can billet be distinguished from forged by appearance

such as cranks, rods, etc? thanks,

dk

cranks most times yes... some rods like a H beam no, because they are fully machined forgings which are actually stronger anyways.

Bret

I don't know if this is always the case, but the forging line was clearly visible on my Cola crankshaft (see arrows) and my Crower billet ultralight had none.

http://home.gci.net/~jimlab/images/Misc/crankshafts.jpg

That one on the left is beautiful! :cool:

thanks for the pics, it shows a very good comparison. I have seen the casting lines on "cast" products but i didn't know that forgings left the same.

dk

I'm not sure about the billet vs forged issued but as for the statement above, cast vs. forged, they both have a parting line. On the end of the counterweight, the one on a cast crank is a thin line and the one for a forged crank is a wide line.

I don't know if this is always the case, but the forging line was clearly visible on my Cola crankshaft (see arrows) and my Crower billet ultralight had none.

http://home.gci.net/~jimlab/images/Misc/crankshafts.jpg

The Cola forged crank in the pic appears to be a "twisted" forging. It's forged in one (two-piece) die as a "flat" or 180* crank, and then the two middle throws are twisted 90* while the forging is still hot.

A non-twisted forging is formed in a couple of dies. One does the nose and rear flange and the outer throws, and the other does the inner part. The forging is turned 90* when moved from one die to the next.

Some folks think non-twsted forgings are stronger. They are usually more costly.

Ok, you have me confussed, not hard to do. In the pic. of the Crower "billet" crank there is a very distinct "cast" line that can be seen on the last rod throw. I thought billet ment the item was totally machined from a solid piece of material?

Ok, you have me confussed, not hard to do. In the pic. of the Crower "billet" crank there is a very distinct "cast" line that can be seen on the last rod throw.You're evidently seeing something that I'm not. Are you sure it isn't just the reflection off the machined surface?

I thought billet meant the item was totally machined from a solid piece of material?It does. In this case, a ~350 lb. billet of 4340 chromemoly, which is one of the reasons the cost is so high.