Drilling a hole.

[dlbuck]

How hard would it be to drill a 1/4 inch hole through a 1 1/2 inch hydraulic cylinder piston rod? Thanks.

 

[Vito]

I would ask a machine shop and if possible have them do it.

Vito

 

[cumminstinkerer]

Almost impossible for an at home shop, those rods are incredibly hard, they will smoke a bandsaw in no time, like one round. I don;t what you need for a type of drill bit but you are dealing with chrome on the rod and god knows what the inner part is but it is crazy tough stuff

 

[rustred]

grind the hard surfacing off and try it with a good quality bit , of course you will need a drill press. them rods bend so they cant be that hard.

 

[cumminstinkerer]

The core is not, but the hard surface and chrome are the problem, the chrome is thin, a few thou, the hard surface or case hardening goes in a fair bit, I tried to cut one once to make a bushing, smoked the bandsaw blade instantly, it took two chopsaw blades to get through it and was only like an 1 1/2 inch diameter rod!

 

[joeysmith]

Good bit an good drilling practices they drill pretty easily

 

[teddy52food]

How hard would it be to drill a 1/4 inch hole through a 1 1/2 inch hydraulic cylinder piston rod? Thanks.

Depends on what you are going to use it for.Grind off the chrome Then heat it red hot & bury it in wood ashes over night.

 

[flembo]

I would start with a carbide drill bit, until in about 1/16" then use a good quality drill bit stop before breaking out the other side and use the carbide drill to finish. I have done it that way many times on case hardened or chrome plated steel. Of course using a drill press and a vise.

 

[Hemmjo]

There may be different kinds of cylinder rods. I have been working on heavy equipment for many years. I have a collection of bent or otherwise damaged rods if various sizes. I have never had I piece that I could not machine. As mentioned in previous posts you need to get through the hard chrome finish. Then use good tools, cheap harbor freight drill bits will not work for very long.

Here is a photo of a bucket rod from a large 1980's vintage Ford Backhoe that I cut a piece from using a bandsaw. Notice where the chrome was removed before sawing.

This is a photo of a piece of rod turned down using a carbide cutter, then drilled using a cobalt bit.

There is GOOD STEEL under that hard chrome, It machines very nicely with good tooling and a ridged set-up

Good Luck

 

[kencombs]

There may be different kinds of cylinder rods. I have been working on heavy equipment for many years. I have a collection of bent or otherwise damaged rods if various sizes. I have never had I piece that I could not machine. As mentioned in previous posts you need to get through the hard chrome finish. Then use good tools, cheap harbor freight drill bits will not work for very long.

Here is a photo of a bucket rod from a large 1980's vintage Ford Backhoe that I cut a piece from using a bandsaw. Notice where the chrome was removed before sawing.
View attachment 132088

This is a photo of a piece of rod turned down using a carbide cutter, then drilled using a cobalt bit.

View attachment 132089

There is GOOD STEEL under that hard chrome, It machines very nicely with good tooling and a ridged set-up

Good Luck

I was going to say that it depends on the quality level of the part, and/or the original manufacturer's specs. Cat or JD vs Jinma for instance. Your pics and experience say it better.