Pushrod Material

[pgp001]

I was just on the point of putting my old pushrods in the scrap bin when it occurred to me they might actually be useful raw material.

I have hacksawed the end off one without any trouble and the steel turns to a superb surface finish as it is, then I heated it up to cherry red and quenched it and it goes glass hard. So in most respects it is very similar to 6mm Silver Steel and will come in very handy for making small tools and punches etc.

My question is:-
Does anyone have any idea what the actual spec of the steel is for Minor pushrods ?

Phil P

[MCYorks]

Unfortunately I don't know the spec of the steel for the pushrods, but it sounds like a good quality steel. The factory must have had a 'bill of materials' with all the engine part numbers and material grades. I wonder if this information is archived somewhere?

I tend to keep some worn out parts that I can adapt for another purpose. In the days before the proliferation of cheap tools, my Grandfather used to make all sorts of useful tools from old parts. Punches from broken taps and scrapers from worn out hacksaw blades. There were even companies in Sheffield which would anneal and recut your old metal files! The ultimate recycling or 'make do and mend' I suppose Nowadays some tools are so cheap most people just seem to discard them rather than repair. That does seem rather wasteful though