leaf springs

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cjd1980

Joined
Sep 3, 2008
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a guy a know that owns a junkyard has some very old (1940 s) leaves they are vey thick 3/4 inch is what he told me hes not sure what kind of truck the came off of are these liky to be 5160 or some thing diffrent? I was going to have them plasma cut into strips for forging is there a better way to go
 
Being that old, I'd imagine they are 10xx I believe it wasnt until the late 70's early eighties that the big 3 switched to 5160.
 
Heat in your forge to critical, (the point where it becomes non magnetic, once you start seeing color, check every 2-5 seconds with the magnet!) at that point give it a second or 2 more, (no more than a count of 1-1000, 2-1000, 3-1000.) then quench in one of 3 things, do a test and temper for each.

Water then temper at 400ºF 2hours, take out of the oven and let cool NATURALLY then back into oven again for an additional 2 hours. again let cool naturally

Brine (water and salt 10:1 ratio (10 parts Water to 1 part salt)) same as before Feel free to play with temper temps.

Light Oil: ATF, Corn, Wesson, Goat Urine again same as before play with temper temps and have fun!
 
Dont forget to anneal the steel before pounding on it. also I should qualify the above post with this as well, make several blades, after tempering each, test to destruction to see which quench and temper process worked the best. Keep notes on which held the edge the best?, to what degree angle would it bend to before snapping?, did it snap or fatigue?, does it chip the edge when chopping or does it hold it?, do full quenching on the blades, dot try any differential tempering stuff yet. you need to understand what the steel will do fully quenched and tempered before exploring differential tempering and quenching.
 
How much material it there??? if it all came from the same set of springs and you can get a couple hundred pounds for cheap then get it analyzed. May cost $50-$100 but it would be worth it in the end. You will be able to tell someone what the steel is.
 
Try to avoid the plasma cutter if at all possible. If you do use it then you will need to grind off all the damaged area from the cut. I have cut many using a good horizontal band saw with a bimetal blade. Run it slow and use plenty of coolant.
 
The plasma cutter will cause the cut area to decarburize very similar to a cutting torch. Most of of the time it is not too deep but to be safe the area should be ground off. I would suggest at least.020. If you are forging just beat it out and give HT a try. If your edge is too soft grind it back until you get a hard edge. Anything that uses heat to cut with will cause some damage to the material. Even a laser will decarb .005. If I need to cut I will use a band saw or cut off disc. If I have to plasma it off or burn it with a torch I leave plenty of extra for decarb.
 
Dont forget to anneal the steel before pounding on it
Click to expand...

The reasons to spherodize anneal prior to forging are:

IMHO it seems to be easier to move under the hammer,

You can induce stresses into the grain structure, which could make it crack under the hammer or during quench.

How I anneal my mystery steel (leaf & coil springs) I have an old small beer cooler that I have filled 3/4 full with vermiculite (DRY hard wood fire ashes work well too) heat a thick piece of junk to red hot (to critical) along with your work piece, burry it in the Vermiculite close the lid, the next morning (it will take that long!) a file should be able to take a good bite out of it. Now normalize it a few times, (take to critical, then let air cool to room temp.) now it's ready to start beating on it.:D:thumbup: (about time right!) or you could save yourself a hella lotta work and buy some 1084FG from Aldo (not sure on price) or W1 / O1 drill rod for 15-20 bux per 3 foot stick from Fastenal, and a 4-6" piece of 3/4" - 1" drill rod (allready professionally annealled :thumbup:) will stretch out to a fairly decent size knife.
 
I sent some to Chuck Bybee (Alpha knife supply) who in turn will send it out. He gathers a few samples from makers and gets a better price for more than one sample. It may take a while but it is worth it in the end.
 
thanks i should be see nick some time this week or next and i'll get those from him he say s that both sides are there and proble go 300 or so pound
 
I teach next to a Shell station. One day last fall I ask one of the mechanics, "hey Mike you ever get any old coil springs?" He says, "sometimes, but not too often." Some months later he tells me he has a friend with some leaf springs, and asks if I want them. I say sure, thanks. Well, his friend works for a shipping and moving company over by the airport. The hours he can receive me are somewhat restricted and awkward. Weeks go by. Next thing I know a guy named Mark calls me. He's a friend of Mike and works at Napa a couple of miles down the street from our high school (and the Shell station.) A pallet of leaf springs are waiting for me there (a friend of his dropped them off.) They forked them onto my pick up truck. Some of my students helped me offload them. It took three of the kids to carry each set of springs. There are four sets (or two pair.) I bet I have about 400 pounds of steel....and just about no idea what to do with the dang stuff. Oh ya, since then, Mike has dropped off a couple of coil springs too! That I can deal with. We're making stone carving chisels from them for a class next semester.
 
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