Spring Making, from Scratch

[PhilOhio]

Guys,

I was just reading the detailed instructions for restoring the straw color on Luger parts, which John Sabato posted awhile back; extremely useful. Then I realized that it is basically the same process as what we use to heat treat springs made from scratch...except that we hold the heat for much longer, in order to stress relieve cold-formed springs and make real springs out of them, so as not to take a set. We end up with a much darker color, as getting a certain lighter color is not the goal; we only want "springiness" that lasts.

It then occurred to me that, with such a bunch of gun techies here, who highly value John's article, you might have even more fun being able to forever beat the problem of not having quite the right spring for your Luger (or anything else). It's nice to get good springs from Wolf, but it's even better to be able to make any spring, precisely correct for your application, with no help from anybody.

Where this really pays off is with a gun, or any device requiring springs, where it is so rare or unusual that neither Wolf nor anybody else makes a spring for it.

Here's where you start: http://home.earthlink.net/~bazillion/design.html#prin

This site is maintained by one Dave Silberstein, who you are eventually going to thank for changing your gun tinkering life.

For now, just take a look. Get your feet wet. It is very user friendly and tutorial. The whole process of making springs, any kind, flat or coil, is even simpler than it sounds. I got into it a few years ago and now, solely through this site, I can make just about anything. They work. Always. Whether its a custom slide spring for my S&W 41, to match it to specific ammo, or a new striker spring for an Ortgie, or a custom weight 1911 spring, or Luger grip safety return spring, magazine spring, or anything else...you can make it; better than from the factory. I'm not kidding.

With coil springs: any music wire diameter, any number of coils per inch, any length, etc., etc., you can do it. After you consult Machinery's Handbook to pick the mandril diameter you need to use, to get a certain I.D. coil spring with music wire of a selected diameter, you make a mandril; set up the lathe to run at low speed while you feed a piece of wire; flip the switch and watch the magic show as it winds; cut the new spring off, stick it in the oven for an hour, and wow! You've got it.

For the coil springs, you need a small lathe, like my Sears/Atlas 6". Making the springs to any O.D., I.D., and coils per inch is child's play. You won't believe what you can do.

Lugers are finicky regarding spring rates. You can endlessly play with spring design to get exactly the performance you want. Eliminate flakey function problems due to being unable to get quite the right spring on the open market. Same applies to magazine springs, which can really be troublesome.

Anyhow, please take a look at the above url, take time to digest it, and let us know what you think.

The site explains how to stress relieve the cold-wound music wire coil springs in your oven, at basically the same heat range used for strawing Luger parts. Except that with springs, you leave them in the oven for an hour. If you don't do this, you only have a piece of coiled wire that mostly sqooshes and takes a set when you compress it.

Have fun. I just can't begin to express how deeply indebted I am to Dave Silberstein for all the work he put into his website, and it has been there for a few years. If you agree, he has posted an E-mail contact address. I believe he was a spring industry professional who may be retired, or semiretired, and he enjoys sharing all that he has learned over the years; kind of like the Luger forum concept.

[John Sabato]

Thanks for sharing that website (and your thoughts) with "gun tinkerers" here!

[Ice]

Phil, thank you for sharing the website. Thats valuable info that any gun mechanic should know.

Charlie