Coil Spring Steel Type

B

bjalongi

Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
640
I've been accumulating a nice collection of coil springs from local auto shops. They are free if I can get in and ask for them before the scrap steel bandits raid their bins.

On average, what type of steel is used in automobile coil springs?

What's the best hardening/tempering schedule for coil spring steel? I have goop (old vegetable oil and hydraulic fluid), brine, or straight water in my shop, but no fancy quenching oils.

Thanks.
BJ
 
Could be just about anything, 1060-1070-1080 even 1095. Some used 5160 for coil springs also. You will need to do some experimenting to find out what you need to harden them in. Start with your goop then go to brine. As soon as you can get a real quench oil. It will make a huge difference. Also it is highly recommended to get KNOWN steel. It is not that expensive and readily available. The time you spend trying to get the HT right on mystery steel may cost you $$ in the long run. You can make a good knife out of these steels but it takes more time and energy.. Just MO

Chuck
 
I have tested a few and all that I tested were 1060. Not super stuff for knifemaking by any means....I'd take them to a scrap yard and use the money to buy good steel.:D
Matt
 
I used to "recycle" steel but after you figure the time you put into straightening a coil out or cutting a leaf spring up, developing a HT for it and forging it into usable sizes you could've bought a bunch of steel from one of our nice suppliers.

One of the best things I did was to try to lose a lot of our "packrat" mentality and rid my shop of a lot of that "I'm sure I could use this one day" stuff we all gather up when we find it. This change came about after I went through a "Lean Manufacturing" class and was on our "Lean Change Team" at a factory I was managing. If I can't class it as guard, blade, handle or jig material it goes. Gave me a lot more shelf space for stuff that fits into those groups lol That's just me though.

Will
formerly known as badbamaump
 
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