On 28/01/13 17:44, Searcher7 wrote:
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.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
I've got 16swg, 14swg and 12swg annealed carbon spring steel. I usually
bandsaw it but see no reason not to shear it if you have a suitable
shear, I would expect it to be somewhat like stainless and go for a
shear that could do twice the thickness of mild steel. I expect more
information is out there regarding cutting properties. Regarding
bending, if bending perpendicular to the grain it can be bent severely
but bending parallel to the grain it is prone to split unless heated, I
usually heat to a dull red and that works fine.