An integral forged or 1-piece-forged drill rod is made up solely from one piece of material. This rod has the same chemical makeup for the threaded connections and the mid-body rod with no weld zone between them. The raw material, or green rod, is saw cut to an exact calculated length to ensure proper finished length tolerances. The ends of green rod are then heated to produce a workable material for the forging or upsetting process. The upsetting process forms the steel to create the desired outside diameter, inside diameter and tong length required for the pin and box connection. The next step is to heat-treat the entire tube to a specified grad or hardness. After the tube has been heat treated and straightened, the upset ends are precision machined and threaded. Final inspection is the last and most important step.