spring

M

macc

Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
4
Can I make a spring out of an old file? Too Brittle?Hard time locating spring steel cheap in the sticks!
 
sure I suppose that is possible. You would probably want to draw the hardness back some.
 
File are normally 1095 or W-1. Many leaf springs are also 1095 or 5160. You need to draw the file back probably 550-600f would do the job. May I ask why you are trying to make a spring put of a file? Or are you trying to make a knife out of spring steel? If you are attempting the latter then you can draw the file at 400-450F to give you 58-59RC. Then do your grinding very carefully as to not overheat the material.

Good luck
and welcome to the forums
 
The teeth on the file would need to be removed. They will cause the spring to crack.
 
Interesting. Everywhere I've been, it's much easier to find old springs than almost anything. I'd be walking down the road and one would randomly fall out of the sky. I'd have to pay people to haul them away from my doorstep because drifts of them would spontaneously accumulate overnight.
 
And thus we now understand, that whenever folks are around Salem they frequently hear mysterious boinging sounds as if oozing from his very pores.

Just where the heck are you Macc that there are no old springs to be found? What is it you're trying to make anyway? I'm confused.
 
I'm making a folder and want to make the blade and spring from the same file
 
A spring from 1095 should be in the low 40's of Rc. To get that the temper, the heat needs to be 750° to 800° F.
 
there are old springs around, but its easier and faster for me to cut one out than have to forge one down to the right thickness. Im in Andover NY
 
Low 40s is a little soft for a spring. About 50 RC is good.
 
I disagree. 50Rc will probably hold up, but is on the high side. Of course, it would all depend on the steel getting to full hardness before temper.
 
I may have to try this to get rid of some of my small files, I really like the idea. I would like to keep some of the teeth on the blade but not on the spring, or turn sideways but a cool idea maybe with some antler.
 
Seems like it should work fine, assuming you have a file made out of some decent steel (not some cheap case hardened thing) and get the shape and heat treat right.
 
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