Steel shaft into aluminum casting
#1
First time posting here, I need to press a 1" steel shaft into a aluminum casting,, it was originally a pressed fit. I have tried tapping it back in but only managed to get it in about an inch, I tried heating it with a heat gun with out much. Success so now I'm thinking about cooling the. Steel shaft in the freezer overnight hoping it wil contrract enough to  go in.
Any suggestions?

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Dom
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#2
use something to heat the aluminum up also
dallen, proud to be a member of MetalworkingFun Forum since Apr 2012.

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#3
Heating the aluminum will have the biggest effect. Aluminum has a higher coefficient of expansion and you can warm it up a lot more than you can cool the steel. The freezer will only be 50 or 60 degrees F cooler than room temp, but the oven in the kitchen can warm the casting 3 or 4 hundred degrees above the pin.
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Greg
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#4
Yup.

If my numbers are correct, a 1" hole in aluminum will expand about .008" when heated to 400ºF, but a steel shaft will only shrink about .0004" when cooled to 0ºF.

Tom
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#5
Thanks for all the reply's
I'll put it on the oven for a bit and hopefully it will work.
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