Making a tire spoon.

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Even tho I am a pipe welder and frame welder I never tried my hand at blacksmithing. I want to make a tire spoon cause they want 40 bucks downtown for them. I am sure I can heat up a 3\4 inch. cold rolled and  beat it out with a hammer but I figure it will either be too soft and bend or so hard it will break. Any suggestions? Harold
Reply:Start with a crow bar. City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by tanglediverStart with a crow bar.
Reply:TEK and Tanglediver. I see you both have lots of posts on here. I would only suspect there isnt an ounce of intelligence in any of them. A waste of forum space.  Harold
Reply:Actually starting with a crowbar is a sound idea.Lincoln SP-170 MigHypertherm powermax 45Lorch T220 AC/DC TigButters FM 215 synergic MigKemppi 180 adaptive mig RULES ARE FOR THE OBEDIENCE OF FOOLS AND THE  GUIDANCE OF WISE MEN.
Reply:A tire spoon is really just a crowbar with a long handle and rounded edges on the prying end.Hobart LX235Victor 250 Oxy-Acetylene Rig (welding and cutting)Bobcat 773F-350, 1999, 4x4, 16' 10K# trailerOutdoor Wood Burner - 10 cords/year
Reply:Originally Posted by WelderskelterTEK and Tanglediver. I see you both have lots of posts on here. I would only suspect there isnt an ounce of intelligence in any of them. A waste of forum space.  Harold
Reply:If I was arrogant then I apologize. I was wanting to know a procedure rather than buying a crowbar. A good crow bar costs about the same.The tire spoons I have used had no handles and were actually a piece of rod hammered out to about one and a half inches on the end to make a spoon. They have to be thin or they wreck the bead. I will probably have to go to the blacksmithing forum to find my answer. I thank you all for your time and effort. Harold
Reply:If the price is your issue (which is how I'm reading your first post), its gonna cost you more then $40 in material and gas for heat to make one.Millermatic 251Spectrum 300 PlasmaEverlast PowerTig 250EXEverlast PowerCool W300Harris / Victor OACraftsman 13 Speed Drill PressProTools Air/Hydraulic Bender48" BrakeCompressor, Notchers, Grinders, etc.
Reply:Go ahead  and make it out cold rolled. I don't think you'll like the results.                                                    MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Originally Posted by WelderskelterEven tho I am a pipe welder and frame welder I never tried my hand at blacksmithing. I want to make a tire spoon cause they want 40 bucks downtown for them. I am sure I can heat up a 3\4 inch. cold rolled and  beat it out with a hammer but I figure it will either be too soft and bend or so hard it will break. Any suggestions? Harold
Reply:Thanks Ruger, but I think it cant weigh over 5 lbs. so thats about 3.00 at work. As far as heat I was just planning on heating it up 4 or 5 times to beat it out. Thats about 4 or 5 bucks with my big tanks. What I was really needing was the right procedure to cool it down so as not to have it to soft or hard and brittle. I will probably just pound one out so as to find out. I was hoping someone out there had studied metallurgy and could tell me. Thanks Harold
Reply:mla2ofus, why do you say I wont like it? Too hard ?
Reply:With mild steel it doesnt make much of a difference how you heat and cool it, low carbon/alloy content means poor hardenability.If your serious about trying to make a $40 part then you should look into a medium carbon steel of some sort.  The heating and cooling procedure will vary based on the last two numbers of the ASME desigination.  IE: 1045 steel is going to need to be treated differently than 1018 or 1080.I cant give you any more information until you figure out what steels you have avaliable.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Why make them at all.  These are what I use and they are cheap and work great.http://www.jakewilson.com/productDet...FamilyId=12568StephenMillermatic 251Miller Syncrowave 200Miller 30A SpoolgunHypertherm Powermax 30Etc., etc., etc.............Cancer Sucks!
Reply:I have occasionally used  a rounded end crow bar to assist taking off both truck & tractor tires. It was used in addition to my normal Ken-Tool tire iron set.Gempler sells some good tire irons http://www.gemplers.com/tire-ironsof course there is always Harbor Freight!! Yep they also sell tire irons ($5.95) in latest mailer.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:Originally Posted by Welderskeltermla2ofus, why do you say I wont like it? Too hard ?
Reply:Why don't you start with an old tire iron. There are a million of them laying around in everybody's garage.I think they are forged. You should be able to forge and re-temper.I don't think CRS is where you want to start from.
Reply:Years ago, when I was a teenager, I made one out of an old tractor crank. I heated it red hot in a wood heater and beat the end and went back and forth until it was a nice smooth spoon shape.  It worked fine for many things, but it would bend if it was pushed too hard.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by gordon stephensonActually starting with a crowbar is a sound idea.
Reply:I just use a piece of old leaf spring.XMT 350 MPa, w/D52-DTA 185 TSWHarris of
Reply:Originally Posted by sjamesI just use a piece of old leaf spring.
Reply:How about a used lawnmower blade?  They are very tough.  I agree that it's better just to buy, but the toughest regular steel that I've run into is a lawnmower blade.Rene
Reply:OK Guys. Maybe it would be easier and cheaper to just go buy a tire spoon, but, then I would have a tire spoon but not the knowledge to be able to make one. I bought the two I had and now they are both gone. Guess they didnt mean as much to me as if I would have made them. I do get pleasure from building stuff of my own. I built a circular sawmill years ago then built the shop from my own logs grown on my own place. I am building a band sawmill now to build a garage.  I will use some of the advice I got on here to try so I thank you all. Harold
Reply:i do some tire work on tractors during the summer and we only had 1 iron so we used a cheap pry bar to work around, i liked the handle but didnt like the way it chomped the rubber. I bought another set for 7 or 8 $  at hf for a set of 4; heated them up and beat them into nice flat spoons and nice handles.ive also made them out of cheap tire irons, ive got stacks of them from estate sales for pry bars and what ever else, these actually make easier spoons since its round rod.any who much luck Attached Imagesforney f100 220vmiller thunderbolt 225v a/ccampbell hausfield flux welder 115vcraftsman o/a rig(harris)collosal tech plasma cutter 50amp