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I'm trying to find out what grade or grades of steel are the best for making new axles. I have to have some larger diameter axles made. Thanks in advance..
I believe it's 4140 chrome moly alloy.....but I really dont understand the numbers, I just trust my machinist! The theory is hard steel is brittle and wont take the shock loads,, mild steel bends too easy, and spring steel (chro-moly) will flex with the stress and return to original shape. Like a tree bends in the wind. OK bad example
A long time I have been a fan of using 4140 heat treated steel for my axles which as it comes of the shelf it has a yield strength of 90,000 psi in the heat treated state. But in the future I will be using 1144 Lasalle stress proof steel as it comes in an annealed state at 100,000 psi yield strength and it is easier to machine. Comperable in price, perhaps cheaper but that may depend on where you obtain it from. Yield strenght is what you should shoot for.
A cursory look online shows that you can get 1144 Lasalle stress proof for around $10 to $15 a foot. That's just a per foot basis for 1.250" round; not splined or anything fancy. You may be able to get it cheaper locally.
Whipper supplied me with a 1" OD axle a few years back that he wanted me to try out. I forget what the material was, but maybe he'll chime in with some information.
Most if not all medium alloy steels can be heat treated to a myriad of tensile and yield strengths. Cost is the limiting factor for most of us because you would have to have a heat treat house do this but of course it"s not cheap. Check with your local supplier if you have one. Or online suppliers like Speedy Metals have quite a selection to choose from.
Ah, then I want to amend my advice from above. You should have your machinist buddy pm/email/(maybe call) Whipper. They would probably speak the same language anyway. In this case Whipper is more than a machinist; he is also an aficionado of these machines and has experience with what does and does not work.
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