Bending Cast Iron - Can it be done?

[305 380]

since  you were able to bend it ok  ...i wonder if it is actually made from cast steel and not cast iron?

[jdleach 525]

Not to beat this topic into the ground, but "steel castings" tend to

involve highly alloyed steel in order to obtain increased heat or

corrosion resistance.

No, no, not beating it at all. This is quite good information for many on this forum. There was a time, when I was much younger, when most men could identify a metal by appearance, weight, and other properties. Now, most folks haven't a clue. This topic is very useful for those who collect and restore these machines, and any other vintage metallic device or item.

[rmaynard 15,598]

...There was a time, when I was much younger, when most men could identify a metal by appearance, weight, and other properties...

I am of that age and I have to admit that I did not know about cast steel.

 

Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks?

[bowtieguy 334]

The "next" generation will never know the difference in iron and steel....my local high school used to have a wood shop and a metals shop...about 5 years ago they scrapped all the wood working and metal working equipment...the shop is now full of computers.....which might not be all bad.....who needs to know anything about metals when all you need now is a computer and a 3-D PRINTER..(I'm a old school guy but I want a new printer)!!!!!

[r356c 375]

For me, Wheel Horse tractors embody some of the best of American industrial engineering with heavy influence from the World War II machine design era.

Tough, economical, easily maintained and somewhat unusual, a dash of style.

 

Machines from different countries do (did) reflect national character and conditions.

 

Japanese, delicate precision due to most materials having to be imported, highly refined iterative design.

Russian, rough hewn but insanely mechanically over built. The Gulag must have awaited designers of parts that broke in the field.

German, refined craftsmanship. Tolerences sometimes too close for their own good. Obsessive incremental improvements.

Italian, Sublime and inspired at times. Just strange and unworkable at others.

China, master duplicators. I'm still waiting to see if an indigenous industrial design style emerges from under their Russian influence.