bending spring metal

[yip]

  whats the correct way to bend spring metal, and the best vendor?

[Stoner creek]

Reshaping will require heat. Then you’ll have to put the spring back in. You’re going to have to find someone who understands both processes.

[rich pierce]

What is the intended use of the spring stock?

[yip]

  patch box release on a B/C rifle

[Birddog6]

The release of the spring pushing the lid open ?

[yip]

   yes sir, the spring that springs the lid open and the catch

[foxm2015]

In addition to all the great knowledge present on this Forum a How-To booklet by the late Kit Ravenshear titled "Simplified V-Springs" is a good source of information too.

[Hungry Horse]

I make my patchbox springs out of old hacksaw blades. Heat them red hot, bend them how you want, quench,and then polish them up, and heat to blue. In fact on the latch spring you probably will heat it hot enough when you solder the latch button on.

Hungry Horse

[RAT]

I get thin spring stock from Muzzleloader Builder's Supply-
https://www.muzzleloaderbuilderssupply.com/

Thicker stock I get from Jantz Supply-
https://knifemaking.com/

[P.W.Berkuta]

Non-complicated bends in annealed spring steel (no sharp bends) can be bent cold. Any sharp "fold over bends" or tight radius need to be done with red heat. . This is with less than 3/32" 1075 or similar annealed spring material.

[Mike Lyons]

I make mine the same way Hungry Horse does.  Cut them out of hacksaw blades, drill your holes and bend it to your likeness.  Heat it to red hot and quench it in water.  Sand it down to metal carefully.  It will be brittle.  Then heat it until you start seeing the blue and run it to the end and let cool.  When the torch is applied,  it will turn blue pretty quickly.  If it gets orange or red, start over. 

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Like many others, I use worn out hacksaw blades to fabricate my kicker springs for patchboxes.  I grind down the width of the working part to about 1/8" wide and don't fuss with the thickness.  I leave the head where the hole is about 3/8" square and often file a decorative bit around the periphery.  I bend mine hot but I think cold will also work with these old saw blades.  Then they are polished, heated red to harden and tempered to brilliant blue.  If your hinge is well made, these springs have enough energy to snap your box lid open to 90 degrees every time.  Here's one I made for my Kuntz effort...

 

[flehto]

I bought a sheet of .015 thick soft spring steel and make the catch spring 7/16" wide. The  "L" bend has a small radius but the short length which catches the "hook" on the round dia pin  riveted to the Pbox has a sharp corner,  The  catch spring  is heated to a little oranger than cherry red and is quenched in motor oil. When polished, it's tempered by  laying  the 2 legs on a heated steel plate until  the  color turns to a gray blue. Never had a catch spring break because the flex isn't that much. The lid opener spring {1/16" thick} is made from O2 tool steel  and is hardened and tempered the same as the catch spring.

Shown is a side opening BC Pbox but a Lancaster style has somewhat  the same arrangement......Fred