I need to make a "U" shaped spring to replace the one I broke. It was made from .025 spring stock. I need to bend it and I know if I do it cold I will break it. Of course if I heat it I will lose the spring in it. How do I return the spring back to the metal after heating to shape it?
Need to make a Spring
- Thread starter Dave K
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The first thing you need is some .025 spring steel stock.
If you buy this, it will be in the annealed condition and will be easy to bend.
After bending it to the desired shape, heat it to a bright red color and dump it into some thin oil (like ATF or 10 wt motor oil).
When you get it out of the oil, use a file to try to file it.
If you can't file it, jump down to the next paragraph.
If you can file it, it was supposed to be water quenched.
Reheat it to a bright red color and dump it into some water.
Now try to file it. If you can file it, someone sold you the wrong material.
If you can't file it, your half way there.
Polish off the black crud until the future spring is shiny.
If your wifes oven goes up to 575 degrees F, heat the oven up for 1/2 an hour. Put the spring in a tin can and bake it for 15 minutes or so. When you remove the can and spring, it should be a nice dark blue color.
Since most ovens don't go to 575 degrees F, get your propane torch out and light it. Also get your quenching oil handy.
Turn the torch down as low as it will go.
Hold the spring with some plyers or vice grips and then move it into the heated air way beyond the flame.
You want to do this slowly because if you over heat the spring, you'll have to start over with the hardening process.
After a while, you will notice the color of the material changing to a yellow color, then a straw color, then a brown color, then a purple color, then a BLUE color.
When it gets to the blue color, dump it into the room temperature oil I told you to get.
When you take it out of the oil, it will be a spring!
:applause: :applause:
If the material your working with is already at a spring temper, you will need to anneal (soften) it.
To do this, heat it to a bright red color and then VERY SLOWLY move it away from the heat source.
The colors should slowly go from bright red, to dark red, to black red, to black. At this stage, do not let it cool off rapidly. Continue to move it slowly away from the flame, keeping it hot, but a little cooler.
The idea here is to cool it as slowly as you can.
When it gets down to 600-800 degrees (you have to guess at this), then you can allow it to AIR cool. DO NOT put it into water or oil.
When your done, the hardness will be removed so you can bend it to the shape you want.
Then harden it as I outlined up above.
Good luck.
If you
If you buy this, it will be in the annealed condition and will be easy to bend.
After bending it to the desired shape, heat it to a bright red color and dump it into some thin oil (like ATF or 10 wt motor oil).
When you get it out of the oil, use a file to try to file it.
If you can't file it, jump down to the next paragraph.
If you can file it, it was supposed to be water quenched.
Reheat it to a bright red color and dump it into some water.
Now try to file it. If you can file it, someone sold you the wrong material.
If you can't file it, your half way there.
Polish off the black crud until the future spring is shiny.
If your wifes oven goes up to 575 degrees F, heat the oven up for 1/2 an hour. Put the spring in a tin can and bake it for 15 minutes or so. When you remove the can and spring, it should be a nice dark blue color.
Since most ovens don't go to 575 degrees F, get your propane torch out and light it. Also get your quenching oil handy.
Turn the torch down as low as it will go.
Hold the spring with some plyers or vice grips and then move it into the heated air way beyond the flame.
You want to do this slowly because if you over heat the spring, you'll have to start over with the hardening process.
After a while, you will notice the color of the material changing to a yellow color, then a straw color, then a brown color, then a purple color, then a BLUE color.
When it gets to the blue color, dump it into the room temperature oil I told you to get.
When you take it out of the oil, it will be a spring!
:applause: :applause: If the material your working with is already at a spring temper, you will need to anneal (soften) it.
To do this, heat it to a bright red color and then VERY SLOWLY move it away from the heat source.
The colors should slowly go from bright red, to dark red, to black red, to black. At this stage, do not let it cool off rapidly. Continue to move it slowly away from the flame, keeping it hot, but a little cooler.
The idea here is to cool it as slowly as you can.
When it gets down to 600-800 degrees (you have to guess at this), then you can allow it to AIR cool. DO NOT put it into water or oil.
When your done, the hardness will be removed so you can bend it to the shape you want.
Then harden it as I outlined up above.
Good luck.
If you
Zonie, thanks. I did pick up some spring steel of the correct thickness, but it is already a spring so I will have that extra step to do. But, the spring is only about 1 1/4" long by 1/4" wide so it doesn't take long to do. Thanks again!
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Zonie has the heat treat explaned really well, heat cherry red then dip in oil first, if not hard then use water. Always try oil first, beacuse oil harding steel will shatter if quenched in water, so alway use oil first!
How I draw or temper hardened steel: Wrap part in a tin foil bag, you need to keep the cool air off the part and it will let the steel cool of slower, because the bag will help trap hot air.
Place bag in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees, this temp will work for small parts. Then cook a PIZZA, remove only the pizza when done, turn off the stove with the bag still in the oven. When the bag is cool, or the next morning, your part will be a pretty blue and tempered.
Or you can forget the pizza and just cook the steel at 450 for a 1/2 hour then turn the stove off and wait 4 or 5 hours, till cool. This is the most important part is to let the part cool down slowly!
How I draw or temper hardened steel: Wrap part in a tin foil bag, you need to keep the cool air off the part and it will let the steel cool of slower, because the bag will help trap hot air.
Place bag in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees, this temp will work for small parts. Then cook a PIZZA, remove only the pizza when done, turn off the stove with the bag still in the oven. When the bag is cool, or the next morning, your part will be a pretty blue and tempered.
Or you can forget the pizza and just cook the steel at 450 for a 1/2 hour then turn the stove off and wait 4 or 5 hours, till cool. This is the most important part is to let the part cool down slowly!
sherpadoug
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I anneal springs by heating them and thrusting them into vermiculite or wood ashes. Either will insulate the part so it cools very slowly.
flashpanner
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RATS!! I messed up! I put the hot pizza in the sand instead of the spring to cool it slowly and then put the spring on the cooling rack. I'd better stick with instructions with pictures!!!!
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10 second rule still applied!
Zonie: I harden my springs about the same way you do but when I anneal them I do it different. I use my lead melting pot to anneal the spring.I set the lead temperatre at about 800 degrees, put the spring in the lead for 20-30 minutes, pull it out shake off the lead and let it cool. Works Great.
Olie: The lead method you use will "overtemper" the spring and soften it quite a lot, but it is not totally annealed. If someone wants to do any radical bending or forming, and has only brought the steel up to 800 degrees F, it may still be too hard and may break.
By getting it up into the red heat range and then cooling it off as slowly as possible it will anneal the material so it will be as ductile as a piece of 1018 or 1020 Cold Rolled Steel.
Another method of annealing spring stock is to make a small charcoal fire and put the spring into it. When the fire goes out and the spring is cool enough to handle, it will be annealed.
I don't really like this method because a lot of the surface of the material will loose it's carbon (the stuff that makes it hardenable). If someone thinks "a little is good so a lot must be better" and fans the charcoal up to the yellow hot color the spring material can be ruined. (If I'm wrong about this, I expect to hear from you blacksmiths out there. :: )
This method also can make a LOT of scale form.
Of course, this scale is some of the springs material, so it will be thinner when its gone thru this process.
This "thinner" aspect becomes an issue sometimes because the strength of a flat spring is a function of the cube of the thickness. That means a "little" thinner can make a "lot" of change.
Your method is great if the plan is just to "adjust" or to bend the spring moderatly. Of course when your done, the spring still has to go thru the hardening and tempering process.
By getting it up into the red heat range and then cooling it off as slowly as possible it will anneal the material so it will be as ductile as a piece of 1018 or 1020 Cold Rolled Steel.
Another method of annealing spring stock is to make a small charcoal fire and put the spring into it. When the fire goes out and the spring is cool enough to handle, it will be annealed.
I don't really like this method because a lot of the surface of the material will loose it's carbon (the stuff that makes it hardenable). If someone thinks "a little is good so a lot must be better" and fans the charcoal up to the yellow hot color the spring material can be ruined. (If I'm wrong about this, I expect to hear from you blacksmiths out there. :: )
This method also can make a LOT of scale form.
Of course, this scale is some of the springs material, so it will be thinner when its gone thru this process.
This "thinner" aspect becomes an issue sometimes because the strength of a flat spring is a function of the cube of the thickness. That means a "little" thinner can make a "lot" of change.
Your method is great if the plan is just to "adjust" or to bend the spring moderatly. Of course when your done, the spring still has to go thru the hardening and tempering process.
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