[grafted]

I am going to help my neighbor repair his wood heater and the damper shaft needs to be replaced . the shaft is made of .5 inch round stock.My question is ,what type of steel ? Elevated temperatures for an extended period should be a primary concern. because of the extreme heat and slow cooling I don't believe temper would be of any benefit. Any one have any experience in this area ?

Thanks
Tom

[weldin mike 27]

Any form of steel would corrode quickly, so the type of steel is kind of irrelevant, only that it is easily replaceable for the next time it fails.

[grafted]

Thanks mike, I was thinking that way, but it always pays to get more experience in on the decision.

Tom

[weldin mike 27]

You could try a type of stainless but it could distort and mess up the movement of the shaft.

[Braehill]

grafted,
I would think if I was going to make this repair I would use a piece of 321 stainless, it likes the heat about as much as any affordable rod out there. There are some Nickel based metals out there but they would be cost prohibitive for your application. Plain old carbon steel will last a long time if it's not heat cycled often and it's probably what was in there from the start, cold rolled is better than hot rolled.

Len

[grafted]

Thank you all for the input .

Tom