Get by with a little help!

[G.T.]

Hi to all, well, my latest project is to make a spring that keeps the artillery rear sight from bumping up each time you fire the gun!!!!! All my ideas have so far been dismal failures!!! BUT! I'm still hot on the trail, but have run into a snag that maybe one of the forum mebers can help me out with?
I need to have some strips of spring steel cut that are a certain thickness (.033") and a certain width (.189") length yet to be determined, but approx. 2.00" I have a jewelers bench shear, but it won't handle that thickness.
Have any of you the equipment to make this so? I would appreciate the effort greatly.
Let me know at: gctomeks@msn.com Thanks to all, til.....lat'r....GT

[ithacaartist]

Seems to me that 0.189" strips could be lopped off a ~2" wide strip of 0.033 material, after making those strips.
I think if you find a metal fabricating concern around there, they're likely to have a shear that will make good cuts=minimal burr=precise, sharp blades. If given the choice, go for an outfit that's where you want, depending on your tolerances, on the spectrum between blacksmith and machinist.
(I said likely, but don't know your local resources and cannot actually calculate the probability.)

No results for online from cut-to-order sources?

CNC water jet cutting?

[grantman]

G.T. You can buy spring steel flat stock from many suppliers and cut a strip to your desired size. Heat treating this material is fairly simple.

V/r
Grant

[G.T.]

Hi to all, Thanks to all for the suggestions and tips. All have given me food for thought... The problem is, it is hard to get someone with the proper tools, to do the task cheap enough to make the whole project feasible? I know how to do the work, I just don't have the tools?
Take for instance a bench shear found in most job shops, it is so over used and abused that the metal slides down between the jaws and it doesnt cut. Or, you have a jewelers bench shear that is accurate, but hasn't the capacity to handle the thickness for steel.
And the most important factor, cut them in enough quantity so you don't feel like you're killing your family pet ever time you screw up! I did take Ron Woods advice and cut one with a dremel tool and it went ok, wasn't quick or easy. Bottom line, I'm after making springs, not spring blanks! Again, thanks to all, til.....lat'r....GT

[Ron Wood]

Originally Posted by G.T.

Hi to all, Thanks to all for the suggestions and tips. All have given me food for thought... The problem is, it is hard to get someone with the proper tools, to do the task cheap enough to make the whole project feasible? I know how to do the work, I just don't have the tools?
Take for instance a bench shear found in most job shops, it is so over used and abused that the metal slides down between the jaws and it doesnt cut. Or, you have a jewelers bench shear that is accurate, but hasn't the capacity to handle the thickness for steel.
And the most important factor, cut them in enough quantity so you don't feel like you're killing your family pet ever time you screw up! I did take Ron Woods advice and cut one with a dremel tool and it went ok, wasn't quick or easy. Bottom line, I'm after making springs, not spring blanks! Again, thanks to all, til.....lat'r....GT

G.T.
Glad it went "ok". Unfortunately, quick and easy aren't in my skill set.
Ron

[ithacaartist]

Material that's very close is listed here https://www.mcmaster.com/products/sp...-steel-strips/ It apparently comes hardened, so you might need to anneal it before manipulating.
Stacking them after each cut doubles the number of pieces from next cut, and reducing 10' into manageable segments will go fast.

Next, I'd whack them to width with an 0,045 cutoff wheel. I find the cutoff wheels can be used to execute fairly nice cuts, so feeding the strip thru a jig up to a stop, clamping it in place, then a guided cut to zip off each one might just be precise enough. Annealing wouldn't be needed in this setup.