how do you make....

[sussexmuzllodr]

your own springs from scratch.? IM talking about main springs. and from what material? What steel? Is it specific kind of steel or can you fashion it from Scrap? What shaping methods and hardening and or softening process? How do you make a really good flat spring for the Hammer?

Thanks

 

[waarp8nt]

Dixie Gun Works and Brownells sell 1095 steel by thickness. You will need to cut, shape, heat the steel to cherry red (somewhat dull not bright red) then quench in oil, draw back the steel so it doesn't remain brittle. The draw back can be easily done in your lead pot by suspending the spring in the lead for a period of time, 1/2 hour to an hour. I would highly recommend the "Springs" book by Kit Ravenshear, it's only $6 at Dixie or most any other muzzleloading supply store.

I've made a few springs, it's not as difficult as it sounds. My dad told me where most folks go wrong is they overheat the spring to bright red or they simply do not draw it back causing the spring to be too brittle.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
If you use the search function I am sure many posts about this will come up. It has been asked many times on this forum. I make many main springs, frizzen springs, and sear springs from scratch. I almost always use 1075 steel which makes fine springs and is very forgiving. I would never use scrap because not knowing the alloy means I'll be unsure of the best hardening and tempering regime. Using a good alloy like 1075 or even 1095 steel is the first step in a good spring. Next is the shaping. It must be shaped, which includes tapering the leaves to get the desired performance. You cannot adjust the performance of a spring much by different hardening and tempering regimes. The most important factor is how the leaves are shaped. The finished and shaped spring must first be hardened. For 1075 steel that means heating it bright red and quenching in canola oil, quenching oil, or canola oil floating on top of room temperature water. Once hardened, the spring must be tempered or it will break. I use a heat treating oven which I can program such that the hardened spring is heated to 750 degrees F for about 1 hour and then left to cool in the shut off oven. That always produces a good spring. You can use a lead bath at about 700 degrees to do much the same or place the spring in a dish coated with motor oil and flaming it until all the oil burns away. Those methods can work but neither are as reliable as a good programmable oven.

dave

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Thank you two. Made a working spring but it was not quite there. I thank you both.

 

[Cruzatte]

There is a series of muzzle loader gun craft manuals written by the late Kit Ravenshear. There are seven in all. The one you want is "Simplified V Springs." The series is available from Track of the Wolf. You can buy the individual books, or you can buy the series, it's worth the money. I feel like I learned a lot, and I can't wait to get started on my next project.

 

[waarp8nt]

Hi,
If you use the search function I am sure many posts about this will come up. It has been asked many times on this forum. I make many main springs, frizzen springs, and sear springs from scratch. I almost always use 1075 steel which makes fine springs and is very forgiving. I would never use scrap because not knowing the alloy means I'll be unsure of the best hardening and tempering regime. Using a good alloy like 1075 or even 1095 steel is the first step in a good spring. Next is the shaping. It must be shaped, which includes tapering the leaves to get the desired performance. You cannot adjust the performance of a spring much by different hardening and tempering regimes. The most important factor is how the leaves are shaped. The finished and shaped spring must first be hardened. For 1075 steel that means heating it bright red and quenching in canola oil, quenching oil, or canola oil floating on top of room temperature water. Once hardened, the spring must be tempered or it will break. I use a heat treating oven which I can program such that the hardened spring is heated to 750 degrees F for about 1 hour and then left to cool in the shut off oven. That always produces a good spring. You can use a lead bath at about 700 degrees to do much the same or place the spring in a dish coated with motor oil and flaming it until all the oil burns away. Those methods can work but neither are as reliable as a good programmable oven.

dave

I want to make a correction Dixie sells 1075 and that is what I used to make the few springs that I have made...the last steel I ordered was 1095 to make a knife. Sorry for the confusion, I want to thank Dave for his post, reading it refreshed my memory!

Here is the first spring I made, it was for an original pistol. You can see the spring is cracked and somewhat collapsed. I have some pics of the beginning shaping. It can be tricky, but it's not impossible if you do a little research, have the tools and a little skill.

 

[russellshaffer]

Dixie Gun Works sells spring stock in various thicknesses and also a variety of generic flat springs. Their catalog is full of information and well worth the money.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have made several springs from the Dixie spring steel stock and they work well. I temper them in a lead bath after hardening them in an oil quenching.

 

[waksupi]

If you are buying raw material, try this guy. Cheaper than buying from a ML dealer with their mark ups. If you have any questions about best applications for steel, tempering questions, pretty much anything, these guys will know.

https://newjerseysteelbaron.com/

 

[SwanShot]

I want to make a correction Dixie sells 1075 and that is what I used to make the few springs that I have made...the last steel I ordered was 1095 to make a knife. Sorry for the confusion, I want to thank Dave for his post, reading it refreshed my memory!

Here is the first spring I made, it was for an original pistol. You can see the spring is cracked and somewhat collapsed. I have some pics of the beginning shaping. It can be tricky, but it's not impossible if you do a little research, have the tools and a little skill.

View attachment 129523View attachment 129524View attachment 129525

Have you ever tried old car leaf springs. I've got a couple of them and wondered whether their steel would do.

 

[rich pierce]

There’s a lot of precision in making a mainspring. Forging a good hook is not a piece of cake. The tapering and curve of the lower leaf to give some pre-load but not too much is not intuitive for me and may take a couple tries. The bend at the corner is another headache. Everything has to be within close tolerances.

It’s one of those things difficult to do the first 10 or 20 times for many people. If you’re an accomplished smith, your 3rd spring might be pretty good.

 

[waarp8nt]

Have you ever tried old car leaf springs. I've got a couple of them and wondered whether their steel would do.

I have not.

 

[rich pierce]

Pre WWII springs are often dependably simple carbon steels. More modern stuff is a gamble. It’s a huge job using car springs for small gun springs unless you have an oxy/acetylene setup and a forge, which many do not have.