Hi folks. Has anyone here any experience of machining the chrome-plated, centreless-ground rod from which hydraulic ram rods are made? Will tipped tooling (or even HSS) cope with the chrome layer, and without peeling it off (assuming it's well-plated, of course)? And what about drilling and boring? The 1 3/4" dia. rod needs a 1" diameter cross-hole at one end. T'other end has an axial 5/8" UNC threaded hole, about 1 1/2" deep. (Imperial units because it's an old fella). This end of the rod should also be faced and tapered so it can be inserted past the seals without damaging them. It's a pretty simple job, but the material may be a difficult opponent.

The only grinding facility I can throw at the job is an angle-grinder, with an old bloke behind it.

I'm contemplating machining this (these?) myself (on a big, borrowed lathe – the rods are 37" length overall), because the cost quoted by a local reconditioner / manufacturer made me sit down smartly – and involuntarily. On the other hand, the raw material may be horribly pricey here in expensive NZ, so perhaps the quote is reasonable. The catastrophic failure of my tractor's front-end loader (well-loaded at the time, of course) was spectacular, although not actually dangerous, thank goodness. Wife and dog know well to stay clear of anything attempting to defy gravity.

Thanks everyone for the information and links. All very useful and thought-provoking. It sounds encouraging too, if I decide to make new rods. Having now removed the loader from the tractor (a multi-gorilla job, but actually done by wife, self and swearing), I'm wondering how to proceed. The loader is badly designed, poorly executed and horribly worn. Previous owners clearly didn't posess a grease gun.

My preference for precision and things being 'just so' has to be weighed against the sheer difficulty – and expense – of restoring the horrible thing. All the pivots have worn their pins considerably, but the 'bores' (to dignify an 'orrible, irregular oval hole with an acceptable engineering term) should really be attended to. That would seem to require a magnetic drill and Rotabroaches (neither of which I have) to hog out the metal around the hole, then weld in a replacement hole (anyone tried to weld a hole?) – you know what I mean…

At some stage, reality has to be faced. I think I'll replace the seals and the battered rods and leave the pins and pivot holes as they were. It can only be an improvement on what it was before, and it's likely to outlast me – unfortunately… But it offends my desire for, if not perfection, doing the job properly.

Any further thoughts, however, would be gratefully received…

Nicholas, I admire the skill of your contractor. I suppose I could grind a hole reasonably round in 1/8" thick stock, but some of the pivot bores are in considerably thicker stock – and they have to be co-axial with the hole on the other side of the rod or cylinder. Rather than building up the walls of the worn hole, I was thinking of welding in a 'tube' – like a very thick-walled bush. Lower skill level required!

NDIY, good idea. The trouble is that the pin should have an anti-rotation snug (or whatever), and, whilst I can machine the pins, getting them heat-treated just adds to the expense and hassle. It all starts to get difficult…

Having looked at the thing in more detail, I think that the loader offends me so much that I just don't want to spend the time, effort and money on the ghastly thing. It will always be crude and ugly. There are more important and urgent things to attend to, let alone the things I'd really like to do. As a friend sagely pointed out, one's time may be running out far more quickly than one's money, so buy your way out of hassle, if possible. Well, I'm terminally tight, so I think I'll do a bare minimum lash-up fix, cross my fingers, and walk away, whistling.

Thanks again, everyone, for your ideas – all appreciated.