Compression springs

S

Steve Beckwith

Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
393
I'm looking for a couple coiled compression springs 1/16"OD, possibly 3/32" OD. They don't need to be more than 1/2" OAL. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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Do you mean like a little coil spring? You can get some piano wire and make a little jig with a dowel to wind your own.
 
I should have said coil spring. I will edit my original post. I don't know how I would wind a spring that is that small in diameter.
 
Steve Beckwith said:
I would need something like a 1/32" dia. mandrel. I don't believe I would be able to make that work
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Lots of machine shops can wind custom springs too. It's probably better to work hand on with them. Unless you can find another thing with the right size of spring you want.
 
McMaster has a 0.088" OD/0.064" ID spring 0.19" long. Not cheap, around $17 for six of them. They also offer custom made springs, but I think you have to buy a lot. If you want to try making your own, they have 0.012" music wire for around $10 for a 1/4lb coil.

I'm curious, what do you need such a small spring for?
 
I made some springs for my cheap OTF. I just used some steel bar stock to wind the wire around using .020" wire. I used my Coil Master kit that I have to make vape coils with. I have a bunch of special pliers for watchmaking that I used to bend the ends with. That was the hardest part.

Edit: These are extension springs.

OTF Spring-1a.jpgOTF Spring-2a.jpgOTF Spring-3a.jpg
 
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Most good hardware stores have a cabinet of springs. McMaster-Carr as well as many industrial suppliers have them, too.
 
I will look at McMaster Carr. I got the idea for this type of spring after I repaired a push button auto belonging to a friend of mine. It was used as the tensioning mechanism of the lock. I was also thinking that a coil spring could be used in lieu of the integral leaf spring on the lock bar. I have successfully completed a push button auto with an integral spring on the lock bar, a leaf spring under the push button, and a leaf spring to actually open the blade but it gets pretty crowded in there.
 
try a spring from a bic lighter!! they are 3/32 diameter
or use a wire base in a cordless drill to wind the spring... remember the post needs to be smaller (about 20%) from the expected diameter...
wire bending pliers are a thing but difficult to find i only have 4 different styles.. (None are super small )
 
Pinoy Knife said:
try a spring from a bic lighter!! they are 3/32 diameter
or use a wire base in a cordless drill to wind the spring... remember the post needs to be smaller (about 20%) from the expected diameter...
wire bending pliers are a thing but difficult to find i only have 4 different styles.. (None are super small )
Click to expand...

Most of my wire bending pliers were used by watchmakers. I bought them on eBay. Here is a photo of my good ones. The small pliers on the lower right side of the photo are the ones I used for the .020" wire. They help a lot to bend the end loops. I use dull side cutters to make 90° bends.

Wire Bending Pliers-1a.jpg
 
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yep 2 of mine are marked West Germany.. so the wall came down when ??1989..
1 pair is pakistan , 1 not marked.. love me some old built tools as they work.. (unlike some made today)
cutters only made for "Soft wire" WTF is that ??? if it can cut a nail it can easily cut wire without and damage... try finding good "Flush cutting pliers"...
 
Pinoy Knife said:
yep 2 of mine are marked West Germany.. so the wall came down when ??1989..
1 pair is pakistan , 1 not marked.. love me some old built tools as they work.. (unlike some made today)
cutters only made for "Soft wire" WTF is that ??? if it can cut a nail it can easily cut wire without and damage... try finding good "Flush cutting pliers"...
Click to expand...

That's why I prefer to buy vintage hand tools when I can find them. eBay is a good place to find them on auction - sometimes I win. I also love vintage Dumont tweezers. I also have some very nice factory marked Bulova Accutron tweezers that I'm collecting. I've only seen one other pair of them, and somebody else beat me on that auction. Maybe he missed the auction that I won? :)
 
Pinoy, that is the ticket! Over the years I have picked up Big lighters that people have dropped, I probably have 50 or 60 of them. Anyhoo, I took one apart and there is a spring that is a shade over 1" long. It appears that it will work, assuming that my idea works at all. Thanks to all responded and thanks wkfi for offering to share your stash.
 
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