Rear Springs can be deadly!

[Terry, NJ]

So I figured it all out, Sizes, dimensions, etc. Then I went ahead a built a spring spreader for my rear spring. I had read the warnings and new to be carfeful, But what the hey, I've lots of this kind of stuff before! I figured 3/4" sched 40 water pipe was good enough. And I had a piece of 3/4-10 that could be used as a jacking screw. And I cleverly made these so I only needed one peice to do the jacking and it could be used for the front piece and the rear. I had taken the front spring off already and that did nothing to prepare me for the rear. Everything worked fine till the last minute of taking the shackle out. Then all hell broke loose. I was respectful of the power in springs and tried to get as much distance as
possible from it by using a long bar to tap the shackle out with. Good Thing! The spring "snapped" closed and my creation went flying into my wife's bushes, missing my leg by inches. When I recovered the pieces, The 3/4 screw was bent about 20 deg. from straight. That takes a lot of force! Contemplating the cause of this near diaster, I came up with this;
1) The Jacking screw wasn't long enough to maintain a similiar axis with the pipe. In other words, the screw wasn't pushing at the same angle as the pipe. I was slightly crooked to begin with. The front spring wasn't under as much tension as the rear so it didn't matter. The call it 3/4 pipe, but it's really as much as 13/16". I should have bushed it with a 1/32 sleeve to keep it on center.
2) I should have released a little tension in the spring by loosening (NOT Removing) The 3/8 bolt that keep the leaves together. This would have helped somewhat.
I will repair the spreader and use it again. I will use a hardened screw and bush it in the pipe. I will also weld a washer for the the jack nut to ride on. I now know what I did wrong and I was lucky not to get hurt. I hope my experience will save someone else from being injured.
Terry

[Bruce of MN]

For pipe sizes, see http://www.westlund.ca/docs/pipe_chart.pdf

[V4F]

now that is a spreader . awesome !!! ............................ wish i had it /... steve

[Jim Mason]

Listen to Vince. The center bolt is peened in place. If you try to loosen it, it will, in all likelihood, brake. This will launch the spring pack in all directions...fwiw,jm

[poweredbylincoln]

Im glad to hear your ok, But when I Have worked on springs. I wrap them with chain

and have a couple heavy duty c-clamps holding the leafs together, along with my chains

and slowly loosen the rear bolt and keep hitting the springs with a hammer

and keep slowly easing up on the clamps

and with the new center bolt,peen that afterwards

[1931 flamingo]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I wouldn't use sched 40 for anything other than what it was intended. JMO
Paul in CT

[Bruce Lancaster]

Ford spring plus a stretching device equals something pretty close to a Medieval siege engine...
If Richard the Lionheart had gotten hold of an A spring and a good spreader, he wouldn't have had much trouble putting it to work hurling logs through the wall of Jerusalem.

[Kirby1374]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lancaster

Ford spring plus a stretching device equals something pretty close to a Medieval siege engine...
If Richard the Lionheart had gotten hold of an A spring and a good spreader, he wouldn't have had much trouble putting it to work hurling logs through the wall of Jerusalem.

hahahaha. they are to be respected. I made a spreader that jacked off of the banjo. I also had the weight of the body on it. It was the scariest automotive project I have ever done.

[kelley's restoration]

i had one come loose on me
i was and still very carefull with the spring spreader and it still got away from me. it only broke my finger in 3 places and cut the crap out two others.
it could have been worse
if it had been something more square than round that it pinched my hand against then it could have taken that puppy off
tk

[JoeWay]

Originally Posted by Terry, NJ

...I will repair the spreader and use it again... Terry

I would throw it all away and start over, or buy a properly made spreader from one of the vendors.

None of the materials you described are suitable for a spreader.

Joe

[Tom Wesenberg]

This is the spreader I made and it's the bare minimum of what is needed to do the job safely. I also like to use a couple of large QUALITY C clamps. The threaded rods are each about 12 " long and never need to come out more than half way.

[Mitch//pa]

wow terry glad you came out unscathed. buy the spreader from the vendors plus wrap it in chains and c clamps. i did a search on e-bay and found this one cheaper than the vendors and free shipping
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ford-Model-T-Rea...item2558b003b0
not sure if anyone has any input on it. i dont think its worth the time to make up some inferior contraption and get decapitated or degenitalized. did you tell your wife you took out her bushes? i'll see you at one of the shows this summer and we'll reminisce about it.
again glad your ok

[Terry, NJ]

I Immediately grasped the importance of containig the force in the leaves an reverted to the C-Clamp method for removing the bolt that retains the leaves. The bolt was NOT peened/staked over. It was double nutted. I occurred to me that loosening this bolt would have removed some tension in the leaves. Wrapping them with chain wouldn't have helped much. It wasn't the spring, it was the spreader that became shrapnel in the blink of an eye. The screw failed by bending approximately 20-25 degrees. A 3/4" -10 bolt! Who'd of thunk it? I will also weld eyes on the parts to contain it with chains for reassembly. Thanks much for your input.
Terry

Originally Posted by poweredbylincoln

Im glad to hear your ok, But when I Have worked on springs. I wrap them with chain

and have a couple heavy duty c-clamps holding the leafs together, along with my chains

and slowly loosen the rear bolt and keep hitting the springs with a hammer

and keep slowly easing up on the clamps

and with the new center bolt,peen that afterwards

[Terry, NJ]

Nahh, I'm too stubborn! LOL Besides, This thing is becoming a money pit. I'D hate to throw a $100 + on a onetime use. Especially when it involves one of my old trades (Welding) The problem is, I never encountered a Mod A rear spring before and didn't know what I was up against. My welding didn't fail and the 3/4 schedule pipe 40 didn't fail. The bolt was a little crooked and the bearing surface for the nut wasn't square. And the bolt was substandard. I will correct these conditions and have no further trouble. Nice to hear from you Mitch. The "other" Mitch (Bunkin) stopped in one day with his really nice 30 T.S. (Murray) and gave a case of the "Drools". Looking forward to seeing you again this year.
Terry

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

wow terry glad you came out unscathed. buy the spreader from the vendors plus wrap it in chains and c clamps. i did a search on e-bay and found this one cheaper than the vendors and free shipping
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ford-Model-T-Rea...item2558b003b0
not sure if anyone has any input on it. i dont think its worth the time to make up some inferior contraption and get decapitated or degenitalized. did you tell your wife you took out her bushes? i'll see you at one of the shows this summer and we'll reminisce about it.
again glad your ok

[banjobrad]

What the hell, be tough and just wear some chain mail and go for it.

B.G.

[Marco Tahtaras]

Tom,

What size are the rods? To be honest, I'd be afraid to use that. Please do not try that on a ten leaf spring. the difference in force between an eight leaf and ten leaf is substantial. At a minimum I would add gussets which would move the weak link to the rods themselves instead of that short angle. I would still be uncomfortable using that due to the angle of force.

[Bruce Lancaster]

Another possible strategy if you have access to a welder or a friend who is a good arc welder:
Look at the Snap-on device, which keeps the forces (though not all the metal!) in a straight line. It should not be duplicated by a welder, IMHO, because I think it really requires a Snap-on grade forging to support the jog...but how about making that center as a SQUARE of heavy wall squre tubing welded up? A square could be laid horizontally surrounding the upper part of banjo to make something quite strong there, and a strong central part allows cleaner, easier design with better handling of stress for the extensions.

Now, back to my research, turning a Model A spring and a Sears come-along into a crossbow for the 21st century...
I will call it the Hyper Velocity Armor Piercing model, and will market it to frugal third world nations seeking anti-tank and anti-aircraft capability without all the fuss and expense of electronics and nasty chemicals.

[Larry Seemann]

Here are the instructions for the one I made. It pushes straight out. I have done many spring replacements. It's as safe as I can make it - BUT still - be careful!
http://www.icehouse.net/overland/springspreader.html

[Brian in Wheeling]

O.k. now just figure. If $100 is too much for a "one-time use" - how much is an eye or a finger or other body part worth? Sure you can make one, just make sure it is completely OVER built. Lots of good advice on this forum. Be safe please.

[Terry, NJ]

OK Here's the plan, I'm thinking that the problem was with the jacking screw not being truly parallel to the center line of the pipe. Further more, The jacking nut did not have a truly square bearing surface to ride against. I will correct both of these points. Furthermore, I will square the bearing surfaces by facing off the washer in a lathe. I will also shim/bush/sleeve the bolt/screw to keep it from going crooked on me. I am also toying with using a 3/4-16 NF in place of 3/4-10 due to 3/4-16 having a larger root diameter. Aquiring 3/4-16 threaded stock is a little daunting so I may scrap this idea. I really appreciate all your help and suggestions. However, Please bear in mind that it wasn't my welding or the 3/4 pipe that failed. It was that damn screw stock and my lack of attention to the alignment of the screw.
Terry