Homemade leaf springs question

[xgerstandtx]

hey guys its been awhile but i got a 'mog project brewing and using a straight frame with leaf springs. A time ago i was reading how someone used lawn mower recoil spring as leaf springs and they worked well, now i cant find that article. can anyone give me some ideas advice or if this is still advisable. going to be using axial axles trans and custome straight frame.

 

[HotRodJosh]

Mine are made from the recoil spring. Cut 'em the length ya want, heat the end with a small torch to a dull red and "roll" the each eyelet with a pair of needlenose pliers. Then quickly dip the eye in water. That puts the temper back in the eye. Use a sharp drillbit to drill the holes for a centering pin. You may have to sharpen our bit a few times to drill all the leafs....that spring steel is hard stuff.
The nice thing about makin' yer own is that you can make 'em longer than Tamiya/RC4WD/etc. springs for more flex.

 

[old man 52]

x2 , but use a jig to make them all the same"thumbsup"

 

[xgerstandtx]

Mine are made from the recoil spring. Cut 'em the length ya want, heat the end with a small torch to a dull red and "roll" the each eyelet with a pair of needlenose pliers. Then quickly dip the eye in water. That puts the temper back in the eye. Use a sharp drillbit to drill the holes for a centering pin. You may have to sharpen our bit a few times to drill all the leafs....that spring steel is hard stuff.
The nice thing about makin' yer own is that you can make 'em longer than Tamiya/RC4WD/etc. springs for more flex.

wow that is the tip i was looking for, have you used this procedure and to what succes? have you had to add an "overload" spring or something like that? thanks again

 

[HotRodJosh]

wow that is the tip i was looking for, have you used this procedure and to what succes? have you had to add an "overload" spring or something like that? thanks again

Yep.....the springs on my Toyota are all made using that procedure. And I have an extra leaf at all corners as it's a heavy rig. "thumbsup"
The lawnmower recoil spring is soft. But flexes better than any other leaf sprung rig I've seen. Works very well, although I did bend a rear spring, as a shackle got hung up in some rocks while backing up. Easily bent back.:mrgreen:
I'm also running 1/4 ellipticals on the rear, which most everyone says won't work on an R/C....they're wrong.... :lmao:

 

[Neil426]

Yep.....the springs on my Toyota are all made using that procedure. And I have an extra leaf at all corners as it's a heavy rig. "thumbsup"
The lawnmower recoil spring is soft. But flexes better than any other leaf sprung rig I've seen. Works very well, although I did bend a rear spring, as a shackle got hung up in some rocks while backing up. Easily bent back.:mrgreen:
I'm also running 1/4 ellipticals on the rear, which most everyone says won't work on an R/C....they're wrong.... :lmao:

Sorry but that is not 1/4 elliptical it is 3/4 elliptical aka buggy springs.
This is a link to 1/4 elliptical spring examples.
http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=699853&highlight=eliptical
BTW Pirate is the gateway to all things hardcore rock crawling.

Neil426

 

[Rockfrog]

NICE! funny, I know guy who owns an almost identical 1:1 rig just the rear cage differs slightly and it doesn'y run on batteries

FYI - I can't see why a 1/4 eliptical wouldn't work ... you would just need to use about 4-5 leaves instead just the one or two.

Definitely going to have to make a scaler now!

 

[BigSki]

what material did you use to make your own u-bolts? I'm trying to figure that out right now for my Bruiser axles. Rummy RC no longer sells the kit, so I have to make my own, which is more fun anyway.

 

[HotRodJosh]

The u-bolts in the pic were made out of 1/8" aluminum rod. But I wasn't comfortable with them, as it felt like the threads would strip easily if taken apart a few times. So the final ones were made from 1/8 brass rod. Both rod can be had at the hardware store.
Easily threads with a M3 die.

You can also use 1/8 7018 welding rod and strip off the coating, it threads ok too, it's just harder to bend.

 

[Arnel]

what'd you use for shackles josh? im thinking of doing some leafs on one of my rigs. and where did you get your coil from to cut em? i checked home depot and they didnt have any.

 

[HotRodJosh]

I had an old lawnmower I robbed the spring out of. Find a small lawnmower/landscaping equipment repair shop...they'll have the spring. McClendon's or ACE/True Value may too.
The rear shakles are E-Flight battery bars someone gave me, but when I needed more, couldn't find a place that carried 'em. So the fronts are made from brass flat stock, which can be bought at the hobby shop and you can make a BUNCH of 'em outta one stick.

 

[montuckybill]

Trickin out my gal's dingo - YouTube


After Viewing this thread, I thought that i would give it a try. Thanks for sharing, this site has more info than i could possible apply.
to all that view, I hope that you enjoy.

Build,Film,Share