Harden or not to harden pins.

[Hugo Habicht]

Hi,

I am building a little garden trailer here that has a few pivot pins. I am debating now if I should harden the pins.

They will always be greased well and the trailer will never see a lot of work, so I think it should work with soft pins. It is a fairly snug fit, so concerns are that hardening will cause distortion.

What would you do?

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Just thinking out loud here.

I would think that hardening would be best, but not really necessary from your description.

If its not going to see that much use, I probably wouldn’t go through the hassle.

Just my .02

 

[TheOldHokie]

Hi,

I am building a little garden trailer here that has a few pivot pins. I am debating now if I should harden the pins.

They will always be greased well and the trailer will never see a lot of work, so I think it should work with soft pins. It is a fairly snug fit, so concerns are that hardening will cause distortion.

What would you do?

I would use inexpensive 1045 TGP shafting and never think twice.

Dan

 

[McMXi]

Hi,

I am building a little garden trailer here that has a few pivot pins. I am debating now if I should harden the pins.

They will always be greased well and the trailer will never see a lot of work, so I think it should work with soft pins. It is a fairly snug fit, so concerns are that hardening will cause distortion.

What would you do?

Are you talking case hardening only for wear resistance? Fun to do but as @TheOldHokie says there are easier/quicker/less fun ways to go about it with plenty of suitable materials. 4140 is a good choice too and readily available in various diameters.

I'm often on metalsdepot.com to look at material specs and cost and just ordered some 2-1/4"x.125" DOM tubing for a boat related project and ended up buying 3 ft from Amazon since it was way cheaper. The shipping charges can be brutal, and the local steel supplier can be way overpriced on some stuff. Not sure what options you have in Ireland for steel but I'm sure you can find material easily enough. You might even find something on Amazon.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I've seen your build pics.
You don't need hardened pins for your use, your actually better off not having hardened pins.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

You don't need hardened pins for your use, your actually better off not having hardened pins.

Could you please explain why you think soft pins are better?

One concern I have is seizing if two soft materials move against each other under high load.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Could you please explain why you think soft pins are better?

One concern I have is seizing if two soft materials move against each other under high load.

Because they flex and not just snap.
Your not putting enough force or movement on this kinds of pins for them to need to be hardened.
Just make sure you put a grease zerk and a grease grove on the pin any you will be fine.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Because they flex and not just snap.
Your not putting enough force or movement on this kinds of pins for them to need to be hardened.
Just make sure you put a grease zerk and a grease grove on the pin any you will be fine.

Thank you for the reply!

Grease supply is taken care of:

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Thank you for the reply!

Grease supply is taken care of:

View attachment 173760

Very nice work sir!!!!!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Thank you for the reply!

Grease supply is taken care of:

View attachment 173760

Yep you are good to rock and roll!

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Very nice work sir!!!!!

Thank you very much !

I can assure you, much easier and faster compared to hauling about 5 tons of milling machine into a basement