Stainless Steel for a building material

[RexRod]

Some nob questions....

Have any of you good people used any Stainless for your suspension parts? I notice it's becoming more common for Street Rod parts in general. Polishing it out instead of chrome for a finish seems to be popular as well.

Is polishing stainless a true alternative to chrome? I know it's not as hard of a surface as chrome, but does it take a lot of work to keep it nice?

I was considering making some of my parts out of stainless if others think it's worth the extra money for the raw material. I know chrome is not cheap anymore. Not around here anyway.

My only concern is strength. My experience with 300 series stainless is it's not as tough as mild steel. Thoughts?

Just curious. Take care,

David

[donsrods]

I can't speak to what grades of stainless are the ones to use, I will let others do that, however I have used stainless suspension parts from companies like Pete and Jakes, SoCal, etc, and they hold up great. The problem with chrome is that it does scratch somewhat easily, requires periodic cleaning, and will rust in time. Stainless can develop slight rusting, but it takes a real long time to happen and cleans off easily when it does.

I recently started cleaning up my old '27 Ford that I built 20 years ago and have had stored now for 7 years. The chrome is still pretty good, but the stainless parts are just like new.


Don

[Brucer]

ive machined 304 stainless and it was very tough...


there is a series of stainless its called EZ for instance :304ez i think it has added lead in it for easier machinability.

the regular 304 i've machined and also the 400 series can be tough as heck.. abrasive and gummy..

the stainless material ive dealt with in the past isnt very consistent from bar to bar either, atleast the 300 series, the 400 series all has seemed to be consistent..

[RexRod]

Don,

Good to know you've had good luck maintaining the look of the polished stainless compared to chrome. I was hoping that was the case.

Hi Brucer,

You are right, the 300 series stainless really is a gummy material. It's also strangely soft, and surface hardens when machined with dull tools due to heat. It takes a keen tool, slow speeds, medium feeds and lots of coolant to cut. But as you learn how to work with it, the machining gets easier after a while.

The higher lead/sulfur content of free machining grades like 303, 304L, and 316L also help, but they are not weldable at all. Good for making bushings, hardware, and anything that is finished with just machining like a tie rod.

There are aircraft grades like 15-5 and 17-4 that are almost as strong as the better carbon steels, but they share the same magnetic properties as well as rust easy (those are the grades I have the most experience with). Still more corrosion resistant than carbon steel, but just barely.

I am not 100% percent sure, but I am going to guess the suspension parts we see made for Street Rods are made from 304/316. The 316 being slightly more corrosion resistant. The 304 and 316 grades also weld like a dream, at least, that's my experience.

I guess if the big boys are using stainless for their critical structural parts, it must be tough enough. I was concerned because I have first hand experience with how bendable/malleable 304/316 is. One plus I could see with that characteristic is your part will stretch like a piece of taffy before you can tear it apart. Could come in handy during a catastrophic event.

I should do some cost comparisons between using polished SS, and the cost of having the same part made from carbon steel and then chromed. With SS, the average person could get the look of chrome, but be able to do it himself/herself in there own space. Something to consider.

Just thinking out loud. Thanks guys!

David

[Youngster]

I have been using SS bushing ends, jams and clevis' from Speedway for a while now without any problems. I guess the thing I like is the threads don't rust up and you don't have to worry about bruising the chrome on the jam nuts. JMO

Ron

[putz]

In my work I have used stainless of lesser grades for valves and it does surface rust.Best grades are marine or aviationfor corrision.
Why is Stainless Steel Stainless?
basic stainless explanation link

[RexRod]

Originally Posted by Youngster

I have been using SS bushing ends, jams and clevis' from Speedway for a while now without any problems. I guess the thing I like is the threads don't rust up and you don't have to worry about bruising the chrome on the jam nuts. JMO

Ron

You bring up an interesting point Ron. If you do nick or scratch the stainless part, it can be easily fixed by just buffing it out again. Heck, if the damage is deep enough, you might even be able to fill the wound with weld and re-polish. Now that's appealing.

David

[donsrods]

The one thing I have to say is that chrome, done properly, has a deep richness to it that polished stainless does not. If you take something that has been chromed by a quality shop, like Advanced Plating, and compare it to stainless, you will see a difference.............not that the chrome is better, but just different.

Much depends on what look you are after. If you are building a totally traditional car, chrome plating kind of fits the look better. But if you are after a great look and durability, stainless is better in many respects.

As for marine grade stainless, I just retired from the marine industry, and stainless WILL rust. Many times our customers would accuse us of selling boats with inferior grade stainless trim because it developed rust spots after exposure to salt air and water. We would alway remind them of the old saying, "It is called Stain- LESS ", which means it will stain less than regular steel, but will still corrode. However, good polishing and maintenance will keep it shiny.

Don

[Tbucit]

To reconfirm: Yes stailesss will corode it has iron in it and that will rust.

All stainless other than 300 series is magnetic

I have used 300 series (321) for my four bars, drag link.

My brake pedal assy is made from heatreated 17-44

The bolts are again 17-4 heattreated

Chrome does look better but stainless will take more abuse and is easier to keep in my opinion

here are pics of some of my stainless parts

[Brucer]

any of the stainless ive machined we've used no less then cobalt tooling and steady stream/flood of coolant. i've also used carbide.. if there are holes in the part, depending size of holes and thickness of the material we'll mill the holes instead of drill them, either prototrak, or cnc mill..


ding: an idea: you might try looking up 27th or 28th edition Machinist Handbook,(not the Home Machinist book) or go to your local tooling supply place and definetly purchase one of these books.. this is an encyclopedia of the machine tool trade and has a vast knowlege of about anything in the garage you can think of.. speeds and feeds and tap and drill charts, formulas, heck anything you can think of.. when i bought mine about 20 years ago i give $30 for it , think theyre about $50 or $60 but well worth it to have in the tool box..

i know for a fact there is a detailed material and uses chart for different materials..

heres a little list
Stainless Steel Specification and Composition Chart - Engineers Edge

Stainless comparison and specification table