What to do about leaf springs.

[reddesert]

For improvised materials, maybe a dulled hacksaw blade? Rather springy and conveniently already has holes in the ends.

[eli]

An old handsaw, like a panel or ripsaw, used by carpenters before circular saws captured the market, would work great, just find an example that is damaged, before hand, such as an old Disston (check online to see if it has monetary value to high to ignore), and take it to a machine shop for making locking frame blanks out of and perhaps some knife blanks, (these make great carbon kitchen knives too, just put a heavy black oxide finish on it before final sharpening, ie. extra fine, as many folks do no like the taste of food cut by an un-coated carbon blade).

Have the bends, and holes made at the shop, including re-tempering, if you just want to get it done and move on, otherwise, if you are competent with a shop/tools, including torches, go for it yourself.

Remove the temper from the saw in a bbq pit or with a touch, then used a hacksaw for bi-metal steels, or a large Dremel, with good new metal cutting thin-wheels, to cut out your main piece or 'mother blank'

You can also use a large, good quality metal file to score and (carefully!) snapped in a vice, with leather gloved hands using a wide mouth clamping or metal (car) panel pliers.

Drill and put in your bends, before re-tempering, in kitchen oil, such as peanut or Conola or corn oil.

Let the blade come back down in temperature for a few minutes, with it in full contact with a heavy piece of metal, like an anvil or large cast iron pan bottom, and then re-temper it all, a second time.

These blanks will be very easy to snap or break, so, first sand off the carbon scale from each side of the frame 'blades', a. within the jaws of a vice or between two 2 x 4 or larger boards a, the blade running horizontal to the jaws, and run a flat file or triangle, over the edges and flats to be sure to remove or dull burs or edges., so you do no rip you flesh/gloves, which you should still e wearing, on the raw edges of the blades.

By-the-way, going back to drilling holes in your blank, BE SURE to clamp down both sides of the blades to the drill press table or other some other solid, static surface, for hand drills, and use a new HSS or carbide drill, after first making a punch indentation for the drill to set in, without wandering across the work-piece, and turning it into a high speed whirling, finger guillotine.

You'll be making small holes so be prepared to drill at high speeds, so avoid slow, dragging speeds and be extra careful to secure both of the blade's ends, down to a proper surface..

Once the scale is removed from tempering, turn on the kitchen stove or toaster oven to about 450 degrees F. and re-temper the cooled metal for two hours, or so.

If you feel like it, re-sand the surfaces, and give the blades a good black or red or yellow, etc, paint job, or a good black oxide surface, free of smearing, and put it onto the frame you're working on.

I hope this helps.