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Thread: Making Springs

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Cleveland, Ohio USA
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    Would it be possible? Yes. Is it the most practical way? Not necessarily. Depending on the spring shape, it could possibly be made from pre-tempered spring steel without going through the heat treatment process. However it is not likely to work as long and as well as one that is properly made. What kind of equipment do you have? Mapp torch? Fire bricks? If you don't have this type stuff, then it would likely be cheaper to have it made. And do you have the broken spring parts or is it missing?

  2. #12
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    Aug 2015
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    I do have the torches required, and with some guidance believe I could do this. Here is the thread that has a photo of where the spring is missing.
    http://www.antique-locks.com/showthr...-old-door-lock

  3. #13
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    That spring could be made from pre-tempered spring stock such as what the locksmith suppliers sell. In fact that is what you should get first even if you are determined to make a heat treated spring. Getting the proper thickness stock is a critical factor. Too thick and the bolt will be too hard to push in as the door is shut. Too thin and it will struggle to extend. If you remove that part and flip it over you will see the thin slot the spring has to fit into. This opening will give you a very good idea of what thickness is needed. Flat steel thickness gauges available at auto parts store. Once you have determined what the slot thickness is in thousandths of an inch, post it and I'll see what I have.

  4. #14
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    Someone mentioned using the steel banding for making springs. It turns out that some banding might work while others might not. If you are not skilled at IDing high carbon steel by the spark test, another way is to take a sample piece and full harden it. That is, bring it up to the critical temp (somewhere in the cherry red area depending on the lighting) and quench it in oil. If a file skates on the metal, it should work out for springs. Also at full hardness, the steel is extremely brittle and will shatter like glass. It is because of this brittleness full hard high carbon steel is not useful for tools, knives, springs, etc. Therefore this brittleness needs to be tempered down to make it useful.

  5. #15
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    This lock of Fuzzymaster is a perfect one to look at since it is, when installed takes a smooth curve with no sharp bends needed to be made. And why the pre-tempered spring stock that locksmiths use might work perfectly well. There are 3 states that a spring sees, unloaded, pre-loaded and fully loaded. Unloaded is prior to installation, pre-load is installed and under some stress, and fully loaded is at its full travel and under the greatest stress. If you compare the shape of the unloaded spring, to the shape of the spring after it has been installed, fully stressed and then removed, ideally you see should no change. If you do see a change then the steel has undergone plastic deformation. The greater the deformation or change in shape, the greater the need to stress relieve and re-heat treat the spring. So as long as Fuzzymaster will take pictures of his spring before and after testing it in the lock, we will see if plastic deformation has occurred and if it is enough to warrant further heat treatment.

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