pool diving board, spring material ?

[fixerup]

My neighbor, asked if I could make him some new springs for is pool diving board. The original one are made out of 3/8" thick X 2 1/2" wide, steel in the shape of a large J laid on its back. Their is two J springs which attaches to the diving board and one is broken.
What type of steel would I need to purchase to make a new pair of J springs?
Cheers!
Phil

[Andre3127]

Liability insurance.

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[fixerup]

Good point,
Just trying to help my neighbor and this is why I asked, because I wanted to get the proper material to make the replacement.
I have been searching the web to try to find some replacement and couldn't find any. But just found this write up below which my explain why.

Stiff Diving Boards: The diving boards of today just ‘ain't what they used to be'. This is due to their rigidity and stiffness. 15 years ago, diving boards had major spring, but today, mainly because manufacturers are scared of lawsuits; it's tough to find a diving board that has very much spring at all. And because these boards are so rigid, they lose their novelty rather quickly, causing pool owners to regret having installed them in the first place.

I will discuss these concern with my neighbor
Thanks!
Phil

[TGTool]

Machinery's Handbook has steel for various applications including springs. It's not a fancy alloy, just enough carbon to harden decently and then a draw back to a spring temper rather that full hard.

[Doozer]

I am thinking a truck spring shop would be
the easy and smart choice. Shops like that
make leaf springs starting with just flat stock.

-Doozer

[kitno455]

You are placing this thing next to a chlorinated pool. The mounting surfaces of these springs are going to stay wet constantly. Consider stainless. I'd probably use 301.

allan

[Seastar]

Back when I was a kid in the 1930s and early 40sthe diving boards at the local pools were made of wood.
At least once a summer some 300 pound kid would break one off. As I remember my local city pool had at least 3 boards, 2 low and 1 high.
There was a private pay to enter pool that had 4 boards and a 30 foot platform.
Try that today for the general public.
The best "diving board" was a rope tied to a tree by the local creeks swimming hole.
Making the spring will be a lot easier than fighting the lawsuit.
Bill

[JRouche]

Making the spring will be a lot easier than fighting the lawsuit.
Bill

And then there is THAT!!

But yeah, think about going with what is already made for an auto, truck, boat or stationary equipment. JR

[J Tiers]

Springs have parameters.... spring rate(kg/m deflection), max load that does not cause permanent deflection, etc.

You know that stuff? If not, how are you going to proportion the parts? Hoẃ are you going to heat treat them?

What does the original manufacturer say? Can they supply parts?

[BCRider]

And if you don't match the spring rate of the one that is still good I'm thinking that the board would have a very odd feel and send the divers off to one side or the other.

And even if you do manage to find the steel and cut it what about the heat treatment? If you need to take it to the truck spring place to get it done that's going to cost a bundle. And in that case you should just get your neighbor to get the job done there or simply by a new board in the first place.

[fixerup]

Thank you for the all the advice. I have now realized that this job was more involved than just taking the right type of material and bending it to the right shape. Never thought of the heat tempering and spring rate. For the spring rate I was going to match the material dimension and hope for the best. Anyways, my neighbor decided go without a diving board for now and at some point will visit a spring and leaf shop to see what are is options.
Cheers!
Phil

[darryl]

The thing about lawsuits sure puts a damper on a lot of things these days. I was going to suggest using fiberglass, but I didn't until now. Considering the environment there should probably not be any steel used for this, but fiberglass could last a long time. The springs on my van are fiberglass and they have not given any problems in more than 20 years. In your case the entire board could be made from it, or just a section of the presumably wooden board to couple it to the mounting on the pool. The bottom could be laid up for only part of the board, while the finish on the top could be glass all the way for a seamless surface. You could add however many layers to the bottom until you find the right springiness, and you can make a right angle corner in glass if that's how the board mounts.

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