Tommy bar material?

[RJSakowski]

Either W1 or O1 rod, hardened and taken to a spring temper should work about as well as anything. To harden, heat until the rods won't stick to a magnet and quench in water or oil. At this point, the rods should be glass hard and brittle. Polish the rods and slowly heat until the color turns blue and quench again. This should be a spring temper. A heat gun would probably work better for the tempering process as there is less chance of overheating. If you mess up the heat treating, you can do it over again. A propane torch and a few bricks will make a makeshift oven

 

[FOMOGO]

A place where the Who used to drink. Mike

What’s a Tommy bar?

 

[Winegrower]

A place where the Who used to drink. Mike

This is such a helpful website.

 

[MrWhoopee]

What’s a Tommy bar?

The little bar through the end of a screw (like on a c-clamp) that allows tightening without a tool.

 

[woodchucker]

I was thinking something else for a tommy bar,
I was thinking something like this...


For small clamps, I have used shafting from printers. I strip old printers for the hardened shafts.
But I also wound up with a piece of shaft from Starrett from one of the tools... ..
The printer shafts come in handy.

 

[NC Rick]

I was thinking something else for a tommy bar,
I was thinking something like this...
View attachment 386574

For small clamps, I have used shafting from printers. I strip old printers for the hardened shafts.
But I also wound up with a piece of shaft from Starrett from one of the tools... ..
The printer shafts come in handy.

Me too! For instance, when the vise handle bends a stronger handle isn’t always the answer. Sometimes it’s a bigger or better vise. I was picturing something a pound or two if it was a small “Tommy bar”

 

[MrWhoopee]

I was thinking something else for a tommy bar,
I was thinking something like this...
View attachment 386574

For small clamps, I have used shafting from printers. I strip old printers for the hardened shafts.
But I also wound up with a piece of shaft from Starrett from one of the tools... ..
The printer shafts come in handy.

Yep, same basic idea except larger and removable.

I've stripped down one printer so far.
Love the shafting! Metric, free machining, doesn't rust but is magnetic.
I look at discard printers differently now.

 

[whitmore]

I need to make tommy bars for my small set of machinist clamps, vee blocks etc. I tried W1 steel rod, but it’s too soft, at least without hardening.

The water-hardening rod starts in fully annealed condition, so you can machine it before hardening, so
that's out. You don't need hard, as much as tough, so go with cold-formed material; I've
got a jar of miscellaneous nails that'd be my first choice (finish nails already have one end knobbed).
When pins fall from a hacksaw and are lost on the floor, a roofing nail can be perfect.