Screwdriver
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There's a bike shop near me I frequent and I'm always popping in, helping out, doing stuff. I'm fixing a couple of old air compressors for example. They're next door to a car repair garage type setup and they're always throwing stuff away: springs, disks, odd bits of metalwork and a couple of days ago, two stubby drive shafts off a BMW.
"What the **** do you want those for?", chap in the bike shop scoffs. "Well it will be a decent high carbon steel, tough as old boots" I recite. "I might make some tools out of it or blades whatever, I could even turn it down to make a pin like this one"
That's a taller pin for a headstock stand I made recently but we digress.
"Oh, now you mention it, could you make one of these?" He says.
"Well, duh, yeah, I'll probably make them out of these" I scoff back at him.
Now if the conversation hadn't gone that way to start off with, there's no way I'd use presumably induction hardened 4140 (?) to make a headstock out of (that's what it is. Plus I sort of have to bore it out). But for the craic I almost have to, just so that I can turn old junk into real money. His money.
Here's where I got to.
Man, those things are TOUGH. There was a crispy shell on the outside which cost me two cutting edges off my carbide bit. The core is relatively soft but might turn out to be tough and possibly gummy. I wan't to avoid drilling it out if I can. It's for a Harley so weight isn't an issue.
Little bit worried about handing it over to someone else to o the installation/welding though. I hear this stuff can be tricky to weld. Anyone have experience of welding old drive shafts? Is it 4140, 1050, EN8??
Incidentally, if I ever do this again (he says looking at the other piece) I will be annealing it first...
"What the **** do you want those for?", chap in the bike shop scoffs. "Well it will be a decent high carbon steel, tough as old boots" I recite. "I might make some tools out of it or blades whatever, I could even turn it down to make a pin like this one"
That's a taller pin for a headstock stand I made recently but we digress.
"Oh, now you mention it, could you make one of these?" He says.
"Well, duh, yeah, I'll probably make them out of these" I scoff back at him.
Now if the conversation hadn't gone that way to start off with, there's no way I'd use presumably induction hardened 4140 (?) to make a headstock out of (that's what it is. Plus I sort of have to bore it out). But for the craic I almost have to, just so that I can turn old junk into real money. His money.
Here's where I got to.
Man, those things are TOUGH. There was a crispy shell on the outside which cost me two cutting edges off my carbide bit. The core is relatively soft but might turn out to be tough and possibly gummy. I wan't to avoid drilling it out if I can. It's for a Harley so weight isn't an issue.
Little bit worried about handing it over to someone else to o the installation/welding though. I hear this stuff can be tricky to weld. Anyone have experience of welding old drive shafts? Is it 4140, 1050, EN8??
Incidentally, if I ever do this again (he says looking at the other piece) I will be annealing it first...