According to experts, it is possible to make a spring with high performance characteristics and in compliance with all the necessary parameters only on special factory equipment. However, the process itself is not a big deal.
The question of how to make a spring at home is quite relevant. This is due to the fact that there are situations when a handyman may not have springs of the desired diameter at hand. In this case, it is necessary to produce it yourself. How to make a spring with your own hands? What tools will be needed for this? Information on how to make a spring at home can be found in this article.
What do you need for work?
Before you make a spring, you need to acquire the following supplies and equipment:
- Steel wire.
- Bench vise.
- Conventional gas burner.
- The mandrel on which the wire will be wound.
- Thermal or household oven.
About the wire
It is desirable that this be hardened high carbon steel. You can use special carbon and alloyed or non-ferrous alloys: 60KHFA, 70S3A, 65G, 60S2A and others. Judging by the reviews, many home craftsmen remake old unnecessary springs. This method is considered the most optimal, since a wire with excellent technical characteristics is usually used in such a product.
About diameter
How to make a spring? What wire diameter to choose? Experts recommend the use of consumables with a diameter of not more than 0.2 cm. Due to the fact that such a wire bends easily, it does not require preliminary heat treatment. Before winding on the mandrel, it is unbent and carefully leveled. When choosing a diameter for the mandrel, one should proceed from the dimensions of the future spring. In other words, the internal cross section of the product must be taken into account. Many craftsmen compensate for the elastic deformation of the wire, picking up mandrels of a deliberately smaller diameter. When working with a wire thicker than 0.2 cm, difficulties often arise when winding it on a mandrel. In this case, it is necessary to perform its preliminary annealing.
Where to start?
Experts recommend using a wire from some old spring, the diameter of which does not suit the owner. The master will only have to align it and wrap it on a mandrel with a cross section of the desired size. For this, the wire must be absolutely even. It will be much more plastic if processed in a special furnace. In the absence of such, any other device that can be melted with firewood is suitable. According to experienced craftsmen, birch gives enough heat for firing. After kindling the furnace, you need to wait for the wood to burn out in it. Only coals should remain. They should put the old spring. If the product is sufficiently heated, it will turn red. Now the spring can be pushed to the side so that it cools in the air. After this procedure, the metal will become plastic and will easily work with it.
How to make a spring?
After waiting for the old product to cool sufficiently, proceed to unwinding it. An absolutely even wire should be wound around the mandrel. For those who do not know how to make a spring, experts recommend placing the coils closely. At this stage, the master will have to make physical effort. The mandrel is clamped in a bench vise.
It will be much easier to work if you use pliers. Judging by the reviews of experienced masters, very often beginners have difficulties in choosing the size of the mandrel. It is possible that you will have to work not with one mandrel, but with several with different sections. The diameter for a makeshift spring in this case is selected empirically.
Product hardening
For those who are interested in how to make the spring themselves, experienced craftsmen also advise paying attention to its hardening. This procedure consists in heat treatment of the product in order to give it the required elasticity.
A hardened spring becomes much harder and stronger than its original state. Heat treatment is carried out in special furnaces at temperatures from 830 to 870 degrees. You can also cope with this work at home with a conventional gas burner. Since temperature sensors are usually absent in such devices, the home craftsman will have to visually control the process. As a guide, you can use the color of the repainted product. When heated to 800 degrees, the metal turns cherry red. This means that it is too early to take the product out of the oven. If the spring is sufficiently hot (870 degrees), it will turn light red. Now it should be cooled. For this purpose, transformer or spindle oil is suitable. In special factory thermal furnaces, metals are heated to 1050 degrees. Products at this temperature regime acquire orange hues.
Final stage
After the hardening procedure, the spring should be compressed and left in this position for two days. Then, using a grinder, its ends are processed. This will give the artisanal product the required size. After performing all of the above actions, the spring is considered ready for use. According to experts, artisanal homemade products cannot be compared with similar factory-made products.
Non-standard springs, however, are widely used in various mechanisms. If they are operated in a gentle mode, then the springs will last quite a long time.