On Thu, 19 Sep 2013 05:18:44 -0500, Karl Townsend
wrote:

I just bought a rifling button so I can make my own 9mm barrels
http://tinyurl.com/kdn8mzg

You need a five ton press to push this button down a barrel to form
the rifling. OK, what would be the highest strength steel i can get
for the pusher. I looked for HSS and couldn't find anything long
enough. looked for already hardened drill rod. It must be out there
but no joy so far.

My first barrels will be 12", want to do 16" in the future.

Karl

If the bar can be 0.35" diameter, you're looking at less than 0.1 ^2
in. of area. Yikes. You need 100 ksi compressive yield strength in the
bar to handle the full five tons.

HSS is no stronger than many high-strength alloys. Pre-hardened,
ground drill rod is available.

Another possibility is the bar stock from Timken and others, intended
for making roller bearings. That stuff runs upward of 180 ksi tensile.
In most steels, compressive strength is close to, and directly related
to, tensile strength. And tensile specs are easier to find than
compression-strength specs.

Music wire in these dimensions is not nearly as strong as the thinner
types.

Good luck!

--
Ed Huntress (remove "3" for real email address)