where do i get spring steel????

[chong2mry]

hey all, im trying to make my own bottle probe and am searching for spring steel. from what i have read that works best. im in new mexico so we have hard desert dirt here. the problem is i have called lowes and home depot and noone there knows what spring steel is!!! can you all help me find some??? thanks

 

[HunterGatherer]

The only source of spring steel that I know of is from electrician's "Fish Tape." If you have a local electric supply hosue you might try looking there. It comes in a roll of something like 150 feet, so you and all your friends can have springy probes. The problem with it is that its pretty thin; its made to bend around corners inside half-inch metal pipe. Also, a lot of the newer stuff is made of fiberglass now, but you should still be able to find some of the spring steel type.

Oh, and that stuff is -HARD- to cut, so be prepared. Spring steel is very aptly named. It tends to spring around with very little effort and if you're not careful a sharp end can hurt you.

 

[digger mcdirt]

Go to a junk car lot get the trunk rod out it's on the inside of the trunk. It may not be as long as you will need for privies but works great for finding dumps.

 

[richf]

Hi Brandon,
In my opinion, you would probably be better off buying one.
Rich

 

[diggerjeff]

i tried to buy some in central illinois . no one stocks it. i found a place in st. louis, but i had to buy a truck load!!!!! i bought some stainless rod at a local machime shop and made a few probes. they work ok , but not as well as spring steel. trunk torsion rods work, but where they need to be lap welded you loose the spring . buy one from forum member "jaken" they are very nice custom sized probes.

 

[ConchDigger]

You can also order replacement spearfishing shafts off of the internet (since I don't think there is much of that sport in the desert!). You have to weld the handle and tip on though. These shafts come in some very long lengths and are all spring steel.

 

[TXJB]

This man stocks very good spring steel, handles and CNC machined tips. Excellent probes, up to 6' long

Edwin Tardy
(501) 831-5559

 

[Bottleman]

You are probably better off buying one but if you go to a hardware store and get a grounding rod for a lightning rod they are made of spring steel and are 9 feet long. They are about 5/8 of an inch thick and it can be a little tough to push them in the ground. If you know someone with a lathe they might be able to make it thinner.

~~Tom

 

[chong2mry]

hi all, thanks so much for the advice, i guess ill be going to the junk yard and trying to find a rod, or may call that guy that builds one, also im not looking for priveys just low dept dumps. by the way am i looking for a older style car, forthe rod from the trunk??? thanks again

 

[JGUIS]

In Lowes, in the electrical tool section, they have 6' drill bits that are the right diameter, and spring steel. Only downfall is the 20 dollar price tag. You can cut most of the bit off, and grind the nub down to a bullet shape. Tack a pipe handle on it, and you're in business.