Shaft straightening and hardening machine and workpiece holder therefor

A shaft straightening and hardening machine including a holder for holding a shaft-shaped workpiece, the holder movable about an axis parallel to the axis of the workpiece by a controllable rotary drive mechanism, and a coolant bath through which the holder passes through part of its path of movement, the holder comprising a set of plural parallel straightening shafts positioned to define a space between which a shaft-shaped workpiece is insertable and removable, said workpiece being entirely supportable within the holder by said set of straightening shafts, each of said plural parallel straightening shafts removably connected with the holder to enable said set to be removed and exchanged with another set of plural parallel straightening shafts, each straightening shaft within a set including end faces wherein each end face of each straightening shaft is held in a bearing bracket, whereby one of said straightening shafts within a set is swingable to an open position to enable insertion and removal of the workpiece, at least one of said straightening shafts within a set acting radially on the workpiece to exert pressure thereon, and wherein each of said straightening shafts include radially protruding profiling that form straightening elements for straightening the workpiece, said profiling of the straightening shafts within a set are predetermined circumferentially oriented, radially protruding rings about said straightening shafts and of predetermined axially extending lengths along the length of said straightening shafts, the radial and axial dimensions predetermined in accordance with the workpiece to be straightened, and wherein a set of straightening shafts are removable and exchangeable with other sets of straightening shafts of different predetermined radial and axial protruding ring dimensions to enable the straightening of workpieces of varying profiles.