Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-02
SWAIN AND.G|lM0UR
CARRY LARGE STOCK
SPRINGS AGENCY
Possible For MotOrist to Make
Accurate Requirements
Here in City

When Swain & Gilmour, 113 Third
street south, recently stocked Detroit
springs in large quantities, it became
possible for motorists and truck own
ers to get replacement springs here IN
Great Falls which are identical IN
every respect with the springs used
on the car or truck originally.
When a car owner or truck driver
breaks a spring. he sometimes will drop
into the nearest garage and say, GIVE
me a new spring" Afterwards, IN
putting his vehicle over the road, be
finds that his spring carries the load
but rides unevenly. The new spring
is too stiff or too weak to team with
the other three springs. This is be-
cause it was not made according to
the car or truck manufacturers W
specifications, as were the others. 1t
may be the same width and length,
but it probably has a greater or fewer
number of leaves, and almost certainly
its composition is different. So that
its capacity is different, and its length
of life is a mystery.
Can Furnish any Spring
On file in it's standards department,
the Detroit Steel Products company,
makers Of Detroit springs, has speci-
fications and m~etallurgical analysis OF
practically every spring used by car
and truck manufacturers, not only on
their present models, but also or cars
made years ago. When an order
reaches the factory, the springs are
made in exact accordance with the
standard already on file. All the late
models are made in quantity and car
ried in stock by distributors. Swain
& Gilmour, for instance, carry several
Numbered types, anyone OF which can
be supplied at a moments notice.
Thus the service station of Swain
& Gilmour is now in a position to Of
fer expert spring replacement service.
and the buyer has the assurance that
he is not getting a cheap blacksmith
part, but a spring identical with that
which was specified by the maker of
his vehicle.
The making of chassis spring is a
more complicated undertaking than the
average person imagines," says Mr.
Swain. First comes the design. The
breadth, number of leaves and COM
position must be determined. The car
or truck engineers and the spring *
perts get together and thresh it all
out. discuss the relative desirability of
carbon, silico manganese or chrome
vanadium steels and come to q decl-
sion as to the specifications.
Springs Have Eyes
"Then the proper plate stock is Sc
lected and tested. These plates are
cut to length and the necessary forg-
ing operations performed, such as
forming the eyes. punching clip and
center bolt holes, forming the nib.etc.
After this, all the leaves arc heated in
a tempeping furnace. fired with gas
and controlled by electric promoters.
each leaf being brought to the exact
temperature required; formed by ma
chine so that it has the necessary
arch. and then quenched in oil.
The best springs are long, low and
flat under load" Mr.. Swain continued.
"and should have ample width TO pre-
vent the side sway which causes ex-
~cessive stresses in the material. They
should be fastened to the axle by
large size axle clips.
TT is very desirable also that the
front springs should not be attached
parallel to the road, but that the rear
end be placed nearer the road than
the front end. This sets the spring
against the road and allows it to abb
sorb part of the horizontal component
of the road shock. If this is not done,