I am surprised he was able to turn that. Aren't axles pretty hard. I have some steel in my collection I have collected over that years that I cannot turn. It is just too hard for my equipment. Some are pins from excavating equipment, a few broken axles, one very nice 2 1/2" diameter x about 30" long hydraulic cylinder rod.

"Some day" I hope to get a broken ceramic kiln I have put back together to use for heat treating, annealing, etc. So for now my collection of steel lays patiently waiting to become useful again.