Kyber pass springs!

[G.T.]

Hi to all! It's been a'while since my last venture, but recently, I felt that the challenge to make grip safety springs overwhelmed my common sense ability to let the project pass! So, I immeadiatly accepted two facts going forward, one, I know very little about spring making, and two, I've long ago forgotten all of what i did know! Perfect! Let's get started!
Grip safety spring, originals, are a bad design right from the get go! DWM machined them from bar stock and most have broke, or will break some time in the life of the luger, especially if you visit the range from time to time. I have found that modern spring steel, SAE 1075 or SAE 1095 annealed steel sheet will work nicely! The problem is to form/roll the little retaining knob on the spring end to anchor it into the frame. Ok, did that by drilling a # 40 hole in a steel bar, cutting a tail slot, and driving the folded end of the soon to be spring thru it. A rather crude but effective swage. Wow, that went well, so lets start with some SAE 1075 .040" thick. The spring turned out great!!!! Better than factory... only one problem, only KING KONG can work the grip safety!!!!! OK, lets try something else? I switched to .025" SAE 1095 and repeated all the privious operations, and I was afraid of a three bears experience, but no?? The spring turned out perfect! So, now we can add another facet to the GT hobbit workshop. But unfortunatly, I will probably forget how to make them anyway... Best to all, til....lat'r....GT...

[jimmiej]

GT,
It is sometimes a blessing to not know what you don't know. Many of the things I have built in my shop would never have been built if I had known what a mess of worms I would need to conquer. HA! good on ya. More tools for all my friends!
jimmiej

[lugerholsterrepair]

GT, make up a couple of dozen while you are still remembering how and that should time us all out. But then I don't even buy green bananas.

[HerrKaiser]

I can only hope your devoted effort to re-make these springs allow the intended user to fire his model 1906 many times at the range without much worry over the course of his lifetime.

[G.T.]

It do! at least I think so, maybe even better than original... We'll see... best, til.....lat'r.....GT

[Pistol]

Outstanding!

[Vlim]

The oldtimers made them springy by heating them in a bath of molten lead. It helped to get a uniform heat treatment at the right temperature.

The good old days without health code legislation

[G.T.]

Hi Gerben, I have heard of the use of lead for drawing back spring that have been quenched, I use Nitre blue salts for the drawing process blue. Using formed annealed high carbon steel, 1075 or 1095, I first heat the part up with a torch to a bright orange and quench it in water. Some put a layer of oil on the water to reduce the shock, but I find water alone, at room temp, works fine. Once that is accomplished, I then polish the part totally with a fine Dremel buff and suspend it from a thin piece of wire. I have a small Lee lead pot that I use to bring the Nitre salts up to 600 degrees and I suspend the part with the wire bent over the edge to hold it true. I check every minute or so to see the color change and be Johnny on the spot when it reaches blue! It goes thru yellow, brown, violet, and light blue before it gets to blue, or even dark blue?I like purple and can't stand to go any further! I shine a small hign intensity flashlight on it to verify color. Once out of the pot and cooled, just use your thumbnail to remove and remaining salts that are still on the part, and wipe down with oil... That's it! You just made a spring! Best to all, til......lat'r.....GT...

[G.T.]

Well, it's like rasing chickens, some make and some don't! and so it is with the home made springs! One of them has survived several hundred cycles, and one just gave up the ghost shortly afer installation! So, do we give up? Not likely!
I revisited the first attempt with the, "KING KONG!" springs that were too thick, but more importantly, a more forgiving alloy being SAE1075 more inline with shade tree attempts and results...
I then thinned and tapered one of them to closely replicate the originals, and now have an understanding of why they go from thick to thin? I'm sending them off tomorrow, or there'abouts, and we will take another shot at this... best, til....lat'r....GT