Working with Leaf springs?

   / Working with Leaf springs? #1  

shinnlinger

Silver Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
122
Location
Canaan, NH
Tractor
Kubota L2850
Hi,

Wife has camera traveling right now, but Yesterday I made a toothbar for my tractor that slips on and is held by a chain binder that wraps around the back. I cut apart two bundles of unknown vintage (but old) leaf springs and cut them all to the same length with a chop saw. I used a piece of C channel that slips over the lip of the bucket and cut slits in it with a torch and slid each leaf through the slits under the bucket and welded the ends of each leaf to a piece of plate for continuity and then a piece of chain to that I was able to chain bind up and around.

Anywhoo, it looked great and slipped on easy and held tight. BUT then I used it on a pile of fire wood and some of the teeth broke like glass right where I tack welded them to the C channel.
I now think if I had thrown all the leaves in a good fire and let cool, that would have been better to temper the steel, but would that be enough or would they then just bend like noodles? should I look at different tooth material??? I have a nice base to weld to now with the heavy walled C channel so my efforts weren't in complete vain... I hope,

Thanks.
 
   / Working with Leaf springs? #2  
Welding the springs may not work well. Have you considered bolting them on.:D

I have two pieces of truck spring bolted to my bucket that seem to work well.:D
 

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   / Working with Leaf springs?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Egon,

Did you temper those springs? And how much abuse do you subject them to?

Thanks.
 
   / Working with Leaf springs? #4  
Those springs are not tempered. The ones you see have not been put to the test yet but on my previous the same set up was used to carry logs, dig out tree roots, move rocks and even spade a garden.:D
 

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   / Working with Leaf springs?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Well thanks Egon,

Based on your info I went out and sistered replacement springs next to the old broken ones and only tacked them along the sides in a few places and it seems to hold up now. At least they didn't crumple on the first load of Firewood like the first time around. I would have bolted, but of course that would have meant making holes in spring steel which aint easy so I figured I could burn a hole but then I figured if I was going to heat stress it with a torch I might as well heat stress it with a welder but avoided critical areas for better strength this time around.
 
   / Working with Leaf springs? #6  
leaf spring steel is difficult at best to weld, about impossible to drill, and overall difficult to work with without using a torch
 
   / Working with Leaf springs? #7  
Mine were drilled but it was an industrial drill unit and the bits had to be sharpened frequently.

Cutting a hole in with a torch should not hurt anything?:D
 
   / Working with Leaf springs? #8  
Spring shop used to rebuild springs by adding the replacement leave(s) and heating them in an oven to temper them. They 'restore' the arched shape and paint 'em...

Excavation teeth have harden work surfaces mounted on softer material and are usually bolted on.
 

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