About our chrome
Chrome round bar is 1045 steel with a hard chrome surface: what you buy for hydraulic cylinder rods, guide shafts, and rollers. The chrome takes the wear and protects the seals; the steel core takes the load.
It's all round bar, in the common rod and shaft diameters, cut to the inch you need. Repairing a cylinder? Measure the rod diameter, not the bore, and call 902-468-1112 if you want a second opinion before ordering.
What is induction-hardened chrome bar?
Shafting, ready to run. It starts as 1045 steel round bar, gets induction-hardened so the skin resists wear, then chrome-plated so seals glide and the surface holds up. Hard outside, tough steel core inside. If you're rebuilding a hydraulic cylinder rod, making a linear shaft, or replacing a wear pin, this is the bar made for it.
Chrome rod or stainless rod?
Pick by enemy. If the enemy is wear, seals, and abrasion, chrome wins: that's its whole design. If the enemy is corrosion, salt spray on deck hardware, washdown chemistry, buy stainless round bar instead. A chrome rod's working surface shrugs off weather in service, but it's still a steel bar underneath: treat cut ends and keyways like carbon steel, because they'll rust if you don't.
Can you cut and machine it?
We cut it to your length on our saws, to ±1/8″, free, up to 96″ online. Machining is where the hardened skin earns respect: it's tough on ordinary tooling, so plan for carbide if you're turning or threading the ends. Or ask us about the job first and we'll tell you straight what it needs.
What does it cost?
As of June 2026, a 12″ piece of 1/2″ induction-hardened chrome bar runs $16.65 CAD. Sizes step up from there: 5/8″ at $20.35, 3/4″ at $21.41, and on up. Prices update daily. Type your length in inches and the price shows before you commit; lengths past 96″ move by quote, up to 21 ft.