Fixing stress fractures in leaf spring steel
Hi guys,
Since realising that stress fractures might be a real problem in the leaf spring steel I want to use (some of this spring steel could be quite old. The stuff I'm thinking of using goes back to 1948) I've found a thread that suggests heating to welding temp. followed by light hammering and then allowing the steel to cool to room temp. This proccess to be repeated three times he claims will eliminate any potential problems and also get rid of the 'memory'.
I've heard of steel memory but I'm not sure what it means.
Can I throw this out to you guys - what do you think? When I eventually start forging this stuff is there any way I could test this?
If I could cause stress fractures in the spring steel, see how it breaks and then cause more fractures in another piece of steel, do the welding heat thing and then see how that breaks it should prove/disprove - yes? But then how do I cause stress fractures? Do you think this would work?
Bear
__________________
In the great mirror of time man will see reflections of error. Only when gazed upon in truth will man truly see the way forward.
|