Would a 1018 cold rolled bar be OK for a draw bar?

[Pcmaker]

I have a PM-25mv mill and the drawbar on top has a square head. I have made some add-ons to all my handwheels so I can use a 15mm socket on my drill so I can quickly move all 3 axis to where I want them. Makes life so much easier, especially the Z axis. I also use it as a power feed since my drill has a slow enough spin and I can get a consistent feed rate with it.

I want to make a drawbar and the retention nut so I can use my drill on the drawbar also. I can turn the the drill by hand to loosen/tighten the drawbar, then use power to quickly loosen/tighten. It'll make it much faster. All I have is aluminum and 1018 cold rolled bars. I am thinking of making a new draw bar with a 15mm head on top and a new retention nut to accomodate the much larger head size.

Is 1018 good enough steel to use for this project?

 

[benmychree]

It would work in the short term, but maybe not the long haul; for drawbars, I have always used 4140 HT for strength and resistance to wear.

 

[jcp]

Thread life of the d/b might be a bit short because of using a powered wrench......

 

[Cooter Brown]

I wouldn't use 1018, you might want to try something like 1045 CR or 4140.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

4140 is the answer to your question.

 

[Silverbullet]

Couldn't he case harden the threaded end to add strength to the most used part? If it's done threads should hold up well.

 

[darkzero]

4140 is the most common with commercially sold drawbars that I have seen. I made mine of of 1144 about 7 yrs & it's still holding up fine. I don't use a power draw bar or impact & I don't crank down hard on it. Plus I'm just a hobbyist. If when it wears out I'll make another one out of the rest of 1144 that I bought to make the first drawbar. I rather my drawbar wear out rather than the tools it holds.

 

[dulltool17]

4 points of Carbon, IMO. Anything less and you'll be making another when you have no time to do so...

 

[westerner]

I rather my drawbar wear out rather than the tools it holds.

This logic is difficult to deny, I must say!

 

[Cooter Brown]

Yeah I would rather strip out the draw bar threads before I screwed up the tool holder threads.....

Use 1045 and flame harden the end that the wrench goes on and leave the rest of it alone.....

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Or do this..... I like darkzero's idea......