Has anyone made sway bars out of 1144 stressproof steel?

[Jim Stabe]

I've done some research and this seems to be a good choice because it does not require heat treat but everyone seems to cold bend the stuff. I'm making a 7/8" bar for the front and that seems to be a little big to be able to bend cold. Can you heat and bend it or how would you bend it cold?

[BlownMGB-V8]

Hydraulic press.

Jim

[Jim Stabe]

I have a 20 ton HF press. Do you think I could do it with that? What kind of fixturing would I need to make?

[BlownMGB-V8]

It'll do it Jim. Are you familiar with how a hydraulic sheet metal press bends the metal? Just scale that up. You need the two lower supports to not be able to move apart, generally the front and back of the table can be used for that but you may want a smaller radius and you may want to pad the corners. Aluminum should work for padding. A chunk of round should work for the upper die and if you slice it in half it'll keep it from rolling if that's a problem. Proceed cautiously and be mindful of the forces you are applying. Try a test piece first. It should be fun.

Jim

[Jim Stabe]

I'll practice on one of the old sway bars I have laying around and let you know how it goes.

Jim

[roverman]

I'm NOT a metalurgist-but, what is the carbon content ? Basically, if you keep the heated bends, out of embritellment range,(54c +), they should be ok ? The torsion work is primarily in the straight sections.  Good Luck, roverman.

[BlownMGB-V8]

.4 to .48 C so it is a medium carbon steel that has been drawn and stress relieved. Noticeably harder to bend than mild steel but not heat treated. It should do the job reasonably well and be relatively easy to form or bend.

Jim

[Jim Stabe]

We're having a Christmas party this weekend so I need to get ready for that. The material arrived today so next week I'll make up some dies for my press and see how it goes bending the stuff. I'll post some pictures.

[DiDueColpi]

The heck with the anti sway bar. Can we come to the party?

As for the dies, make them probably 50% smaller than you imagined. By that I mean  about a 0.750" press piece and something around a 2 to 3" bend radius. Larger bends are easier but deflection calculations become very complicated and really unnecessary, particularly if there's more than one bend.  And plan for about a 30% spring back depending upon the bend radius. Tight short bends let you visualize the reaction of the bar much more accurately. Lastly think leverage, leverage, leverage. The further out on the control arm that you mount the swaybar link, the more effect it is. In the same vein the shorter the sway bar arm is the more force it imparts on the suspension. At the same time does the bar push or pull on the suspension, or is it neutral. Pivot points and control arm contact points ,planned well, can aid suspension  reaction and passive steering.

Live like you mean it.
Fred

[Jim Stabe]

Fred

Not sure I follow you. The piece I'm going to attach to the ram of the press is 3" in diameter but by the time I turn a V groove in it the effective diameter will be about 2 3/4" or so (1 5/8" radius). This should give me a bend radius of just over 2" measured at the centerline of the bar. The stationary pieces the bar will be pushed between will be about 5" apart. What do I make 50% smaller?