the old grind
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2012
- Messages
- 4,406
- Location
- Mid-Michigan
- Tractor
- NH T-1520 HST, NH TC33DA HST, Case DX26 HST, .Terramite T5C, . NH L785
Carbon content in steel is for heat treating only. Example is 4140, which has 40 'points' of carbon. (.4%) It's used for transmission or PTO shafts, and in heat treat becomes hard all the way through. This does a big fat nothing for tensile strength, and 'hardening' only increases stress/fracture potential if bent or distorted in service. We're not machining splines and heat treating afterward for durability.
We should not be dazzled by buzz word hype like 'aircraft quality'. I just love what Lelandwelds said above about such fluff. :thumbsup:
Also, .. ever hear how great 'powder coat' is. I call BS on this one as another example. There is no priming, little to no surface prep, and 'one coat covers'. It's a cheap'o way to reduce VOCs, o/all cost, and OSHA oversight in manufacturing. It shines brightly until it peels off, and we buy it on showroom looks. Trust manufacturers to brag-up any special materials that trump their competitors. 'Swinging' is about the most bling that can be touted about a drawbar.
That mail-order steel piece is great :thumbsup: if dimensions match, and I'd recommend it over any costly overkill. One supplier here charges me a cut fee for drops, and then measures them in mm to calculate cost.
I make a few tractor parts/yr and cold-rolled is my go to except for pins. Ask for 'stress proof' steel for that to get surface hardness & precision diameters at the expense of weldability. Let's keep it simple. ok?
We should not be dazzled by buzz word hype like 'aircraft quality'. I just love what Lelandwelds said above about such fluff. :thumbsup:
Also, .. ever hear how great 'powder coat' is. I call BS on this one as another example. There is no priming, little to no surface prep, and 'one coat covers'. It's a cheap'o way to reduce VOCs, o/all cost, and OSHA oversight in manufacturing. It shines brightly until it peels off, and we buy it on showroom looks. Trust manufacturers to brag-up any special materials that trump their competitors. 'Swinging' is about the most bling that can be touted about a drawbar.
That mail-order steel piece is great :thumbsup: if dimensions match, and I'd recommend it over any costly overkill. One supplier here charges me a cut fee for drops, and then measures them in mm to calculate cost.
I make a few tractor parts/yr and cold-rolled is my go to except for pins. Ask for 'stress proof' steel for that to get surface hardness & precision diameters at the expense of weldability. Let's keep it simple. ok? 
