bajajoaquin Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Posed a while back in the "It Followed Me Home" section that I saved some garage door hinges and springs from the alley. However, now that I look at them, they're of course a small diameter wire, so of limited use for punches, drifts, etc. What other uses are they well-suited for? Forge welding into billets for pattern-welded steel is the only thing that comes to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zrognak Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Not exactly sure how thick they are but are we talking like 1/3th of an inch or 1/4th, anyway either way if they are 1/6th of an inch I could still use em myself, since i carve wood and other things I would forge carving knives out of it, as well as small chisels and other carving tools, maybe even make a touch mark or two for smaller projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Do not put it in a box and call it spring. Dump it out of the box and think of it as metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 I have used 1/4" garage door spring to make fire steels. However, I have seen some that are an odd alloy and do not harden well. Also, if you re making them for sale make sure you give the customer a piece of flint with each fire steel. It's no fun to buy a new toy and not be able to strike sparks from it. Also, you can use this size of spring steel to make a nice little bodice dagger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Chasing and Repousse tools! Chip carving tools! Springs for your treadle hammer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickAlbert Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 On 8/24/2018 at 11:48 AM, George N. M. said: I have used 1/4" garage door spring to make fire steels. Make sure you give the customer a piece of flint with each fire steel. Can you share the exact cost of getting three garage door springs? Link removed My friend is looking to buy it but don't know from where to get it at cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Look for a place that installs or repairs garage doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Try scrap and salvage yards. A big box store may have new ones but they could get pricey. Also, if you are making fire steels, make a test piece first and try to get sparks with a piece of flint. I have come across some springs which will not spark no matter how I quench them. The are probably some odd alloy. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 4 hours ago, RickAlbert said: Can you share the exact cost of getting three garage door springs? That would depend on where in the world you are located. Hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show that. I get them from a garage door installer for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Here in the USA I would expect a nicely forged bottle opener would get your weight in used garage door springs from a typical installation and maintenance dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Welcome aboard Rick, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be able to hook up with members living within visiting distance. Much info is regional. What a coil of garage door spring costs me has nothing to do with what it'll cost someone living on a base in Antarctica. Exact cost? Surely you're joking or very new to the craft. When I had the overhead door adjusted I asked the guy running the crew and had to stop him from unloading half a dozen off the service truck. He said stop by I can have the dumpster load if I want. It costs them more to haul it off than it's worth as scrap. One spring from my old door would've straightened out to about 350' of 1/4" round. I only straighten out what I need when I need it. We straightened part of one at a club meeting a few years ago. We heated one if an outdoor fire, threaded a bar through it, anchored the bar and IIRC 6 guys grabbed the end of the coil and ran like crazy uncoiling it. They stopped before running across the road. If you're wondering how they grabbed the end, we'd turned a ring and welded it to the end we drew out, they slipped a pinch bar through and took off running. It was quite the show and nobody's wanted a repeat, it's too easy to cut off a couple coils and straighten what you need. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hearthstone Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Re Steel Availability: Per Frosty's comment, I have had the same luck getting leaf and coil springs from auto shops. Take my car in for what I think is an expensive repair and ask them for parts. I get leaf springs, coil springs, bearings, tie rods. Scrap prices around here are terrible and the typical shop doesn't care about a couple of springs. I do get odd looks, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 And once you get friendly with them you can really get the good stuff! Living in a smallish town means that I have gotten phone calls about "We just did a lift kit on a new car; do you want the *unused* springs?" Well worth a few doughnuts or bottle openers to get unfatigued springs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 The off-road mod shops are a great place to look. They are always swapping out stock springs, tie rods, anti-sway bars, etc. for the guys going all out in the off-road world. I got a whole set of brand new, straight off a new truck, original stickers still on the springs, not a dab of dirt, out of the scrap bin. Some shops contract out the scrap, others don't. No worry about micro fractures or fatigue in those! As others have said, donuts, bottle openers, or some gratuity goes a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 I like to pull them out into a generally straight configuration so they are in the rack and handy when I need them. they are not perfectly straight so I know what they are. Anytime I need smaller stock I use them, very handy and you don't have to harden it. I have all kinds of small brackets made out of it. I can straighten about 10' at a time by myself in one heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirerabbit Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 I don't have any torsion springs, but I have been lugging around the extension springs I removed from a garage door over 10 years ago. I always knew they would come in handy. I just hope I can heat them up enough to draw out in my tiny charcoal forge. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Per the OP, I have made some rather nice knife tang hand broaches out of standard garage door springs. The ones I had hardened very easily, but they weren't a lot of fun to forge since they were such small diameter that they cooled extremely rapidly. I think mine must have been smaller springs, perhaps from residential garage doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Wirerabbit: I've never had a problem digging a trench forge in my back yard when I needed a larger forge for a specific project. In fact I used to keep the tue pipe inside the door to the shop for reuse. Of course I was in the inner city most of those times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Use them for making a treadle hammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 Small diameter high carbon steel stock is good for tools like screwdrivers, small wrenches, etc. Many antiques use straight slotted screws which are monumentally easier to work with if your screwdrivers have a "gunsmith" hollow grind such that the tip fully fills the slot. After using a properly ground straight screwdriver, it's almost amazing that the taper tip "keystone" shaped ones ever took off. Another potential use is to make a wrench for those annoying "coin slot" caps that get used in battery and little C02 cylinder covers. While I'm thinking of it, a good blacksmith project would capitalize on germophobes. Make a finger loop at one end, with a short shaft ending with a blunt poker and hook. Size it so the blunt poker can be used to push buttons like the ATM keypad, size the hook so you can snag doors like lockers, restroom partitions, milk jugs, and gate latches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 Arghhhh matey, Capn. Hook warn't worried about no germs! I like the pandemic accessories idea, thank you. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 On 9/2/2020 at 5:00 PM, BIGGUNDOCTOR said: Use them for making a treadle hammer Agreed. My nodding donkey has a bunch of springs on the back to lift the hammer back up. (This is an older picture from before I removed the bend from the hammer arm, moved my coal forge over by the garage door, and added a gas forge and a bunch of machines. Did I really have that much floor space in my shop?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 John; I've bribed the shop gremlins to fill any open space you have in your shop.---No need to thank me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyendeavour Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 I have a bunch that is from larger shop doors - the 20' wide sort of doors, so the springs are 6" in diameter or so. I've made small prybars, handles for garden tools, plant hangers, and just had fun testing different twists. Though about making some 'wands' for the harry potter types.... I do find as soon as I've tapered it down or flattened it then it is tricky to work as it cools so darn fast and is tough stuff. One coil I had was square which was better. I've been wondering if I could use a bunch of the circle shapes in a gate, table or similar piece without much forging at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 How large is the wire in the coils? Being around 60pts. carbon spring steel is good for most hand tools needing that dia. stock. Or is you normalize the piece when you're finished making the . . . thingy it will behave like stronger than normal mild steel. I used to pick up coil springs when I say them, the overhead door springs I have have coils just under 4" with wire almost 1/4" dia. I use it where I need something stronger than mild or for scribes, punches, chisels, etc. It's all round good stock to have on hand. I don't use leaf spring very often and haven't brought any home in probably 25 years. I don't let people drop any off anymore either. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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