Only problem I can see, you never tempered it after the drop? Steel when heated like that, gets super hardened and brittle. Blacksmiths would get red hot, then form the shape. That it would sit at around 400deg Cel, 750Far, for few hours. This tempers and resets the steel. Skip this step, and ya can have break or crack. I use an old barrel bbQ pit, with beads and gas and closed lot, with a temp. Usually a couple of hours, and a couple of times. This process is also needed to remove hydrogen, if you use electrolysis rust removal on steering components remove hydrogen embrittlement.
Shouldn't need to be re-tempered: it's a drop forged part, not hardened, and they didn't quench it. It isn't the heating that makes steel brittle, it's the rapid cooling. The process you are describing sounds more loke annealing. Tempering takes place after hardening the steel to bring it down to the desired level of hardness, by heating the metal to a certain temp for a prescribed amount of time. I do agree that it's probably best practice to bury it in ash after dropping, but not 100% necessary. I guarantee Ford was just pumping these babies through the forged and tossing them in a bin while still red hot. It's been a good ten-plus years since I dabled in blacksmithing, but I did spend a few weeks in the heat treat department when I was a manufacturing machinist.
I was thinking the same thing while watching. A rosebud would save gas and likely make the heating process faster and perhaps more controllable. Regardless, this is awesome to see.
There’s a company that makes them out of mild steel. I’d be worried about the quality of the part in the 70s. Ford used higher quality material in the 30s compared to the 70s.
When a person heats up cast iron and cools it off you make it brittle if you think that it's safe good for you but a front axle that's nick named a suicide front axle well let's just say this show isn't old school it's just cheap and stupid especially when new dropped axles are every where
A "suicide axle" refers to the mounting of a straight axle forward of the frame horns and not to the axle itself. Any straight axle, modified or stock, can be suicide mounted.
I like your fixtures, looks easy to use,I would use a rosebud to heat but with two it works
Awesome! So cool doing it old school! Thank you for sharing!❤
I think your method is the best for dropping a straight axle thank you for sharing. I will definitely use your video
Thanks for the Awesome instructional Video. Greetings and best wishes from Australia 👍👍
Looks great, I would suggest using a large rose bud tip to heat the beam. It'll heat more evenly and quicker. Plus you'll use less gas.
Need to invest in a rose bud tip.
Great explanation, thanks for sharing. I wonder what's the most drop the old timers ever got? I'm sure there's a limit.
With this fixture I'd say 4.5. I bet if you used a fixture that dropped but didnt stretch you could easily get another inch.
Such a great vid!! Thanks
I'm pretty sure if the axle survived this process it can handle rolling down to the car show
You’ should do a vid on the making of your apparatus for dropping the axles
Great 👍 Tips guys much ablie
Awesome
that was great. Thank You.
Excellent video and I will be making myself a dropping press just like yours not gonna change anything
Hey great video! Thanks for the upload. What part of the country are yall in?
Thanks for watching! We are in North Dakota.
Oh man, I'm cold just thinking about that and from crazy FL! So much for shipping an axle back and forth. @evilironclassics2719
Only problem I can see, you never tempered it after the drop? Steel when heated like that, gets super hardened and brittle. Blacksmiths would get red hot, then form the shape. That it would sit at around 400deg Cel, 750Far, for few hours. This tempers and resets the steel. Skip this step, and ya can have break or crack. I use an old barrel bbQ pit, with beads and gas and closed lot, with a temp. Usually a couple of hours, and a couple of times. This process is also needed to remove hydrogen, if you use electrolysis rust removal on steering components remove hydrogen embrittlement.
Shouldn't need to be re-tempered: it's a drop forged part, not hardened, and they didn't quench it. It isn't the heating that makes steel brittle, it's the rapid cooling. The process you are describing sounds more loke annealing. Tempering takes place after hardening the steel to bring it down to the desired level of hardness, by heating the metal to a certain temp for a prescribed amount of time. I do agree that it's probably best practice to bury it in ash after dropping, but not 100% necessary. I guarantee Ford was just pumping these babies through the forged and tossing them in a bin while still red hot. It's been a good ten-plus years since I dabled in blacksmithing, but I did spend a few weeks in the heat treat department when I was a manufacturing machinist.
You dont want to harden it, the forged axle is part of the suspension. You want it to have spring
Pretty slick
Very Good!... #22 ✝ {12-3-2023}
get a rosebud tip for your torch ...learn to heat
I was thinking the same thing while watching. A rosebud would save gas and likely make the heating process faster and perhaps more controllable. Regardless, this is awesome to see.
I have a rosebud but couldn't find it for this video. I'm good at losing shit!!!
Do you think the same thing can be done with late 70's f100 I beam suspension?
There’s a company that makes them out of mild steel. I’d be worried about the quality of the part in the 70s. Ford used higher quality material in the 30s compared to the 70s.
@@evilironclassics2719 thanks for the info!
whats your labor rate ?
When a person heats up cast iron and cools it off you make it brittle if you think that it's safe good for you but a front axle that's nick named a suicide front axle well let's just say this show isn't old school it's just cheap and stupid especially when new dropped axles are every where
A "suicide axle" refers to the mounting of a straight axle forward of the frame horns and not to the axle itself. Any straight axle, modified or stock, can be suicide mounted.
These are not cast iron btw. They are forgings and some of the best ever