What materials to make a hardened swage

my 2 cents

=================================== If you're after the challenge of making it yourself, go for it. It not...they're available from the Model A parts suppliers for about $7.50.

Someone else recommended 4130...that'll work fine and should be easy to find.

Joe

Pretty much whatever you have in a hardenable steel will work for one model A.

Bill

Make one out of OCS (Old Chevy Spring). Both leaf and coil car/truck springs are made of some very good steel and are usually available free. On coil springs, I cut of one or so rings and heat and straighten (hammer and anvil). Heat to "cherry red" and bury in ashes to anneal. Saw/machine/grind/file to required shape. Heat to cherry red and quench in oil. Clean to bare metal and gently heat to a brown (hard) or purple (not quite so hard but tougher) and quench again.

After he broke his third Snap-on cold chisel, I made one out of truck-size coil spring for my mechanic son-in-law. This was several years ago. He says it may soon need to be sharpened.

Ted

=========================== It may well make a difference where you get them. A fellow member of the local A club got one from Bratton and brought it over to stake the studs in his drums, using my press. It did all four and still looked like new.

Joe