Method of producing a rack from pipe material and a rack thus produced

A method of manufacturing a geared rack from a length of cylindrical pipe having substantially the same external diameter as the rack, comprising the steps of:

• preforming a flat side wall into the wall of said length of cylindrical pipe for a portion of said length of said pipe;
• clamping said preformed length of pipe into a forming die containing a D-shaped internal bore through a portion of its length, said bore having a semicylindrical internal wall with a diameter substantially the same as the external diameter of said length of preformed pipe, and an internal, planar surface opposing said flat side wall of said preformed length of pipe, which said planar surface contains a female mold comprising the flutes and tooth of a female gear pattern which is complementary to that to be embossed in said flat side wall of said length of preformed pipe;
• and
• inserting a mandrel into one end of said preformed length of pipe and through said length of pipe for a distance equal to said portion of said preformed length of said pipe containing said flat side wall, said mandrel having a cross-sectional area slightly greater than the internal cross-sectional area of said length of preformed pipe, such that said side wall of said length of preformed pipe is forced into contact with said female mold of said gear pattern to emboss said gear pattern into said flat side wall of said length of pipe.