Spring Winder - Build your own springs

[kquiggle]

The patent for the Blaner spring winder can be found here: https://patents.google.com/patent/US2052443A/en

All patents are published and it is not in any way a violation of patent or copyright to publish them (which is one reason why you can easily look them up online). It is also perfectly legal to make your own copy of a patented item even if the patent is still in effect - the patent just requires you to get permission to manufacture and sell a patented item.

People interested in spring winding may be interested in this list of links (go to the link and scroll down to "springs"):

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

 

[jlchapman]

Murph - I looked up the Perkins Spring Coiler and ebay has one for sale. That thing is a monster. Thanks for the history on Blaner. You must make alot of springs. What do you use to store your music wire?

 

[jlchapman]

kquiggle - Thanks for the links. Alot of good information there. I really like the old Popular Mechanics magazine. I enjoy reading the old articles in PM.

 

[kaolsen1728]

I have always wound spring using my lathe. For compression springs I set the lathe to run at it's slowest and select the pitch that comes closest to the desired turns per inch. I make the first couple of turns by turning the lathe by hand for a couple of closed loops, then engage the half nut lever and use the push button to jog the motor on and off until the required turns have been created. Then I finish by disengaging the half nut lever and doing a couple more turns by hand for ending closed loops. To determine the diameter of the arbor I will use make test turns around drill bits until I find a suitable size. Then I turn a rod to this diameter, put a slot in the end of it to hold the wire while I do the above. I hold the wire in the tool holder with a couple of pieces of flat bar that I have machined groves that will guide the wire as well as put some pressure on it so that the wire will wind tight to the arbor.

 

[jlchapman]

So, back to the build. I spent some time machining the adjusting bar. This was key stock that is zinc plated. Used a slitting saw to cut the notch. The other end was drilled and tap for a 4-40 screw.

 

[jlchapman]

I just finished up the pressure bolt, adjusting bolt and the friction bolt. I use my live center since the bolts are almost 2". I tried a different technique I read about in MEB magazine where you turn down the rod in sections. Then the last two passes I went all the way across. I have always turned down the rod going all the way across the rod. The picture will explain it better. This technique seemed to work really well.

 

[Murph]

Murph - I looked up the Perkins Spring Coiler and ebay has one for sale. That thing is a monster. Thanks for the history on Blaner. You must make alot of springs. What do you use to store your music wire?

The actual Perkins spring winder off the pedestal is all of 11" long at its largest, but it is HEAVY! I use sections of 1/2" PVC pipe to store my spring wire, buy it in 4' lengths from McMaster-Carr, or 3' legnths from the K&S assortment at the local hardware store.

I keep two sets of washers for the tensioning guide, bronze for use with spring steel /music wire, and a set in nylon for use with bronze spring wire.

Do I make a lot? No, but when you're the only one doing it in the metro area, your competetors show up on your doorstep doing a Oliver Swift! (Please, sir - can I have some more?)

 

[jlchapman]

Murph, Thanks for the info. I've been buying the 1/4 lb spools of music wire from McMaster-Carr. I leave the spool bundled and only take out what I need. Thought about buying some canisters or make something similar.

Sounds like your in a good position to be the only guy winding springs.

Jerry

 

[jlchapman]

I've been busy, but had some time to work on the spring winder body. I had to tackle the Oval shaped hole with a triangle shape on one end. I not very good with Fusion 360 but I made a simple drawing to help machine the hole. Here is the drawing:

I first drilled a 7/16 hole and the .073 hole. Then I used a 7/16" end mill starting in the drilled hole first then moving 0.27". I made the move by taking deeper cuts until I was all the way through. This left me very little to file afterwards.

 

[jlchapman]

Then I went on to dealing with the square hole. I found a video on how to make a square broach. I made the broach using w1 drill rod, heated it cherry red, then hardened it using water. After drilling the hole, I tried to press it through, it just broke in pieces. I did something wrong so I will have to try it again. I resorted to just using a file. Didn't take long to make a square hole.

 

[Gordon]

Then I went on to dealing with the square hole. I found a video on how to make a square broach. I made the broach using w1 drill rod, heated it cherry red, then hardened it using water. After drilling the hole, I tried to press it through, it just broke in pieces. I did something wrong so I will have to try it again. I resorted to just using a file. Didn't take long to make a square hole.
View attachment 112304[/QU
After you harden the drill rod you have to anneal it otherwise it is too brittle.

 

[jlchapman]

Gordon, Thanks. It was very brittle. I'll try again on the next square hole. It was a little frustrating, but I know what to do next time.

Jerry

 

[John Antliff]

Not wishing to be pedantic but the word "anneal" should be "temper" - slightly different but very important!

 

[terryd]

Then I went on to dealing with the square hole. I found a video on how to make a square broach. I made the broach using w1 drill rod, heated it cherry red, then hardened it using water. After drilling the hole, I tried to press it through, it just broke in pieces. I did something wrong so I will have to try it again. I resorted to just using a file. Didn't take long to make a square hole.
View attachment 112304

Hi Jerry,

You do NOT anneal the item after hardening - that process returns the steel to it's original 'soft' state - you need to 'temper' it, which is a process tof reduce the brittleness you describe.

Hardening a high carbon steel such as drill rod ('silver steel' here in the UK) will make it hard but also brittle as you discovered. The process of 'tempering' which reduces the brittleness but keeps a sufficient level of hardness. In this case for a broach you should clean off the scale it after hardening so that you can see the colour changes when re heating, it should be heated slowly and evenly until the colour changes to a straw colour - about 200°C (approx 400°F). it is difficult to do this by direct heating so in this case I would use a sand tray (I use an old small baking tray) which is heated evenly from below (I used to have an oven which could reach to 310°C (approx 500°F) which I used). This allows the whole item to be heated gradually to the required temperature - different tools need different tempering temperatures - and it is than quenched quickly. There are instructional videos and tempering colour charts on the internet, start here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempering_(metallurgy)

Having said all that you probably don't need to harden a steel tool to cut aluminium which is much softer.

 

[terryd]

Not wishing to be pedantic but the word "anneal" should be "temper" - slightly different but very important!

Hi John,

You are not being pedantic. Tempering and Annealing are similar processes in that they involve heat but with very different outcomes. Most of us know that when a metal (e.g. copper) is annealed it is returned to a very soft condition making it malleable so that it can be shaped by hammering. It is very important to use the correct terms, take it from me as a (very) old tool room engineer.

Terry

 

[terryd]

The actual Perkins spring winder off the pedestal is all of 11" long at its largest, but it is HEAVY! I use sections of 1/2" PVC pipe to store my spring wire, buy it in 4' lengths from McMaster-Carr, or 3' legnths from the K&S assortment at the local hardware store.

I keep two sets of washers for the tensioning guide, bronze for use with spring steel /music wire, and a set in nylon for use with bronze spring wire.

Do I make a lot? No, but when you're the only one doing it in the metro area, your competetors show up on your doorstep doing a Oliver Swift! (Please, sir - can I have some more?)

"Oliver Twist" - from the Charles Dickens novel, appropriately called "Oliver Twist"

 

[Gordon]

Actually I know it is temper not anneal. I just was not thinking correctly. I make a lot of special cutters from water hard drill rod. I heat them with a torch, dump them in water and then put them in a toaster oven for an hour which I bought at a thrift store for $10.

 

[Shopgeezer]

Cool idea for a tempering oven. I am trying to figure out a design for a heating oven. I need to temper and anneal, heat moulds for metal casting, burn out PLA and melt aluminum. Holding an accurate temperature is a big part of this. A home built oven is a possibility with all the digital heat controls available on Ebay. A potter near us is advertising an electric kiln that doesn’t work. I’m going to have a look at it but suspect it will be too big.

 

[chrsbrbnk]

The thermo controllers are super cheap on ebay use a type K thermocouple for the heat range and a big ole relay the spring winder will easily wind nichrome wire into coils then there are all these refractory available so its all pretty simple hot enough to heat treat D2 O1 orA2 right and then temper them

 

[Gordon]

Cool idea for a tempering oven. I am trying to figure out a design for a heating oven. I need to temper and anneal, heat moulds for metal casting, burn out PLA and melt aluminum. Holding an accurate temperature is a big part of this. A home built oven is a possibility with all the digital heat controls available on Ebay. A potter near us is advertising an electric kiln that doesn’t work. I’m going to have a look at it but suspect it will be too big.

I bought a ceramic oven for $100. The temp control is crude but I bought a digital control on eBay for about $30 and that gives good control. I use it mostly for heating CI piston rings. It works just fine.