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  1. #1
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    Default What steel in car anti-roll bars?

    Cleaning up a friend's garage, lots of bent, springy, steel:

    IMG_1159.jpg


    Variety of sizes (19/22/25mm).

    Any idea what flavour?

    I'm guessing not "spring steel", but if it is better than mild, I will cut out the straight sections and make a new drawbar

  2. #2
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    They are anti sway bars/ anti roll bars also known as stabiliser bars.

    They are often removed from 4x4 vehicles when people heavily modify their suspension as they limit suspension travel.

    I would think they would be made of spring steel since they perform a similar function.

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  3. #3
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    I had a K-Mac on a a HK wagon.
    For sure its 4140.

    It made a hell of a difference. .

    No idea how well it machines after it is heat treated, which the bars will be.

    Grahame

  4. #4
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    This mob (and several other aftermarket manufacturers) say spring steel (5160) https://www.superproeurope.com/anti.roll.bars.cfm

    Various other internet sources list 4340, 4130, 4140 and EN45 as well. Basically anything heat-treatable by the sound of it

  5. #5
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    I made a chipping hammer out of an old HQ one back in the 80’s.
    Hardened and tempered the hitting ends with the oxy torch and quenching in oil. It was hard as hell after quenching and definitely needed tempering back.
    It’s held up really well over the years.

    Steve

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by elanjacobs View Post
    This mob (and several other aftermarket manufacturers) say spring steel (5160) https://www.superproeurope.com/anti.roll.bars.cfm

    for their cold formed, or 55CR3 for their hot-formed.
    I'm guessing the ones with the holes/flanges stamped on the end are probably forged (hot-formed)?



    I guess I'll attack mine with a file, or maybe a hardness punching test, and see how hard they really are!

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by nigelpearson View Post
    for their cold formed, or 55CR3 for their hot-formed.
    Which is apparently also 5160 by ASTM or 5155/5160 by AISI / SAE ... damn non-standard standards...
    https://equivalentmaterials.com/materials/din-55cr3

  8. #8
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    From my old spec book AUST. STD AS1444-1979

    XK5150S, XK5155S and XK5160S spring steel as BHP called them (= AISI-SAE 5150 5155 5160),

    "The carbon chromium grades are used extensively for automotive suspension coil springs".

    Over the page the same grades for non spring applications,

    " Oil-hardening steels. Used for agricultural cultivators, coal cutter picks, die blocks, shear blades, punches and dies."

    K1070S, K1082S (=SAE 1070 1082)

    "The carbon grades uses include laminated rolling stock springs and automotive stabilizer bars".

    I`d think it would come down to the application. Something like a 4x4 to me would need a spring steel because of the amount of twisting that`s going to be applied. Where as a sports car that has little twist something like a 4140 would do the job.

    Tony


    Just to clarify K1070S and K1082S are still spring steel they just don`t have the chrome content the others do.

  9. #9
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    Chopped off the curved bits:
    IMG_1207.jpg IMG_1208.jpg

    and tried turning.
    IMG_1212.jpg

    First, with my cheap carbide at 300RPM:
    IMG_1213.jpg

    then @500RPM:
    IMG_1214.jpg

    then 800RPM:
    IMG_1215.jpg IMG_1216.jpg
    (note the ring of worn-off steel - not a sharp cutter)

    First one is my attempt. Just roughing cutters, but OK.
    Second is my toolmaker friend, using iscar carbide+holder, coolant, and 900RPM:
    IMG_1217.jpg IMG_1218.jpg


    Definitely looks like it has a bit of Chromium in it!

  10. #10
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    That TNMG tool probably isn't doing you any favours.

    I reckon CCMT is the way to go on small machines; they tend to be freer cutting which allows you to take the more aggressive depth needed to get a decent finish with less power.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by elanjacobs View Post
    That TNMG tool probably isn't doing you any favours.
    True. It was just the first tool I grabbed. I also should have turned it to a fresh point (since there are 6 on each insert!).

    Only CCMT I have is a boring bar which uses CCMT06es.

    Next time, I might try a WNMG (although all my inserts are used WNMG06s).
    Or maybe experiment with finishing off using round ones (RPMW 08).

  12. #12
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    Nothing wrong with using a boring bar for OD work if the shank is a decent size and it doesn't matter if the inserts are small, it's not like you'll be taking a cut big enough to max out an 06

  13. #13
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    My first thought was that you're not taking a big enough DOC to get a decent finish.
    My main turning tools are either WNMG08 or smaller CCMT - and for anything like that where its a bit unknown and likely to be a bit hard/tough I'd have a crack with the WNMG and a 0.5mm cut to see how it went first.

    Steve

  14. #14
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    Nigel this is pretty much the same material as what you have except that the axle might have been carburized so maybe a tougher skin.
    The pic below is the axle that i recently turned to size, cant remember the feed rate but depth of cuts varried between .25 and .5mm, the gearbox was set to 275rpm and the vfd to 30hz, so about 150rpm.
    I used coolant and the one corner of the insert (cnmg) to complete both ends of the job.
    I dont use high rpm's very often as i am never in a hurry🤪
    Attached Images Attached Images

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