Joey Niemeier Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hello, I'm new to the site, and fairly new to smithing.. Ive been knocking out some knives from beat up old files and some decorative items from mild steel, but nothing major yet.. A friend from the hardware store gave me a big long coil spring from a garage door the other day. I lopped off a 6 inch piece yesterday and Thought I'd make a little flint striker while i was goofing with some other stuff, I got it all shaped and quenched in oil from just above nonmagnetic... It wont throw a spark at all.. I've make a few with file scraps and hardened the same way and they spark fairly easily.. I sanded the striking surface afterwards and even changed rocks thinking I was crazy.. How should the garage door springs been quenched? I was told another place maybe it was decarbuerized by too many heats? I'm running a little propane setup i tossed together.. Just wanted some thoughts..thanks again for having me and God Bless! Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 First did it harden? Try quenching a bit in water, no tempering, and then tapping it with a hammer to see if it breaks---WEAR PPE!!!!! If so; try the same test quenching in oil. I assume you have already done to spark test to check for carbon content. If it's decarb going over the surface with a grinder should get below the decarb layer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJergensen Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I have made strikers from garage door spring. My junk-yard steel may not match yours. But, what works for me is to heat rather past magnetic and quench in oil. No temper. I have also done water quench, but tended to end up with broken pieces too often. Heating it too hot seems to help. I'm imagining that it encourages grain growth and that is helpful to sparking. If your steel fails Thomas's test, don't bother with my procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Niemeier Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 I reheated to normalize, then reheated to above nonmag, I water quenched and it sparked great.. Decided to give it a one over with wire brush, I dropped in the process and it cracked in two.. I guess i got it hard enough.... Eric, when you use these springs do you upset them to thicken or leave them this thin? Mine are only MAYBE 1/4inch dia.... Just curious. THanks yall, God Bless, Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJergensen Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Yes, your metal seems to behave like mine. I leave them thin. They're not much north of 1/4", probably 5/16". I use other stock for thicker. Upsetting something like 1/4" is, uhm, very upsetting ;-). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Next time just quench the striker NOT the handle. Residual heat from the handle will temper the rest a bit. You can also quench at a lower temperature and see if that doesn't toughen it up a bit. It takes a little fiddling to find what works best for whatever spring you scrounged up. What color sparks did it give? I like fat orange sparks they are plenty hot enough and last longer. White fizzy ones are showy but don't last long enough to get tinder going easily. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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