this could be a heat pipe - check out that technology and see if it makes
sense



"MikeMandaville" wrote in message
oups.com...
Stop giving that man advice - He's trying to break out of jail! :-)

Grady wrote:
Not sure from what it is made, but a fellow I used to work with that
used to
be a prison guard once told me that the bars in jail cells had inner
bars
that rolled so that it would impede sawing with a hacksaw to hinder
escape
plans. I cant imagine what the material is that would not get hot
with your
torch.


"JRJohnson" wrote in message
...
Guys, I picked up a rusty piece of steel and needing to turn it
down I
tried
cutting it in my band saw. Lo and behold, it would only cut about
3/16"
deep. I tried to cut a section off with my acetylene torch and it

wouldn't
even get red!!!! Finally had to grind it in two. It looks like a
1 5/8"
diameter rod with a half inch hole down the center. Further
examination
reveals that it is a piece of soft steel (1018?) surrounding a
harder
(obviously) tube. Specs follow:
OD 1.630. Diameter of core piece 1.245. Diameter of hole is .535.
The
core is packed with with what looks like rusty swarf, or chips.
But they
are only mildly attracted to a magnet. The hard core piece
machines
nicely
with carbide, and the chips are magnetic. The outer tube appears
to be
mild
steel. On a polished end, there is apparently a very thin layer of
copper
or brass between the outer and inner pieces. But the most
remarkable
thing
is that I held the flame of the cutting torch on the core piece for
at
least
5 minutes without it getting hot enough to cut. Oh, color of the
grinding
sparks is almost the same as the sparks from the outer tube, IOW
low
carbon
steel sparks.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what the material is, what
it is
used for, or how it was made. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks, James Johnson
Bewildered in Texas