Spring Steel
Spring Steel
I am making some leaf springs for tender trucks. I am using blued #1095 spring steel. What is the best way to bend a curve into the leaves so they will take a set. Any suggestions out there. Thanks
- Greg_Lewis
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2003 2:44 pm
- Location: Fresno, CA
Re: Spring Steel
I just bent mine with my fingers over a piece of pipe of some eyeballed diameter. Bend before drilling any holes.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Re: Spring Steel
Try hammering them against a steel pipe with a rubber hammer. This makes a smooth curve, and prevents a kink.
Dan Watson
Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga, TN
- Dick_Morris
- Posts: 2842
- Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 2:09 pm
- Location: Anchorage, AK
Re: Spring Steel
I made a die from a piece of pipe with a spigot welded on and some 2x4 with a radius cut into it, used on an arbor press. Some experimentation is needed to get the radius right. Some of what I got came off the roll at about the right radius.
Something I learned while acquiring spring material, some of what I bought is rolled to the correct width with nicely rounded edges, some other is sheared to width and has a somewhat rough edge.
Something I learned while acquiring spring material, some of what I bought is rolled to the correct width with nicely rounded edges, some other is sheared to width and has a somewhat rough edge.
Re: Spring Steel
I rolled mine thru a sheet metal roller, made easy work of it
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Re: Spring Steel
Hi Jeff,
With my loco springs (1/16" x 1") I bent the steel when in unhardened / un-tempered condition using a simple curved hardwood press tool (a male and female former) squeezed together in the bench vice. I pressed long lengths of steel a short section at a time to create a continuous curve, then cut the springs to length afterwards avoiding any flat sections. Then I hardened the leaves - cherry red and oil quench - followed by tempering in molten lead.
I tweaked the bottom leaves to a slightly tighter radius in order to pre-load the pack and keep everything tightly together upon assembly.
Best regards
Steve
With my loco springs (1/16" x 1") I bent the steel when in unhardened / un-tempered condition using a simple curved hardwood press tool (a male and female former) squeezed together in the bench vice. I pressed long lengths of steel a short section at a time to create a continuous curve, then cut the springs to length afterwards avoiding any flat sections. Then I hardened the leaves - cherry red and oil quench - followed by tempering in molten lead.
I tweaked the bottom leaves to a slightly tighter radius in order to pre-load the pack and keep everything tightly together upon assembly.
Best regards
Steve
Re: Spring Steel
Hoppercar didn't say whether he rolled them individually or the whole length before they were cut like I did mine.I rolled mine thru a sheet metal roller, made easy work of it
That way I could get the 'correct' radius for all of the pieces.
I set up a stop in the shear to make each length in turn.
My tender has 12 sets of spring assemblies per truck.
Sorry, no pictures of the spring construction.
http://www.karlkobel.com/Tender/TenderTrucks/index.html
Karl