high carbon tool bar steel

[bjr]

I'm thinkin' I want some 1080 1-1/4" square bar to mount my cultivator shanks to. High carbon square bar. It get clamp to a mount and not welded maybe drilled, just need something stiff and not too expensive. I've done some searching and haven't found anything does anyone know if a 1080 1-1/4" square bar is available? The local suppliers all want to sell cold finished 1018 and I'm not sure if that be stiff enough. bjr

 

[sal64]

hello i never herd of a 1080 bar usually 1060 or 4140 whitch is shafting it is harder to find then 1018cd,try ryerson steel or emj steel they are big steel outfits .

 

[have_blue]

I'm thinkin' I want some 1080 1-1/4" square bar to mount my cultivator shanks to. High carbon square bar. It get clamp to a mount and not welded maybe drilled, just need something stiff and not too expensive. I've done some searching and haven't found anything does anyone know if a 1080 1-1/4" square bar is available? The local suppliers all want to sell cold finished 1018 and I'm not sure if that be stiff enough. bjr

The ideal steel would be 4140 HT. It's pre-heat treated and runs about a 30 Rockwell "C" hardness. It can be drilled and tapped if you have good tools and the skill. That's what loader bucket edges shold be made of! Haven't used it in years, it may have been replaced by a newer alloy.

 

[Farmerford]

I agree with Bob that 4140 or 4142 quenched and tempered has the best combination of strength, flexibility, and availability. 1080 spring steel in 1 1/4 square bar stock is very rare.

4140/4142 is fairly expensive. A 5' bar of 1 1/4" square is probably over $100. 1040/1045 is fairly common and probably one-half the cost of 4140, but considerably weaker.

If you can change the size, consider 1018/1020 hot rolled square tube. I have not done the math, but I suspect a 1 3/4" square tube 1/4" thick is as strong as a 4140 1 1/4" solid bar, somewhat lighter, and significantly cheaper. Furthermore, it is weldable if you need to.

 

[bjr]

Some of the steel supply sites (after a lot of searching) show a 1040-1045 in 1-1/4" square bar. These are just clamped on straight bars out to 36", so no welding should be necessary. I will find out if there's some on west coast. I verified what you said on price the 4140 is spendy. If I can find the medium carbon bar I might buy a stick of that 20' or what ever their minimum is. The IH clamps with the wedge bolt that I'm gonna use are limited to no more than 1-3/8", I was going for the 1-1/4" cause I thought it might be more readily available. I just got a newsflash a buddy cut off some strips of A-514 (T-1) 1-1/4" plate faily straight and gave it to me, I'll use that until it bends. Hey thanks for the input cause I tend to just experiment until things work and that generally cost me $$$ that I didn't need to spend. On a side note I wonder what the 2-1/4" diamond tool bars I have at home is made of, cause there pretty rigid? Any thoughts or knowlegde on the bigger solid tool bars? bjr