Band Saw to Cut Tractor Axle?

There are bandsaw blades that would do this and your local blade supplier would be your best contact.

Personally, I'd use a friction saw for the job. An electric "cut-off" saw just like a builder's drop saw but with a 16" diameter grinding wheel. They usually have a clamp for the workpiece and would work inside the rim diameter of your tractor. Wouldn't even need to take off the wheels. A 20 minute job to get both done.

Have fun.

That's a decent plan. Plan B: torch them off and grind the ends flat.

Hi tbone8,

With your indication that you want to shorten the axle, I have to assume that you plan on never using dual wheels or adjusting the wheels inboard/outboard to accommodate different row widths, am I correct? Just asking

If you torch the axle I would strongly recommend that you use an adequate heatsink inboard of the cut point to prevent heat from traveling along the axle.

I would also suggest that you leave an 8" to 10" stub of axle measured from the face of the wheel.

Good Luck!

I may be slightly off topic but... Do you really really want to take off the extra lenght ? Is it a real nuisance or just an eyesore. Understand it is not usefull to you but then, those could prove usefull to a later user of your tractor - tractors are known to have lenghty lives...

As an alternative, you could simply paint those parts.

Just cut it off with a torch and use a grinder to dress it up. Do the best you can.

There is no way even with a band saw it will look like a stock axe. It will have saw cut marks where it should have been machined. You will not be able to chamfer the end. There will be no center where the live center on the lathe held it as it was turned.

If the looks of a stock axle is important to you. Measure what you want to take off. Pull it off the tractor. If you don't have the equipment send it out to be machined down.

Are you sure it is fact "hardened", or just a pretty good grade of steel? I suspect that it's just a fairly high strength steel and will cut fine with a regular bi-metal blade and generous lubricant. As a rough check, can you file it? If yes, then you can easily bandsaw it. If it truly is hardened, you could get a diamond blade for your saw, probably 500 bucks or so.. Alternately, use a torch, heat it cherry red (finding some way of stopping the heat from travelling the length of the axle to the bearing seals) and let it cool slowly, this should anneal it and allow you to cut it with a regular blade.

Cheers

Martin

abrasive cutoff works best for clean , straight cut. Just make sure you have a saw rated for the diameter you want to cut, equiped with the proper blade.

If the current lenth doen't cause interfense with your use, leave it alone. What is the reason for cutting?

Are they fully hardened steel shafts or are they considered shaft steel?

either way if you were to use a band saw than a fine tooth blade with a cutting fluid should be used.

RL, excellent advice, looking at the pictures I think this is about a 4" diameter shaft, I wouldn't use a blade with any more that 8TPI, 4 would probably be better, and, of course, generous cutting fluid.

Lots of good ideas. The reason I want to shorten them is for storage room and use around the farm. The wide axles were an option for duals spacing, I have no need for that. I don't know for sure of the composition of the metal but I know they are darn hard. Chop saw seems to be the most recommended choice and the one I will likely use. I will be sure to take pics and post. I may try chop saw on one side and band saw on the other, we shall see...