Hydraulic ram as stock?

Spajo

Spajo

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I acquired a hydraulic ram about 8 feet length and 2.6 inches diameter. Is it useful as stock?

More details: Neither a file nor a hacksaw will bite into the polished surface. But grind off the outer layer and it can be worked with a file and a saw. I expected it to machine too, but that was a disaster. My lathe is a LMS 5100 with high torque motor. I cut off about 6", and center drilled it so that the stock was supported by a live center. I used carbide insert tool, but that failed until I used carbide tool with 0.125" radius and positioned the tip perpendicular to the stock. I could only cut about 3 mills without stalling the lathe and the insert produced a stringy chip, often with sparks or arc. It was hot.

Is the lathe too small for this job? Would HHS cut this material better? Would annealing help? Finally, will an end mill cut it on a mill?

I could just try all this myself, but I've already shredded my drive belt. More to the point, there may be ways to work this material that I have not thought of or know about.

Anyway, this is my second post. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Spajo
 
Should be hardened only on the outside, so once you remove that later you are okay. But the hardened layer is like 0.1”. It can be tough.
 
We used a ton of that usually requiring just the end(s) machined. We would heat the area until it was not quite red. Made it a little more tolerable.
 
Usually the rod is induction hardened and Also hard chromed, it would take one of the harder grades of carbide to cut it, or ceramic, if partially annealed, it could be cut more easily, it would seem obvious that it is too much for your lathe, and milling is also out of the question, as is HSS tools.
 
Nothing but Thomson Rod . Case hardened and ground shaft , Take a big bite and get underneath the HT,ed area . We make it and we machine it but it is a PITA for a small lathe .
 
Must be different grades of rods ? I had a small 1” rod that machined fine .
 
SWECO that builds cylinder for ag. Equipment has three grades of rods. Most of the common ones machine ok with carbide and a sturdy lathe. Cat cylinder rods are hard but will turn ok after your under the chrome plate. Trying to turn hardened steel on a light lathe will just cause frustration. You can try to anneal the steel by heating it red hot then cooling it slowly. I usually just bury it in wood ashes to let it cool. Good luck..
 
Spajo said:
I acquired a hydraulic ram about 8 feet length and 2.6 inches diameter. Is it useful as stock?

More details: Neither a file nor a hacksaw will bite into the polished surface. But grind off the outer layer and it can be worked with a file and a saw. I expected it to machine too, but that was a disaster. My lathe is a LMS 5100 with high torque motor. I cut off about 6", and center drilled it so that the stock was supported by a live center. I used carbide insert tool, but that failed until I used carbide tool with 0.125" radius and positioned the tip perpendicular to the stock. I could only cut about 3 mills without stalling the lathe and the insert produced a stringy chip, often with sparks or arc. It was hot.

Is the lathe too small for this job? Would HHS cut this material better? Would annealing help? Finally, will an end mill cut it on a mill?

I could just try all this myself, but I've already shredded my drive belt. More to the point, there may be ways to work this material that I have not thought of or know about.

Anyway, this is my second post. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Spajo
Click to expand...
Thank you to all who responded. I can see that there is a range of experiences and that is helpful to know. I'm motivated to explore this further and if I find anything interesting I will post it. One motivation is that FEDEX auctions off damaged or lost goods and the auction site is about a mile from my house. I bought this 8ft x 2.6" ram for $30. I could probably buy one a week, so it would be nice to figure out how to work with these materials. They also auction all kinds of industrial steel parts and motors - anything they ship may show up.

I had cut off about 5" to experiment with, and I do know that taking off 150 thou will get below the hard surface, but I don't know how thin it is on this piece.

As for the lathe, I tried running 500 - 1500 rpm. At 500rpm and above, if I dialed in deeper than a 3 mill cut, the motor stalled. This was for 2.6" diameter. I can see that a 1" diameter might give a different result and running slower might help too.

Annealing a small piece will be my next step.

Thanks all,
Spajo
 
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