel might? Not really sure what to do with it.  Looking for ideas.

 

I think the chrome plating makes it kind of problematic for forging no matter what kind of steel it is since heating it to forging temperature will cause all kinds of dangerous heavy metal inhalant issues.  You can remove the chrome with acid but then you have the problem of disposing of toxic metal contaminated acid and residue.  Maybe bury the treaded end 6' into the ground to make a chrome plated hitching post? 

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand." 

I don't have anything that needs hitching except the dogs. Wifey or kids won't hold still long enough. (That's a joke) Maybe a decorative fence in front yard?  Part of a "ratrod" project? Sounds like welding is an issue too. Perhaps burning the chrome off in a firepit? or grinding?  I know it's a stretch, It's a beautiful shinny chunk of steel.  I hate to just let it go. Well, anyways it'll get moved to the back yard for now.

For welding you can grind the chrome away locally to the steel underneed and weld on it.

Putting the rod in a campfire is like putting it in a forge. A lot of nasty chrome that you will inhale.

A hydraulic shop mostly can or know a place where they rechrome those things. And those people can take it off.

You can also use it as an anvil. I use a pen as an anvil

Contact a local plating company and see how much it would cost to get the chrome removed. If they can put it on they can take it off. Also it may be a lot cheaper than you think. Regardless a phone call to ask is free. 

I have burned paint off in a bon fire but i would never think of doing chrome plating, or even zinc for that matter. 

I took a class at the John C Campbell school in western NC, led by Terry Sheridan. He uses those rods for hammer stock. he said it was pretty much 4140 and the chrome was microns thin. we were working with coal forges and he wasn't concerned with heavy metal stuff. He had twenty to thirty years as a metal worker and blacksmith in canada.  

He also said that, because he was close to the shores of one of the great lakes, he has been able to collect more than 5 tons of anchor chain from shipwrecks in the 1800's  - 5 tons of high quality wrought iron. We made wood-working tools using chain from an 1810 shipwreck.  very cool. 

On 11/6/2025 at 2:48 PM, Pault17 said:

he wasn't concerned with heavy metal stuff. He had twenty to thirty years as a metal worker and blacksmith in canada.

Just because someone is an instructor, has many years of experience and currently appears healthy doesn't automatically imply that everything they do is best practices or even safe.  
I don't know who this person is, and am not making any personal attacks, but my initial impression based on the above comment is:  hmmm...here's someone who obviously doesn't care about how much damage he does to the environment, himself or his students.   
Be careful and safe.
 

Overseers, I am not trying to throw stones here, just trying to look at things objectively. Please delete this if it is inappropriate. thank you.

I appreciate and understand the concern with stewardship of the planet and its environment. My blacksmithing tries to make use of as many recycled materials as possible, including metal for product, and wood for charcoal (when I forge with that). As for the quantities of chromium released into this same environment, here are a few calculations (I will be bouncing back and forth between standard and metric measurements)

Using the calculator from online metals, 12 inches or 2-inch round 4140 is approximately 10.6257 lbs. With this I could get three 3+lbs hammers. The average thickness of chromium on these rods is between 25~50 μm (from xsl hydraulics website). Using the high end of that number equates to 0.05mm in thickness. The surface area of the rod is about 75.4 square inches. when you do the math, this equates to about 0.0038 cubic centimeters of chrome that comes off in the smoke. Without going into the physics of electron transfer and all of that, this amount, if completely inhaled, would likely result in cancer or even death. Using the flue of your coal forge as a breather mask would likely do the same. Grinding the metal off makes it a friable particulate, which can be breathed in, likely resulting in the same issues, and you have to dispose of the dust somehow.  

Before I, myself, would get emotionally worked up about the amount of damage to the environment I am doing by making a couple of hammers, I would research the environmental impact of the production and disposal of rechargeable lithium batteries and photovoltaic/solar panels. I am just trying to make something that I can use, as affordably as I can produce it. Oh, and Terry is Canadian, which is just as, if not more concerned with tree huggery than us in the US

 

 

It's  not planetary stewardship that is the concern, nor is it your decision to breath hexavalent chrome and throw the dice with your health. The concern is with all the kids reading this forum who just don't know how serious a health hazard putting chrome in a forge fire or grinding it off some attractive scrap stock is. 

Safely removing chrome plating from round shaft is easy and inexpensive, simply call around to machine shops and find one that'll chuck it up and take a single pass on the lathe. You have clean chrome free stock for a $20 or perhaps a 6 pack bribe and don't throw the dice breathing hexavalent chrome, one of the true carcinogens like cadmium that WILL cause cancer, not might. You don't have to worry about safe / legal hazmat disposal from stripping the chrome with acid. Machine shops are equipped to dispose of or sell metal shavings safely.

Feel free to take whatever chances your calculations justify, that's on you. No harm no foul. However please do NOT encourage people just learning the craft to take chances with their health and possibly lives. A lot of them are youngsters in their teens and 20s with many decades for a little careless disregard for basic common sense safety to add up to cutting it shorter than necessary and ending it in pain.

If it makes you feel better, maybe justified to call folk names who call you out for encouraging unsafe behavior, go ahead it's no skin off my nose and changes absolutely nothing in the real world. 

Ever watch a friend die of cancer? The feeling of helplessness eats on your soul and I won't let someone take the chance without saying something. 

Pretty nice hawks, are the two ones lower in the pic early attempts?

Frosty The Lucky.

Go shopping at shipyards or hydraulic shops that service ships.

If the chrome is not rusted away, you could peel it off, with all the rust underneed.

The "black" ones are also different formula, better corrosiom resistance in seawater (with the chrome, rust crawls underneed via the threats or something)

Thanks Frosty, I needed to hear it that way. BillyO and everbody here on IFI, I apologize to all for letting my hackles stand up.  The two lower ones are 'traditional' wrapped hawks with a high carbon bit forge-welded in. the two upper ones are actually small belt hand-axes forged like the one done by Gerald Boggs. They were made from, as Terry Sheridan put it, "wrought iron anchor chain from a shipwreck from 1810", again folded over with a high-carbon bit.  

Good Morning,

I met Terry Sheridan at the last CanIRON in Fergus. Terry doesn't Fly and he doesn't live on Social Media, but he is one heck of a knowledgeable guy. I recognized the belt hooks as some that Terry had on his display table.

I learned long time ago, Don't knock someone else, until you can walk a Mile in their shoes. Terry is way ahead of where most of us are walking. He has forgotten more, than most people know, on this Forum. Please be kind.

Remember that when you have one finger pointing at someone else, 3 are pointing at you.

Neil

It's all good Paul, everybody gets worked up now and then. If you'd been following the forum you'd know how often it happens to me even though I edit mine several times before posting.

I sincerely hope you'll join us on Iforge, we're always looking for contributors and we'll gleefully pump you for what you know. We'll disagree often enough of course but blacksmiths are like that. Ask two a question and get 3-4 answers, it's who we are.

Be well Brother.

Frosty The Lucky.