Spring assortment

[Gordon]

Does anyone know of a place to get small spring assortments. There are a bunch of them with 200 pieces ranging in price from $8 to $20 and it looks like they are all the same kit. The problem is that they are all too heavy. They are minimum .020 wire diameter and for many of the small engines we need .010 to .015. I have tried making my own but it is kind of a hit and miss thing trying to get the correct wire size, length etc. There are other assortments having several hundred springs for industrial use at $100+ and most of them are also too heavy.

 

[chucketn]

I don't know where you are, but Harbor Freight has packages of spring assortments with pretty small springs in them, both extension and compression.

Chuck

 

[Gordon]

I have the Harbor Freight assortment and they are all too heavy. Minimum of .020 wire and minimum 3/16 dia compression.

If you look at Amazon or eBay that set is available for $8 to $20.

Thanks.

 

[Swifty]

Retracting ball point pens are a good source of small springs, still may not be small enough for what you want.

Paul.

 

[goldstar31]

I think that you should move into another sphere for sources of supply and information. Both the music and the orthodontic fields are worth pursuing. My wife who is a retired consultant orthodontist does all my requests for spring making. However, she is also holds a Diploma in Music and plays sax and clarinet. So she has home made pliers which are basically ordinary round nosed pliers but are ground with a round nose( like those on circlip pliers) but a hollowed jaw at the other part of the pliers. Again, quite a few of her non-dental pliers are modified from conventional ones.

It's a long time since I accessed Ferees Tools inc stuff in the USA but I certainly would be looking in their direction rather than here. My fingers and hands are too arthritic now.
However, I hope that this helps

Norman

 

[kquiggle]

You might take a look at Brownell's (www.brownells.com).

I found Jones Spring (http://www.springsfast.com/assortments.php?PHPSESSID=c154bb7a96831a2feb7911bc4614f330) online - they appear to offer some nice assortments and actually have some good information on what is in them. Note that I have not dealt with this company so don't take this as an endorsement.

Also online there is a "101 spring spring assortment" - looks like something to avoid based on the the reviews on Amazon.com.

Finally, you may want to reconsider making your own springs - I've only done this a few times but have had good results (especially if you take the time to make a few tools for the job). See below for links to good information on spring making.

Click on the link and scroll down to "springs":

https://sites.google.com/site/lagadoacademy/useful-links#tipsandtricks