Strength of Threaded rod Vs solid rod

Threaded rod will bend much easier since it has grooves that will act as breaks for bending. I would use solid over all thread anyday for what you want.
Dan is there not a fab shop that you can go get some rod from? I mean stay away from hardware stores and such, just go to a local fab shop and see if you can purchase some cutoffs for a few dollars or head to a local machine shop and ask them.
What I can't pilfer from work I get by going to the local fab shops and machine shops. Just ask them if they have any cold rolled steel like 1018 or 1020 laying around in say 2' cutoffs or maybe longer that you can buy. I bought 8 pieces of 1" diameter 1018 bar stock in 12" pieces for $15 because they had the end tapped with the wrong size tap, they worked fine for me but were unsellable to the shops customer cause the tapped hole was big not small.

 

Think I gotta go with Mike on this. I'd get some solid rod somewhere. Seems like a lot of grinding which may have marginal results in the appearance category in the end, besides the strength issue. I know I couldn't grind anything smoothe enough to look like a nice piece of bar stock.

 

hate to agree with everyone else and go against what you want to do... but i can bend all thread really easy, but the same inner diameter of cold rolled is hard to bend. i hear you when it comes to the shifters, but it might still be a little too easy to bend if someting binds up in the transfer case.

editted to correct my inability to type

 

Your shift rods are also forged not just bent rod, which aligns the grain and adds alot of strength.

 

From what I remember reading, all thread is rated less than grade 2, so I wouldnt use it for anything but its intended purpose. All of the local hardware stores around me (Ace, yardbirds, etc.) sell short sticks of 1/2 inch solid rod, not the cheapest but easy to get.

 

Cold rolled is what I'd use. The other thing I'd consider would be dom tubing, thicker wall preferbly but would prefer solid rod. Made shifter once with threaded rod for my four wheeler while I was on a hunting trip 'cause that's all that was available in the town I was in. It was curved before I got back home. I wasn't exerting near the presure that you will be.

 

just go to a salvage yard with a hacksaw and saw off a couple of tranny shifters and use them. You can heat, bend and weld them to desired shape and they will look like a pro did the job not a BUBBA. Drop the allthread idea.

JB