Heating steering arms...is it really safe??

[Duke]

I have to heat and bend my steering arms on my spindles to clear the wishbones on my A. I know this is really common, but is it really safe? Should I invest in bolt on steering arms? Any tips on bending the arms?

Thanks
Duke

[Unkl Ian]

#1 Do NOT quench in water or oil.Allow to cool naturally.
#2 Do not heat past glowing Red.

[thirtytwo]

done right , i believe they are safer than the bolt on types...

take yor time heating and bend slowly, i would put your axle in a vice with the bones connected and the spindles on the axle and bend till everthing clears, another thing i do is use the backing plates as a guide , you can measure from them , make each side the same.

[haring]

[ QUOTE ]
#1 Do NOT quench in water or oil.Allow to cool naturally.
#2 Do not heat past glowing Red.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's a novice question -- what color comes after glowing red?

Is an acetylene torch necessary to get the right temperature?

Thanks,
don

[Smokin Joe]

Bright orange, then yellow, followed by puddle on floor.

[Junkyard Dog 32]

Bending them before they're hot enough will cause fracturing, though.

Shoot for red/orange, and keep your torch moving, and heat an area longer than the arm is wide.
If you start to see something like the first layer of skin peeling, it's too hot.

There ain't no magic to it. It's safe.

JOEhttp://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[38Chevy454]

I agree with JYD32, shoot for bright red/orange color, that is about where you will need to do it without excessive force required. Just allow it to cool slowly, no forced air or liquids.

If you really want to get exact temperature control, you can use an item called a tempil stick, which is like a crayon that melts at the specified temp. See the web site link below. Here is a small chart that shows the colors of steel at approx temps, it's hard to read, but shows the temp vs color somewhat:
http://www.tempil.com/charts.htm

[junk runner jr]

In one of my manufaturing classes back in college we had a Brinell (SP) hardness testor in our lab. I tested a piman arm befor and after heating it up to bend it and got the same numbers both times. We did not quench it, just let it coo naturaly. So I would assume it should be fine.

[alchemy]

MAGNAFLUX when you're done!

alchemy

[Hot Rod Ron]

Metalshapes and myself did mine 2 years ago and have had no problems yet. Just follow what has been said already

[Duke]

Thanks guys, I just didn't want to do something that was going to break when I really needed it!

Duke