Hi all,

I'm trying to help a friend with something on his motorbike.

He has bought some second hand 'engine bars' but they didn't come with
the two 'longer' engine bolts that would typically have come with the
bars from new to accept the extra thickness of steel on the bar
brackets plus some spacers on the other.

Now, would could be 'better' than bolts would be a length of plain
steel bar with suitably threaded ends as then he could add / remove
the bars without having to take the bolt right out and support the
engine etc.

Now, I could easily fabricate such a thing with my lathe, a length of
M10 bar and a suitable (M10 x 1.5mm) die but I'm unsure what steel to
use and if cutting a thread would be as strong as what I imagine would
have been a rolled one?

Are bolts typically the same steel as what is normally sold as 'free
turning mild steel' and if not, what should I look for please?

Cheers, T i m