I don't want to start another war on the list, so please reply off list if
you wish to say bad things to me, but this is a safety issue and I feel very
strongly about it. I am a machinist/toolmaker/tool designer with 17 years
experience and have also been a heavy equipment mechanic. Heat treating IS
"all that complicated". Every steel alloy has different methods of heat
treating, and there are also many different methods for each alloy,
depending on the desired result and usage. The basics as described in this
post are true, however, quenching the wrong steel at the wrong temperature
can result in a very hard, brittle part that will snap off at the least
improper stress. I leave it up to your imagination the result if this was
to happen to a critical front suspension part during a high stress manuver
in traffic. Many aftermarket companies sell sway bars for oletrucks at a
reasonable price. Please consider purchasing one of these as I would prefer
not to read any obituaries on this list.
Woody
53 GMC
Original Message -----
From: Alan Lubow <alosteo@uswest.net>
To: Holly and Chris Mills <scmills@tntech.edu>
Cc: <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:41 PM
Subject: [oletrucks] sway bar
> Chris:
>
> Heat treating isn't all that complicated. I remember it was part of the
> standard curriculum in my 7th grade metal shop class. We made, and then
> heat treated screw drivers and cold chisels. It involved heating the
metal
> red hot, and then as it cooled down, we used a wire brush to stroke the
> metal (brushing off carbon) and watch for color changes. At the
appropriate
> instant (when the working end was a nice blue/purple, as I recall) we
doused
> the metal into cold water. The color would stay and the teacher could
check
> to see that it had been done correctly. If so, we'd then polish off the
> color and carbon with emery paper -- heat treated steel! If you really
> wanted to make your own sway bar for your truck I'll bet a local
industrial
> arts teacher or community college could help. The steel stock would be
> pretty cheap, but you'd need to be able to bend it to the correct size and
> shape before heat treating it as well. I'm going to try to find a used
one!
>
> Alan
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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