Common springy steel flat bar? (I guess 1/8" x 1" x length)

I don't know how short of a bend radius/metal thickness ratio you can get with spring steel, but you are leaving out some very, very important bits of information:

a. How much force do you need to exert? b. How close to straight does it have to be when it springs back from a

2" radius? c. How often will it move? d. What kind of environment will it be in?

For instance, if the answers to the above questions are "none", "2" radius", "once" and "very benign" then I recommend silly putty. I suspect that you need really good spring steel (which probably can't be bent to 32x it's thickness and spring back), possibly titanium, or you need a layered spring with a bunch of thinner pieces of spring steel and a _very_ good way of controlling the shear motion that will develop as you twist it like a pretzel.

I was planning on bending it in a half circle to that radius. That brings up another interesting problem in my mind. I will have to be able to bend it far enough beyond that half circle in order for the bend to remain. I guess the more springy, the less possible that will be. Interesting stuff.

I would prefer something in between, with emphasis on common. In other words, what is the most common springy flat bar steel/whatever metal (or similar).

Wow.

Keep in mind that you'll need to heat treat it after bending -- as is it'll be easy to work, but that means "easy to bend". Carbon steel only gets its strength after heat treatment.

Try some 3/4" or 1" wide heavy duty steel strapping off a shipping crate. It's free, and fairly springy. It would let you see if it's what you need.

RJ

>

What is the easiest source of heat for that? A butane torch? A reference to a beginner tutorial would be appreciated.

What minimum type of drill bits will I need for that steel? Carbide?

My Advantage rotary tool probably will cut it in other ways.

I guess that is all my questions, great-looking link, thanks to all.

Now you've provided the information I want, you can tell me it's not what I need. [playing]

Newsgroups: alt.binaries.pictures.sports

Subject: Springy steel hand wheels for inline skating 01 - 1 attachment

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You need to get the whole thing evenly to 1600°F, red-orange heat, then quench. A butane torch is... well, I can hardly finish that sentence without breaking out in strings of "rotflmao". ;)

Depends on length. You might be able to get a 1 foot bar evenly hot with a good propane torch and some strategically placed insulating firebricks; an O/A torch would certainly do it (don't overheat!); and of course, you can get it heat treated in a real furnace.

Annealed, HSS will do. Use cutting lube. You can even get a few holes with carbon steel tools, but don't expect that to last for too long. ;) Hardened, you'll need carbide and at least good drill press. A mill of some sort would probably be better, those who have used them say carbide is a finicky bit of tooling.

Grinding after hardening is always possible.

BTW, depending on how much force and travel you need and how much size and weight you can spare, you can use mild steel. HRS is very easy to come by in this size. The difference between HRS, CRS and alloy (especially hardened) steels is simply how far you can bend a piece before it takes a permanent set.

Springs scale nicely like that. I've always wondered how much energy you could store in a lead alloy. I bet most formulations are so soft they barely hold up under their own weight!

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

Are those things legal in competition?

Strapped to your arm?...I hear a voice saying, "Broken forearm."

Happy New Year,

Jeff

I guess not. Assuming they are useful for anything, they might be mainly for falling.

By the way. Instead of trying to fix the fork to the end of the steel bar, the steel bar might be thinly cut/split down the middle and then the halves will be twisted 90° to make the fork around the skate/scooter wheel. A single piece of steel from one end to the other, hopefully.

I doubt it's any worse of a risk than skating without sliders, I am eager to find out. I always wear a helmet and padding, that's what makes skating fun.

Here are some of the risks/qualities as I see them. ... already mentioned, the frame is a single piece of metal ... farthest spring motion might intentionally cause a braking effect, wheel rubbing against the back of the frame ... the frame to might extend the wheel farther back, or the frame will extend farther forward below the handle, either of those to produce more spring if desirable ... will see what happens when the bottom front part of the frame hits the street, sliding is desirable

Thanks for your concern, and again thanks to all for the help.

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The problem I se with your idea is you rely on rotating your arm to over come the leverage of your body weight against the lever if the wheel does not land square.

Translation is 6 weeks or more in a cast. The weight of this might also slow you down while skating, even if you don't fall.

Do you have a better idea, besides not doing anything?

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