8 replies to this topic

[fuzz080]

I found this whilst serfing the net, thought it might be useful; http://www.instructa...ngs-in-seconds/

[cheesypiza001]

Cool video. However, springs are made out of a certain type of steel called high carbon steel. This allows the steel to spring back to its original position when bent or twisted. I'm pretty sure that TIG welding wire is not made from high carbon steel. If you used regular steel wire to make a spring, then it would not be nearly as effect as a normal spring because over time, the coils would get closer and closer together and the spring would get shorter.

[Talio]

That's actually a pretty good find. Nice job.

[SorrowX]

I posted about this not too long ago. I mainly use home made springs for catch springs though. Also cheesy, I remember reading off of a site that sold AR-15 springs that many of them are made of music wire, odd huh?

[Carbon]

Yeah, music wire is a much better choice for springs…and that’s what bothers me about this video. It glosses over the importance of wire selection, and really glosses over the importance of safety. Stronger wire needs more power. If that wire gets away from you and starts spinning with no load, it means you suddenly have a metal weed whacker spinning right next to your body.

This is the best site I’ve seen as far as instructions for making your own springs, partly because of its emphasis on safety.

[Keith]

cheesypiza001, on Dec 2 2009, 10:48 PM, said:

Cool video. However, springs are made out of a certain type of steel called high carbon steel. This allows the steel to spring back to its original position when bent or twisted. I'm pretty sure that TIG welding wire is not made from high carbon steel. If you used regular steel wire to make a spring, then it would not be nearly as effect as a normal spring because over time, the coils would get closer and closer together and the spring would get shorter.

I don't know how applicable it would be for homemade springs, but annealing can change the carbon content of steel to make high carbon steel.
In a nutshell you heat up the metal until it's glowing hot. Then if you cool it slowly (like by burying it in sand to insulate it) it becomes softer. If you cool it quickly (like by dipping it in water) it becomes harder.
We made screwdrivers from scratch back in highschool metalshop and hardened them into tool steel with the water dipping method.

[cheesypiza001]

Keith, on Dec 3 2009, 07:48 AM, said:

cheesypiza001, on Dec 2 2009, 10:48 PM, said:

Cool video. However, springs are made out of a certain type of steel called high carbon steel. This allows the steel to spring back to its original position when bent or twisted. I'm pretty sure that TIG welding wire is not made from high carbon steel. If you used regular steel wire to make a spring, then it would not be nearly as effect as a normal spring because over time, the coils would get closer and closer together and the spring would get shorter.

I don't know how applicable it would be for homemade springs, but annealing can change the carbon content of steel to make high carbon steel.
In a nutshell you heat up the metal until it's glowing hot. Then if you cool it slowly (like by burying it in sand to insulate it) it becomes softer. If you cool it quickly (like by dipping it in water) it becomes harder.
We made screwdrivers from scratch back in highschool metalshop and hardened them into tool steel with the water dipping method.

Yeah, quenching the hot metal does, as you said, make it harder, but it seems that the point of this spring making method is to make a spring by using common objects and little to no money. You would need to have access to an annealer and a torch (or other heating source) that is capable of reaching very high temperatures. Also, a homemade screw driver sounds like a fun project. This past summer I learned the basics of blacksmithing with a forge and an anvil. I made a spoon from square stock and overall it was a very cool experience.

[Keith]

Yeah, I guess that was just something random I was throwing out there. Aside from the problem of access to a forge, I think this would make the steel too hard for a spring (it would break instead of bending).

[CA13]

I really do not see the cost effectiveness in this, but I guess if you go for a true "homemade" blaster, this would be a step to consider.

Instructables is a great source, but it is no match for actually looking at personally maintained webpages and blogs about more finicky DIY projects.

Nice find, though. Maybe it gets annoying sifting through Knex guns, "anything that can fit in an Altoids parcel" and oh-so-useless Ipod charging ports.