Jack Pedersen
Great post John.
CSB’s are definitely a step up in ease of use and maintenance. Admittedly they are more involved to set up than other springing methods, but the end result is usually very free running and easy to build.
Will L on the Scalefour forum posted a fantastic blow by blow account of some of the things worth considering when building a sprung chassis. It covers off a fair few examples and is quite intensive, but makes for good reading and certainly helped me understand the theory a bit more. The high level Jig is invaluable for anyone considering CSB.
https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=947
I’ve not bothered with the keeper plate, but it’s a good idea – possibly a little over engineered. But if it works for you then fantastic. I usually use some sacrificial wire, the type you find in kits of old, coiled up, turned down at the ends to retain it. Then when the spring wire is put in place, I snip them free.