Re-TECH - Reversing a main leaf/spring eyes

This has been done and posted before...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90824&highlight=reverse+your+own+spring+eyes

But we thought we'd give it a shot. In the words of Flt-Blk...
"Mark the original arc on the floor with pocket chalk then draw marks across the spring every 2-3" for reference

We brought the press up to a touch then I think 6 pumps then move over 2" and repeat."

Be sure you use pocket chalk and not that school stick chalk stuff, or this definitely wont work at all. We made our marks at 2" and made a total of 4 passes through the press...

Start...


In the press...




After one pass...


Pass number 2, pretty much flat...


On the third and fourth passes, instead of pressing the spring on the mark, we went between the marks so as to keep the curve constant and not "lumpy." Done...we arched it slightly over what it was before to account for spring sag, whether it was worth it or not.


The top is a stock spring, in the middle is a reversed leaf that was purchased somewhere, and on the bottom is the one we did.


So, I would confidently say that anyone with a hydraulic press can do this on their own. No need to spend the money at a spring shop. Have fun!

 

Remember you will need to shorten the second spring..It will be too long now and run into the eyes.. shorten it and then taper it...Jason

 

Looks so simple! nice job...

 

Wow! Simple. I always assumed that they actually recurved the end loops. Shit, I can do my own! My choice for best tech.

 

it can be done without a press as well, just use a cross pein hammer and swing away. it really ain't that bad.

 

DITTO!!

I love learning shit here on the HAMB!!

 

The shop in Texas I was referred to wanted $175 to do this. I always figured they redid the loops as well. Thanks for the tech!

 

I went a step further and built a benchtop press for doing this, a base plate with a bottle jack welded to it, an upright 2x4 tube on either side of the jack welded to the base, and a perpendicular 2x4 "loop" on top of the uprights for the leaf to go through...I'll try and post pics, it's a neat unit.

 

Nice job!! I tried doing this using the ol hammer and brick method since I dont have a press. Same shit different stink.

 

I started doing mine a while back. Shure saves a lot of money doing it yourself. Thanks Eric , good post !!!

 

Yeap works for sure, heres my lines that I did on the 38 front spring, the hardest part is telling somoene where to stop on the bends. This was the first one I did and after the first post on this I just raised it around 1/2" and moved down It put it real close after the first pass. I dont think there is a rite way or a wrong way maybe just better ways. After doing a few I am sure the feel will get better and better per tension of the metal on the spring. Yours going alittle slower looks like you was able to keep it really dialed in. Good job. This a tech that everyone here on the board can learn from cause it can save some money.

Rusty

 

OK, how do you reverse the eyes on a Model A rear spring??

 

The one with the wicked high arch to it?

 

same way....3 times the work though

 

We had one of those in the shop and were eyeballin' it....personally I think because of the up and down bends in the spring, it's size, and it's awkward shape, it would be a royal PITA to do it like this....but it could be done the same way.

 

Big kudos to Eric for posting. Yeah. It was really cool doing this ourself, and came out really smooth. Hardly any bumps in the spring steel.

Getting this set up right, and getting comfortable as to where to press the spring took us about 2 hours to do. I would think the rear spring would be about 4 hours, but not impossible.

 

nice job there, i have rearched springs before on an ironworker, the auto stop makes it a little easyier as you dont have to mark the spring you just go back and forth moving the spring an inch at a time, but one thing i'd like to know if you have your spring pack all apart and the springs laying next to each other how much gap should there be between the spring at the center bolt?

 

Wow I got quoted. Looks good guys.

 

I was taught to do this with a BFH and an anvil by an old time blacksmith when I was 15 years old (1959). The old boy was about 70 then. He told me he had been doing it since before WWII.
Funny how "everything old becomes new again"

Frank

 

Brent, don't be ornery. You just take it to the spring shop and slip the guy $40.

 

Me too ! Thiks is the most important forum I am on. I have learned tons and made lots of new friends as well

Please do

 

Does this weaken the spring at all?

 

The local spring shop wanted $175 to do my "A" rear spring. I bought a new one from the "T" spring co. $108 including shipping

 

hmm there is one more question i got ? how can you be shure not to weaken the spring ?? is there not a possiblity of to much stress and it could brake? i mean i broke a spring on my cuda one time and was more than lucky that it was not the top one who holds all together

 

Vern Tardel rear spring:

http://www.verntardel.com/collections/suspension/products/reversed-eye-rear-spring

Save your money and do the front, but the rear is a pain. $74 isn't too bad.

 

On the special benchtop press--I saw one on a Model A board that was made horizontally, greatly simplifying locating things. The spring simply lay on the benchtop against stops and the jack was horizontal.

 

Since reversing eyes only lowers one inch, just "flatten" the assembly arch which can lower MORE than one inch . This also makes it much easier to spread the assembly for install. Having a spring shop de-arch the assembly together for smoother ride is preferred.
For front springs the BMFH method works fine for reversing eyes and is FREE.

 

Peruse: http://www.google.com/search?q="lea...-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

 

Like some of the other posters, I did it the hard way ( also in 1959), with a cross pien hammer and two pieces of railway track. It didn't take that long, but I still remember the noise and would suggest wearing earplugs if you are going to do it the old way.
The timing of this tip is wonderful, because I have 4 springs that I need to re-arch and I think this is the ideal way to do them. I just happen to have a press.
Bob

 

Great post - now I'll go screw mine up!