a- bar material ?

[aussietattman]

can anyone tell me what is the best metal to use for making abars most seem to be chrome or nickle plated so could u use say a low grade mild steel ? cheers scott

[Warlock]

1018 steel or softer will give you the best pull, of course one of those rare soft iron ones (pure iron) will pull the hardest but they are expensive (about $20 for a pre made one) and will wear out faster.

[framey]

fuck i could sell you enough iron to make 30 a bars for 20$ lol

[Warlock]

fuck i could sell you enough iron to make 30 a bars for 20$ lol

Would I buy one for that price? ... hell no but there are a few suppliers on the net that sell them ranging from $15 to $25 not to mention a high shipping charge. I'm sure they got plenty enough newbs out there buying them thinking they're getting a good deal.... lol

[Inkspressit]

Try a dropforged a-bar and see how that sounds!!! (have fun making it though) ;)

[voodoo]

could ya grind one outta a wrench?

[Inkspressit]

now ya thinkin.... drill and tap?? ;) framey has one :)

[voodoo]

As soon as u said drop forged..I was thinking Heh wrenches r drop forged!

[Inkspressit]

As soon as u said drop forged..I was thinking Heh wrenches r drop forged!

And friggin hard!!, lol

[aussietattman]

And friggin hard!!, lol cool so some old pommy steel would good to use but as u say, it would be hard.

[Dodgee]

Would 1030 grade steel work for a-bars? Real tough getting anything softer here.

cool so some old pommy steel would good to use but as u say, it would be hard.

How did you go, man?
Asking because I might have to go down that route myself.

[Inkspressit]

1030 will be ok, but 1018 would be better.

Old pommie spanners etc work nice, but they are friggin hard. I make a few Bars outa old drop forged units every now and then.

[StaindSoul]

hope you got time for drilling and tapping.... have a few wrenches drilled for a wrist clip so I dont drop them in inaccesable places on under the car,when working on my toys in places I cant really see well, takes time and good quality bits to work it, plus good lube to keep from burning the bit, but no matter what you do it will still shorten the life of the bit. thats why they cost so much to buy, tapping them will be the same scenario.
I take mine to a machine shop buddy. he lets me use his "old" bits and equipment.
check out the phone book for machine/metal fabricating shops. Hell they probably have scrap metal stock lying around and only charge you a fraction to make it for you. you might even get luck and someone their is looking for some color and you can do some marketing for the product.

[framey]

Would 1030 grade steel work for a-bars? Real tough getting anything softer here.



How did you go, man?
Asking because I might have to go down that route myself.


where in the world are you

[Dodgee]

where in the world are you

On an island just off mainland NZ, place called Australia. LOL
Getting the grades I need in the quantities I'd like is the prob. here, man.
Major suppliers have min. order requirements of like 1 - 6 ton.
The smaller outlets I've approached don't stock it and for whatever reason can't/won't order it in.
I'll keep looking though. Try a few metal fab shops as suggested.

Hey StaindSoul, I didn't think it was going to be easy, man.
Fortunately like you, I also have access to a machine shop and their tools.
Really don't wanna go blowing my stuff for the sake of a few bars.


Old pommie spanners etc work nice, but they are friggin hard. I make a few Bars outa old drop forged units every now and then.

Cool. Do you make to order, man.

[Inkspressit]

Cool. Do you make to order, man.

nope, I only make em up for my own units.

If you want abars check out crowknows on ebay, mainly has cores but does a-bars and yokes too. Pauls a top bloke and you know you get good shit!

On the 1018 check with fletchers easysteel for 50x5flat, they should have it and stock it in 6m lengths, sometimes you may strike a short. (6m will keep ya goin for yeeeeeeeeeeears)

[Dodgee]

Cheers for that.
Fletcher EasySteel is a kiwi company, right.
No worries.
Still gonna mess with some drop forged steel though. Need to run up some extra thick a-bars and I've got some stuff that should work.

Yeah Paul's awesome. Real easy to deal with. Looking to grab some of his fatty a-bars soon. Gonna put them on some bronze frames I'm working on next.

[hotdiggitydawg]

(6m will keep ya goin for yeeeeeeeeeeears)

Not if you only made 1 x 6m a-bar :p

[tatguy0911]

just a thought but would key stock work 4 a abar they come in just the right size so all u would have to do is cut it and tap it

[Desert Rat]

What about damascus steel for A-Bars? Anyone seen one of those? If permenant magnetism is a problem with A-Bars (is it?) then a mix of medium carbon and iron might make a kick butt bar that would outlast 1018.

Any thoughts? My first thought was making them out of cable damascus which would take much less time to forge than the steel/ iron mix. Cables are usually made from "Plough share steel" I believe that is similar to 1040 but It would require some Googling to be sure. Of course the cable is high carbon steel but so are the drop forged wrenches discussed above. Damascus is WAY tougher than drop forged steel for impact resistence.