"Searcher7" wrote in message
...
I'm about to undertake a project and was considering using spring
steel as a backing where flexibility is needed.

The spring steel will first have to be cut into strips and then
shaped, and I was looking for experiences from anyone who has worked
with this material.

Is it difficult to cut? And how difficult is is to bend into needed
shapes?

I'm open to better material recommendations if there is a different
alloy that maintains it's shape better after stress is removed.

Ahm no 'spert, but I did fool around with this for a while.
Blue spring steel is miserable hard, miserable to cut.
You CAN bend it as is, depending on the radius, angle of bend (which I did,
in a jig), but the right way is to anneal it, bend it, re-harden it. But my
app was OK without all that.

Mercifully, you can buy coils of spring steel in a variety of widths,
thicknesses from MSC, et al. I got quite a bit of this stuff if you need
it, in Yonkers, about 1/4" wide by .020 or so. These are easy to snip to
length, depending on how "good" the end has to be.

You can also buy sheets of spring steel from msc, approx 6x9" or so. I used
to cut these with a fine abrasive wheel on a surface grinder, 75% thru, and
then just snap. SUPER sharp edge, watch out.

Staten Island still exists?? Y'all got hammered hard.
--
EA



Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.