Thread: Making own springs

Hi Pete,
These guides nay help you out.
Making Springs, (the way I do it, anyway).

Making Springs PT 2

Dave

Cheers Dave,

Hadn't thought about heat treating so may try that later. Just seems I have to suck and see though to judge the correct size.

Many thanks

Pete

I made all the springs I needed for my "Simplex" 5" gauge from 16 SWG music wire. I bought the wire from a local RC Airplane supply shop. This wire comes in lengths about 650mm long. The wire is polished as supplied and makes wonderful springs without any heat treatment. I wound the wire on a mandrel and passed the wire thru a guide to control it. The springs were compression type and I set the lathe the same as when cutting a thread to get the pitch correct and uniform. The wire was bent over to 90 degs. and then simply hooked onto the chuck jaw after gripping the required mandrel in the chuck. It is important to keep a steady pull on the wire using a heavy duty pair of pliers. Start the lathe and running in slowest back gear, proceed to wind the spring. When the end of the wire is reached, stop the lathe and release the back gears. DON"T let go of the end of the wire being held by the pliers. Your hand/fingers can be shredded. I use a piece of high tensile steel for the mandrel and support it with a live center. You could try a mandrel diameter of 9/32 and if the spring is still too big in dia, try machining it down to 1/4.
To find the correct diameter of the required mandrel is a trial and error job. This is because the wire has its own peculiar properties and the shape, ID of the coil, the toughness of the wire, how you set the guide up, all play a part in achieving the diameter of the mandrel to be used. The music wire is toughened by the cold working and should not need to be heat treated. I have never needed to heat treat any of my springs wound on the lathe with music wire. If you want some super quality springs, check out the firing pin springs from a rifle or shot gun. These coil springs are extremely strong and make wonderful compression springs for a live steam loco. These springs are factory heat treated to perfection and are just the "bees' knees" for a loco suspension. What is the gauge of your Blowfly? How much have you made already?

Hi Kody,

Thanks for that reply - The Blowfly is 5" gauge 0-4-0, slip eccentrics and as simple a live steam locomotive can be. Just as well considering my previous experience is a single oscillator So far I have made the frames, axles and axleboxes, so a long way to go Made a new mandrel from 7mm BMS and have 1/4" as well if need be. I am curious though to see if the heat treatment will reduce the error in the previous set I made.


Pete

New spings made (two to a length of piano wire), need to get new disks for my dremel to finish them off.


Pete