What's Usable from Auto Scrap Iron

[Antman]

Hi,
This time next week I should be getting my first machines, and I want to start off with some simple, big, useful things like a face plate (used to be you got that with your lathe), not Vblox, because I won’t have a mill yet, vices, swivelvice ( graduations later). I want to make screws and dovetails. Also I want to learn to work quite big, one goal is ½ horse power from a stirling.
I’m gonna want some fairly big bits of potatoes to turn into chips and I’m thinking auto scrap. There must be a really decent grade of iron in a crankshaft. The local auto engineering shop throws away big truck cranks. Are they like swiss cheese with oilways all under (over) the journals, the webs even. What kind of steel do you get from a drive shaft, or are only the CVs fancy steel? Are gearbox and diff internals too tough for ordinary machining? But cars are built largely for lightness and swank, so do you really get big chunks anywhere? Trucks have some quite thick leaf springs, how useable are they, have they got like built in warp?
I’m gonna have the tools soon, but I don’t have much steel.
Ant

 

[Antman]

Whoa, sorry Ozzie, forgot the tractor weights

 

[Davyboy]

Hi Antman, Gosh that's a pile of ???? First off, " I’m gonna want some fairly big bits of potatoes to turn into chips". How you gonna get them big hunks o' engine blocks small enough to fit into a home shop sized tool? Hope you got a good power saw. Then most of the salvage pieces are going to be odd shaped, with oil holes and passages as you mentioned. lots of work just to get an even shaped piece.
Next, steel ain't just steel. there's cast iron and steel, further into mild steel and alloy steel, no way I'm trying to cut a leaf spring with anything but a torch or abrasive wheels. Even some of the bolts, though round, are alloy heat treated steel.
Try to get some nice clean steel that's low carbon mild steel from a machine shop or a friend in the trade or from a used steel dealer. you'll find much more enjoyment working with something you don't have to fix first just to have fun with. Around here, there's a scrap dealer that buys scrap metal and 'drops' from various sources, they sell to retail and industrial as well.
Not trying to put you down, I keep my eyes peeled for a good deal wherever I can get it. It just takes some experience to recognize it. Please, let us know if you get a good thing going. We'd all like to see you succeed.

DB

 

[1Kenny]

Hello Antman,

Davyboy has pretty much explained the problems with alot of the auto/truck metals. Its ok to try and be thrifty, but one can think they are going to save money by useing an unknown metal. Starting with crankshaft material, most are forged steel (hard surface). You could mabey get a free crank. Good price that free stuff, but what will it cost to cut it up. You could cut a counter balance off and may get a chunk of workable metal. Look in a book and price saw blades and if you add up the cost of three or five blades you are beyond the cost of buying a new chunk of cast steel and you haven't chucked it in the lathe yet. So now it will fit in the chuck and you are ready to cut a surface. How many carbide bits is it going to take to cut that first surface? The answer is several. What does each bit cost. The saw blades already cost more than the price of new metal and now the price of cutting bits are going to eat you alive. At this time you will need to ask yourself how much money you saved. Start with that rusty pipe you have that will fit in the chuck and trim the rust off the outside and you will learn real fast how crappy steel will eat your new tool bits. I believe you will be setting yourself up to fail.

Kenny

 

[Maryak]

Hello Antman,

Davyboy has pretty much explained the problems with alot of the auto/truck metals. Its ok to try and be thrifty, but one can think they are going to save money by useing an unknown metal. Starting with crankshaft material, most are forged steel (hard surface). You could mabey get a free crank. Good price that free stuff, but what will it cost to cut it up. You could cut a counter balance off and may get a chunk of workable metal. Look in a book and price saw blades and if you add up the cost of three or five blades you are beyond the cost of buying a new chunk of cast steel and you haven't chucked it in the lathe yet. So now it will fit in the chuck and you are ready to cut a surface. How many carbide bits is it going to take to cut that first surface? The answer is several. What does each bit cost. The saw blades already cost more than the price of new metal and now the price of cutting bits are going to eat you alive. At this time you will need to ask yourself how much money you saved. Start with that rusty pipe you have that will fit in the chuck and trim the rust off the outside and you will learn real fast how crappy steel will eat your new tool bits. I believe you will be setting yourself up to fail.

Kenny

What he said

Best Regards
Bob

 

[RobWilson]

Buil a furnace and melt down the scap and cast into stock bar
Rob

 

[Mainer]

What the others said....

If you're just starting out, trying to use mystery metal is just going to add to your problems, and if you are just starting out you will have problems enough.

I'd encourage you to start with small simple projects, buy good free-machining steel or aluminum, and work on learning to use the machinery. If they're small projects, the material won't cost all that much, and I think you'll be a lot happier.

Now, it certainly is possible to use scrap, and if you want to experiment, have at it. But realize that it may be well worth a few extra bucks to buy, say, a hunk of 1144 steel, or a partially finished faceplate blank, or other known material.

 

[itowbig]

auto axles are good truck axles are "2 in size '2 + feet long. i have cut and turned them still have a peice left here somewhere.

 

[Antman]

I have read somewhere that to get a rough idea of the hardness of a metal sample is to scratch it with a triangular file. How? The motivation to use scrap where possible is not only money I am far away from any big city and I am sure that a lot of my stock will just and up wasted. At this stage I am too chicken to want to go melting iron in my back yard. I do have an old hand cranked forge blower for maybe one day.

 

[Tin Falcon]

If you realy want to do field hardness testing you can look into a set of these.
Hardness testing files
Tin

 

[Maryak]

Cheap quick and dirty is a "Spark Test" using your bench grinder or an angle grinder. Helps if your goggles are clean :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_testing_metals

Best Regards
Bob

 

[1Kenny]

The power window regulators have good motors and have gear reducers that are plastic. Some have wire rope to run the window. There is three to four pieces of thin wall tubeing and thin rod on the fuel pump assembly in the fuel tank. The hood (bonnet) is the thickest sheet metal and is easier to form. The fuse covers are made of easy plastic to work with. I agree with Itowbig about the axels, they are easier to machine than cranks or springs.

Kenny

 

[Dhow Nunda wallah]

To add to what I've said elsewhere

Invest in an angle grinder.
mystery (rusty) metal is not that bad.
Oxides, carbides and nitrides are HARD!

Skim them off with an angle grinder. A flap disc is often the safest/easiest way to do this.

Have fun, stay safe and don't destroy your tooling on the first pass.
It's discouraging.

Rgds,
Lin