rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

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dave brode
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rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by dave brode »

Am I the only one that this bugs?
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by woody b »

It bugs me too.
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Walter R. Malik »

To them ... anything ferrous is steel and their generalization.
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Blue Malibu »

I think it got started with the racetrack promoters.

COME OUT AND SEE THE FASTEST STEEL HEAD LATEMODELS IN THE COUNTRY!!!!!

Sounds a lot more interesting to the average joe.
Its also amazing that every dirtrack in the country has the claim to the fastest cars to :lol:

But yes it bothers me too.

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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by dave brode »

It's like guys in metal working trades calling hot rolled carbon steel "black iron" [black arn]. Although that doesn't bug me as much.
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Unkl Ian »

How about "cast heads" ??

Are most heads, not actually cast ?
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Nick Campagna »

Wish they were steel, could weld them then.
Is the defect in what I see, or what I'm seeing with ?
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by PackardV8 »

Bugs the heck out of me, too. To have a technical discussion, if one has to know and use correct terminology, or it isn't going to happen.
We who spend time on obsolete engine fora are always running into those who state authoritatively their marque blocks/heads were cast of a better, harder "high nickel" alloy. Once in a while the more zealous, less informed will insist the Hudson ( or whatever) heads and blocks were cast of steel, not that cheap iron. Recently there was one statement, "The XXXX heads are too hard to mill. They have to be Blanchard ground."
Nick Campagna wrote:Wish they were steel, could weld them then.
Yes, but then we couldn't cut them. Decking a steel head or cutting for inserts would be an all-day job and new tooling required.
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Nick Campagna »

All steel does not have to be that hard.
Is the defect in what I see, or what I'm seeing with ?
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by The Radius Kid »

dave brode wrote:Am I the only one that this bugs?
Kinda' like calling an engine a "motor".
I think they started that stuff in Nascar,IIRC.
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Kevin Johnson »

The Radius Kid wrote:
dave brode wrote:Am I the only one that this bugs?
Kinda' like calling an engine a "motor".
I think they started that stuff in Nascar,IIRC.
Electric engines and motors -- people used the term interchangeably back in the early 1800's. SAE papers show the same 100 years later.
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by The Radius Kid »

Kevin Johnson wrote:Electric engines and motors -- people used the term interchangeably back in the early 1800's. SAE papers show the same 100 years later.
As I recall,I've never heard the term "internal combustion motor".
Maybe this will explain what I'm talking about:

http://english.stackexchange.com/questi ... -and-motor

A little more:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/engine.htm
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Kevin Johnson »

:lol:

Yes, I studied theoretical linguistics and spent a good deal of time with the history of words. The two sources you have were not researched very well. Why would I say this? The inventor of the electric "motor" himself uses the term "engine" - shame, shame, eh? :lol: I think what has happened over time with the terms 'engine' and 'motor' is that for whatever reasons, perhaps aesthetics or a desire by some for succinctness and rigid definition, modern viewpoints are being exported backwards and revising history. Rawls (see also Goodman) had a term for this: reflective equilibrium.

http://books.google.com/books?id=hW0MAA ... navlinks_s from 1839.

Drawn from the above:

http://books.google.com/books?id=hW0MAA ... or&f=false
The Radius Kid wrote:
Kevin Johnson wrote:Electric engines and motors -- people used the term interchangeably back in the early 1800's. SAE papers show the same 100 years later.
As I recall,I've never heard the term "internal combustion motor".
There are many examples in the literature of this specific usage.

The Radius Kid wrote: Maybe this will explain what I'm talking about:



http://english.stackexchange.com/questi ... -and-motor

A little more:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/engine.htm
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by Kevin Johnson »

Don't discount the idea that people might be subconsciously using "steel head" because a type of trout is called "steelhead". Stimulated recall -- easier to remember. Less to remember. Parsimony. Ockham's razor and all that there guff. :lol: :wink:
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Re: rant: why do people call iron heads steel heads?

Post by The Radius Kid »

Kevin Johnson wrote:Don't discount the idea that people might be subconsciously using "steel head" because a type of trout is called "steelhead". Stimulated recall -- easier to remember. Less to remember. Parsimony. Ockham's razor and all that there guff. :lol: :wink:

Oh man,there's an image I don't want to see.
"Hi,how are you doing?I understand you do porting?I''ve got a pair of Steel Trouts I need done.Can you give me an idea of the cost and the kind of power gains I can ecpect after I re-install my Trouts?"
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