Making a square head nail out of a 1/4” by 2” long stainless steel 304 hex head lag bolt

[Cr23484]

Hi everyone,
I am a beginner, and need any advice on how I can turn down the OD of the lag bolt to about 3/32”.
My two lathes only have chucks, which are in the way of my cutter.
I already heated the heads and hammered them square.
Any help will be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
J

 

[benmychree]

I should think that the whole job could ne done by forge work.

 

[Cr23484]

Thanks for the advice
I have not found any videos online of performing such an operation.
J

 

[benmychree]

Start by welding a rod onto the head to hold onto it with; cut the bolt off to a length that will be near correct when the forging is done, hammer on one side then the other, starting at the end until you get the small end diameter, and work your way back towards the head, tapering as you go, in doing this you may have to shorten the nail as the length draws out.

 

[hman]

Hmmmm ....
Not sure if this will work for what you need, but may generate some ideas. Get a longer lag bolt, chuck it by the threads (with the head end sticking 2" out of the chuck), use a follow rest, and turn the shank down.
Thinking again, the lag bolt threads might really chew up the follow rest pads, so you might want to start with a straight shank ¼" stainless machine screw, 3" or longer, that's only partially threaded.
You said the head was to be square. Is the shank of the nail also supposed to be square, or will 3/16" round be all you need?

 

[Cr23484]

Start by welding a rod onto the head to hold onto it with; cut the bolt off to a length that will be near correct when the forging is done, hammer on one side then the other, starting at the end until you get the small end diameter, and work your way back towards the head, tapering as you go, in doing this you may have to shorten the nail as the length draws out.

Thanks for the directions
I only have a stick welder with 1/8” 7018, which I thought would mess up the head
I will try and hope for the best !
J

 

[Cr23484]

Hmmmm ....
Not sure if this will work for what you need, but may generate some ideas. Get a longer lag bolt, chuck it by the threads (with the head end sticking 2" out of the chuck), use a follow rest, and turn the shank down.
Thinking again, the lag bolt threads might really chew up the follow rest pads, so you might want to start with a straight shank ¼" stainless machine screw, 3" or longer, that's only partially threaded.
You said the head was to be square. Is the shank of the nail also supposed to be square, or will 3/16" round be all you need?

The shank of tithe nail does need to be round and with a maximum OD of 3/32” to go thru the old metal hardware on a 110 year old exterior wooden door.
Thanks so much for the addvice
J

 

[RJSakowski]

Turning a 3/32" diameter for any length will be like turning spaghetti. Did you really mean 3/32"? That is less than an .1".

I would start out with a machine screw with a head large enough to form your square head. Then I would chuck it up leaving about 1/2 to 2/3" of the shank exposed. Turn the exposed shank to slightly larger than the finished diameter. Then expose another length of the shank and repeat. After the second turning, blend the two sections and bring to final diameter with a file. Repeat until you have the length required. If you are careful not to rotate the screw when repositioning, you should be able to match the runout from the turnings.

 

[HarryJM]

Keith RUcker did a nice video on this.

 

[Cr23484]

Turning a 3/32" diameter for any length will be like turning spaghetti. Did you really mean 3/32"? That is less than an .1".

I would start out with a machine screw with a head large enough to form your square head. Then I would chuck it up leaving about 1/2 to 2/3" of the shank exposed. Turn the exposed shank to slightly larger than the finished diameter. Then expose another length of the shank and repeat. After the second turning, blend the two sections and bring to final diameter with a file. Repeat until you have the length required. If you are careful not to rotate the screw when repositioning, you should be able to match the runout from the turnings.

Thank you for the detailed instructions
My problem now is that I need to use a much longer citter, to get to the work.
The chuck and the y axis rest are in the way
I do have a quick change holder on an Emco Maier mini lathe
Thanks
J