Machining Cast Iron Dumb Bells

[just old al]

+1 on axle shafts - they can be annealed and used for high wear items.

One caveat - inspect the shaft and see if it shows signs of twisting or other abnormal wear. Old Land-Rovers tend to break shafts and they twist before they break (usually at the splines) I've cut and tried to reuse such shafts and found them to warp if strained. Annoying.

 

[gi_984]

I'm curious if anyone has tried tractor weights? The kind that are stacked at the front or back of a tractor or forklift? Some are definitely cast iron. Around here you can get them fairly cheap when they have the tabs broken off. They apparently can get broken when the weights get taken on or off. Once the tab that hooks the weight into the bracket or holder get snapped, the weight is trashed. I've got one for free but haven't tried to machine it yet. Almost 20 inches square and about 1 1/2 inches thick.

 

[Bob Korves]

I'm curious if anyone has tried tractor weights? The kind that are stacked at the front or back of a tractor or forklift? Some are definitely cast iron. Around here you can get them fairly cheap when they have the tabs broken off. They apparently can get broken when the weights get taken on or off. Once the tab that hooks the weight into the bracket or holder get snapped, the weight is trashed. I've got one for free but haven't tried to machine it yet. Almost 20 inches square and about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Metals are spec'd by buyers for specific requirements, looking for the best price and other needed qualities. If we spec metal to make a cast weight out of, we care that it casts easily, and has enough strength to keep from breaking when in use. Machining qualities may or may not be something we care about for that piece, but will increase cost if it is specified. The metal may or may not be machinable, no one cared if it was not part of the specs for the metal. That is why we call it "mystery metal", because we do not know what the specs were when it was ordered.

 

[jdedmon91]

I'm curious if anyone has tried tractor weights? The kind that are stacked at the front or back of a tractor or forklift? Some are definitely cast iron. Around here you can get them fairly cheap when they have the tabs broken off. They apparently can get broken when the weights get taken on or off. Once the tab that hooks the weight into the bracket or holder get snapped, the weight is trashed. I've got one for free but haven't tried to machine it yet. Almost 20 inches square and about 1 1/2 inches thick.

It be worth a try, if someone gave me one I’d cut a small piece off and try machining it. Since you got it for no or extremely low cost. It be worth trying.


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[jdedmon91]

Metals are spec'd by buyers for specific requirements, looking for the best price and other needed qualities. If we spec metal to make a cast weight out of, we care that it casts easily, and has enough strength to keep from breaking when in use. Machining qualities may or may not be something we care about for that piece, but will increase cost if it is specified. The metal may or may not be machinable, no one cared if it was not part of the specs for the metal. That is why we call it "mystery metal", because we do not know what the specs were when it was ordered.

A good point. But like the OP said he basically got for free. I’d cut some off and experiment. We always need cast for projects like backplates


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[Bob Korves]

The point of my long winded post was that mystery metal is just that. "A single test is worth a million expert opinions."

 

[Downunder Bob]

I am retired from the heavy trucking parts business. One of my former customers has a truck wrecking and salvage yard, fairly close to my shop, and he gives me free reign to dig through his scrap metal bin, which is about 8 x 8 x 40 feet long and can be empty or near full, depending on when the last pick up was. Usually there is way more good scrap metal in there that is usable in a hobby shop than I have room to store. Still, it is a good resource for when I need something. Carrying a bag of doughnuts when you arrive to ask for scrap metal will often open the gates wide open from then on.

Yes that should work, I found that donating a slab of beer to their Xmas fund worked a treat, I have been granted unlimited access to the scrap bin. On a coupe of occasions he asked if I was looking for something specific, when I told him what I wanted he took me out to his material racks at the back of the shop, i quickly s[potted a suitable piece, It was about 70mm id x 100mm od and about 500mm long I want it to clean up at 75mm id. he said take it, he wouldn't accept anything for it, I guess another slab of beer is in order soon, after all it is nearly Xmas.

 

[Downunder Bob]

Bob Korves is spot on again A single test is worth a million expert opinions, at best they can only guess. If it's free just suck it and see, if it machines well use it if it doesn't it is still a weight, and you have lost nothing.

 

[gi_984]

The reason I mentioned tractor weights is because of the source. John Deer, International Harvester, etc. operated their own foundries. Not sure if the other farming equipment manufacturers did the same. Point being they used good quality cast iron in their equipment. I suspect they used the same cast iron in their tractor weights. In an agricultural area, broken ones should be easy to acquire for little to no cost.
My neighbor (retired farmer) gave me the one I have. I might cut a section out and try a few experiments.
Has anyone done any machining on cast iron tractor parts?

 

[jdedmon91]

The reason I mentioned tractor weights is because of the source. John Deer, International Harvester, etc. operated their own foundries. Not sure if the other farming equipment manufacturers did the same. Point being they used good quality cast iron in their equipment. I suspect they used the same cast iron in their tractor weights. In an agricultural area, broken ones should be easy to acquire for little to no cost.
My neighbor (retired farmer) gave me the one I have. I might cut a section out and try a few experiments.
Has anyone done any machining on cast iron tractor parts?

Yes cut a piece and try it. You said it JD and IH did do their own castings. Also if the weights were older say pre 2000 they more than likely cast by in the states by a major tractor manufacturer. So the odds are good the cast is of a good machining grade.


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