Factory neighbour asked me to try to fix their retractable reel - you know the ones that I can never work out how to lock after you have pulled some hose out?


After taking the fixed swivel hose centre off and removing the cover, it became obvious the clock spring end had broken – where the 90° bend is:

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Spring is 25mm x 1.6mm section. I was about to measure the length and look on eBay for a new spring, until I looked at the other end, where they have a pin through two holes to form a loop.

Aha! I can bodge up a clamped solution. First, clamp the spring in place, then grind a hole:
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using a Dremel™-like tool (spring seemed too hard to drill), then find a saddle clamp:
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and bend it, so a bolt can hold the spring in that slot:
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Reassemble, and it works well enough.

The saddle clamp is flimsy (mild steel, probably thinner than the spring steel), but it is only locating the spring in a slot. Should give the owner another decade?
Attached Images




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