Few general questions

Bedframe angle iron. It sure is different from stock angle iron. Is there any special use for it like knives, or other cutting devices? Anyone ever hear of making a thread die by drill the three holes in nut with a flush bolt? Then heating the nut cherry red and sprinkling powdered sugar on it to harden the threads. Years ago I came across this but heaven knows where. If one makes a hardy cut off, from a large spring, and then tempers it, does welding it to the plate destroy the temper? Would old rotary grass mower blades be good to rebuild the blade on a 'sod cutter' machine? What would the re-tempering process involve, if this is practical? in advance. . . . thanks to all.

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Structural use.
Fishing Rod holder: cut in half crossways, cut one end at 30-45 degree angle, weld large fender washer perpendicular to the angle about a foot from the other end, weld a ring (about the diameter of the washer) perpendicular to the angle at the top (above the washer).
Stab the rod holder into the ground beside a fishing hole and use it to hold up the rod while waiting for the fish to bite.
The "stuff" is like re-bar: mystery metal.
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Might work for soft metals.
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Tig it and it might not. [DCEP?]
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Use a good hardfacing rod...
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Spark testing quite few different bedframes... it seems to be about 1070 and I'd guess it was work hardened into the hardened state we find it in.
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/yoketool.jpg
The longer piece is a hunk I've been using for over 25 years to hold stuff like VW flywheels to tighten and loosen the "gland nut" (~250ft/ls). All it ever needed was holes drilled into it at the right places. The yoke-tool is its latest use just before that it was used to hold the harmonic balancer on my clunky old Ford FE (FordEdsel;) engine in my pickup ('75 F150), just needed another hole for that-use was all. ;)
The yoke-tool needed two new holes and that other short piece and some old manifold bolts. ~175 ft/lbs was nothing for that tool.
A larger and longer piece of bedframe was bolted to VW rear brake drums for loosening and tightening the 1+7/16" or 1+13/16" rear axle nuts.
Think of "bedframe" as prepped-wrench-steel in an angle-iron shape. :)
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No, not ever spelled out that way before. :) I'll prob'ly use that someday, thanks! :)
Made thread chasers from castle nuts and "dremeled" (new verb;) bolts and "dremeled" nuts using a 1/8" burr too.
Just a few days ago (no kidding) had to clean some spark plug threads out, using a spark plug I dremeled in some tap-like-cuts into years ago for that use.
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Start with a grade 5 or grade 8 nut that spark tests to be 1040 or 4140 or some other medium carbon steel harden it up by quench and tempering (temper in boiling water) with a hard carbon case would prob'y work pretty good?
BTW, since when do you thread hard metals? ;)
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Do yourself a big-ass favor... "Metallurgy Theory and Practice" by Dell K. Allen www.amazon.com ...usually the cost is about the same as shipping.
Reading that sucker over careful-like in about 2 weeks then refering-back to it often over a couple more weeks while getting the concepts straight in my head...
...figured I learned -at least- a thousand man-years of steel metallurgy.
Meantioned that "idea" on the metallurgy NG and the the metallurgist on there claimed I "learned more like ten-thousand man-years of steel metallurgy" in a month.
Take your pick. ;)
Sounds pretty dangged good and hard to pass up either way huh? :)
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/graphFig6-7.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/graph1095.jpg
Why work with steel and not know the fundamentals when they are so cheap and easy to get? :)
Just a couple hundred years ago all that stuff was "secret".
I've "sold" several copies of that book over the years, bought several that I gave away too, and there's a couple of guys that own 'em lurk here too.
If you feel the need to get what your reading "straight" you can post it here and even mention the page or figure number.
You are fixin to be amazed and thrilled at what you are going to learn! Guaranteed. I'll buy the book from you if you aren't pleased with it.
Is that one of the weirdest things you ever read on an NG? ;)
Alvin in AZ

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Bedframes here in the UK mostly have a high manganese content, as many were re-rolled from tram rails. Tram rails needed the managnese to allow the upper wear face of the rail work harden as the wheels rolled on it. Makes then a b***r to drill as they tend (guess what!) to work hsrden and grip the drill. Welds tend to be brittle.
AWEM

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Does that high Mn steel spark test like O1 with the "hollow puff ball" look? (like a little dandelion flower)
I've read in several places like this (hear say) where they used a high manganese steel for rails but never read it where I could really count on it. :/ Here in the western US we used a high manganese steel frog but not Hi-Mn steel for general rail use.
I've read where high manganese rail would wear the wheels out and so there was no real advantage to high Mn rail, and using the ~1080 rail gave the best economy overall.
Maybe traffic speed is a determining factor in the choice?
I'd really appreciate it if you'd post a source for me to read, that speaks to this in more detail. :)
As far as rail goes I-am only aware of three steel types... ~1080, Hi-Si and Cro-Mo which we used for certain high speed and high wear curves where surface "shelling" and rail breaking were problems.
The manganese frogs were next to imposible to drill a 3/8" bond wire hole into. I came up with using the thermite powder type bonds (Cadweld) on my Mn-frogs and showed how great it worked and later it came back through the "system" that I was to use the thermite powder system for my Mn-frogs from now on. :)
Same story when I went through and started checking for grounds every month. Showed how not just after thunderstorms do those suckers show up and later was "schooled, one on one" on the need to check for grounds every month and to make sure and write "NG" on the battery card if none were found etc. I tried to show the old middle (not big;) shot I was friggin doing that for better than 6 months already and what I said and pointed to on my battery card... went right past him as he kept on with his prepared speach. LOL :)
Alvin in AZ (retired signalape)

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They were pulling up tram rails here in the '60's and early '70's, but I expect the Vono style bed rails were only being made in the '60's. Now when those rails went down is anyones guess, but I'd expect a lot to be pre-war (ie before 1939 - we know the yanks were late arriving AGAIN!) so the metallurgy would be from the mid to late thirties. Don't have any on hand to do a spark test sorry.
The funny thing is that they are now putting trams back !
AWEM

Oh God another Charles... where will it end? ------------------------------------------
Charles: Here's the new professor. Welcome to the philosophy department of the university of Woolloomooloo. I'm Charles, this is Charles, Charles, Charles, Charles and of course Charles.
Charles' in unison: Pleased to meet you.
Charles: What's your name then?
Eric: Eric.
Charles: It's not Charles then?
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Charles: Bugger me, that's going to make things confusing.
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Mystery metal angle is usually low carbon, so can be used in laminated blades, unless the sulphur content it too high then make it into a work bench.
No I haven't heard of this method, but it has raised something I have never tried. Sugar is chock full of carbon, I might just try a case hardening experiment.
If you heat a heat treated piece of metal with an oxy chances are you'll screw the temper (unless you're good). Electric, might be okay. Not sure about tig or mig.
I don't know what a sod cutting machine is so I can't help here.
Regards Charles
theChas. wrote:
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