Axles For Plastic Castors - W1 Drill Rod - Should I Harden?

[CluelessNewB]

My current project is restoring an old Delta 24" scroll saw. The stand came with a set of original retractable castors but the plastic wheels were toast. I was able to find some replacement wheels from McMaster Carr. Removing the old wheels required grinding off the heads of the old axles. I made some new axles with "E" clips in lathe cut grooves as retainers. I used some 7/32" W1 drill rod. Should I bother trying to harden them? My gut feeling is that with plastic wheels they are plenty hard as-is. The saw probably won't be moved much anyway.

 

[Tony Wells]

I wouldn't, but I would polish them really well and put some dry type lube (compatible with the wheel) on them. It's already harder than the plastic wheel so there doesn't seem to me to be much point in hardening them.

 

[ndnchf]

Its a little late now, but I would have made them from the smooth shank of long grade 5 bolts. They are cheap, easy to machine and already hardened.

 

[4GSR]

The OEM probably used something like 1018, 1214, 1215 to make the axles out of and just assembled and upsetting the ends to create a head on the axles.

 

[CluelessNewB]

Its a little late now, but I would have made them from the smooth shank of long grade 5 bolts. They are cheap, easy to machine and already hardened.

I considered using a bolt and nut but that but it would have required drilling out the wheels and the castor frames, a #12 screw would be the right diameter but the selection for #12 partially threaded is limited. I used W1 since it was available in 7/32" to match wheel and frame size. I didn't do an exhaustive search but that doesn't appear to be a size readily available in 1018 or 1214. The originals had nice rounded heads on both ends which now that I think about it probably means they could not have been all that hard otherwise forming the head that nice would have been problematic.

 

[xman_charl]

these are off old bed frames...very easy to work with for me, and cheap
black one is plastic, middle axle galvanized, guess that is why it broke.

Them wheels make great couplings, feet for a base, etc. Some are nylon, even better.



Charl