Making Springs

I need to reproduce some compression springs out of .025 wire and am looking for a simple safe tool to construct for this purpose in order to get good repeatability with the springs. Plus I know that out there somewhere is a guide or web page to give what size mandrel to use to get a given diameter. I know I can buy them but what fun is that, I would rather make a good tool and manufacture my own.

Scott

Making springs is not as much fun as you might think but it's a good skill to add ... I've always purchased springs but every once in a while, a special requirement comes up.

I'm no expert, so take this with a grain of salt, but here's the way I made twenty tapered compression springs the last time around.

Made a mild steel arbor, turned to about 2/3 of the desired spring I.D. At the headstock end, I drilled a hole to insert the music wire and hold it. (The arbor was center drilled and supported by the tailstock center.) After the spring is wound, the "tail" is nipped off.

Then I made a wire guide from brass. The wire guide (about 3/4 x 1/2 x 4) fit in the lathe toolpost and had a hole drilled at an angle to feed the music wire through. The guide was slotted THROUGH the guide hole and about an inch past it. A 10-32 shcs was located about 1/2 inch back from the guide hole and was used to provide friction on the music wire, like the clamping arrangement on a pinch knurl.

The lathe was in back gear, about 20 RPM, set up to feed from the headstock toward the tailstock. The lathe gearbox is set for something less than the desired spring pitch (this has to be determined experimentally).

To wind the spring, I'd move the lathe carriage until the brass wire guide was lined up with the hole on the arbor. Then loosen the friction screw on the brass guide and feed the music wire through the guide hole and through the hole in the arbor.

Tighten the friction screw, engage the lead screw (rotate spindle by hand to engage and take up the lash) and turn on the lathe. Turn off the lathe about one or two turns BEFORE the spring is complete. Depending on your machine's characteristics, it will coast for a bit.

I found that the spring-back of the music wire was always more than my estimates and that the mandrels needed to be very small in order to account for the spring-back.

It's a tedious and time-consuming operation. Not something one wants to do routinely if commercially available springs can be obtained. BUT, as I said, I'm a novice spring-winder and there are probably way better methods to do this than mine.

Have fun !

Very nice description Randy.

I just had to relate a safety oriented story

First spring I made as a kid (maybe 12) on my dad's lathe, I knew nothing about stored, potential energy.

Wound the spring up on a madrel mounted in the chuck, very slowly (at least I had the sense for that) and shut it off before it got to the end. When it stopped, I let the spring go. That little bastard hit me in the back of the hand about 30 times before I could even react. Blood everywhere, but no serious damage. Lesson learned. Be careful.

Mark

Scott'

Springs aren't rocket science.

I use plastic, wood, or non ferris blocks in the tool post to guide the wire. Whatever is handy at the moment is put to use.

This worm is a double sided spring, wound of 1/4 inch wire. Had to use a slotted mandrel with rotation pins and a double wire guide setup.



Manhattan Supply had reasonable spring winding tools at one time.

Watch out for the loose end of the wire!

Good luck

kap

The following tutorial is the best I know of. It has worked well for me.
Dave Silberstein's "How to Make Springs"


By the way, every once in a while small professional spring winding machines pop up on eBay. They look like the cat's pajamas and go for relatively little money, but not little enough given how infrequently I'd use one. There's also the issue of storage for all neat toys like that.

Thanks Guys,
I found a link from rklopp post that shows me exactly what I need. Spring coilier I am going to embellish his design somewhat with a chuck and a few mandrels plus make several coiling board for different sizes. I know it is easier to buy them but when I need one it is usually Sunday or 2 a.m. and in the time it would take to find and order the right spring I can crank one out.

Scott

Diacro made a spring winder that is excellent. They show up in ebay once in a while. There is one for sale now. This unit let you make multipal springs exactly the same every time. I have one and really like it.
Here is the link.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36345&item=3870080500&rd=1

Joe

has anyone here ever made springs on a smaller lathe like the atlas 12 inch??

i need some out of Ti that are about .15 inches thick...

not sure if it will work, or snapp off the toolpost....

Davidwest,
That's very fat wire for an Atlas lathe. However, part of the risk depends on the diameter of the spring you want. If you're going to wind onto a 10-inch-diameter mandrel, it will be safer than winding onto a 1-inch-diameter mandrel. Either, way it's risky no matter what lathe you have, due to the energy stored in the starting coil and the spring while it is on the mandrel. I'd try to find an off-the-shelf spring or have a pro spring winder make it.
Rich

thanks Rich,

i was going to try and wind .15 Ti to end up with a finished coil diameter of 1.5 inches.... i was afraid that was asking too much out of my little lathe....

thanks for the reply....