How to make hair spring.

Hamster · Dec 27, 2008

I was practising repairing a Pronto-S shutter. While reassembling the exposure speed escapement, the hair spring that sets the shutter speed flew off into the sunset.

Not wanting to junk a shutter I have spent hours on, do any of you know how to make an hairspring? I took out a book on watchmaking from the Library but there were nothing on it. Out of ideas. Anyone can help?

ricksplace · Dec 27, 2008

Small springs must be made from fine spring steel. The steel must be heated to bend it. I can't remember how I had to heat treat the spring once I bent it to the right shape. Try Gunsmithing books for a reference. A gunsmith or a watchmaker should be able to help you out.

I hate it when a spring escapes its home and goes pinging off into the distance, never to be seen again!

Bob-D659 · Dec 27, 2008

Try here.
http://www.ofrei.com

more Watch Tools, Watch Parts, Watch Bands & Straps, Clocks Parts, tools and parts than you can ever use.

Paul Goutiere · Dec 27, 2008

The spring thing is a concern of mine as well. Where does one find or how does one make a good shutter spring for the compur shutter in a
Super Ikonta.

Greg_E · Dec 27, 2008

http://home.earthlink.net/~bazillion/intro.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~bazillion/Coiler/index.html

Obviously dealing with larger springs, but it might give you a start. You might still be able to get the small guage wire at smallparts.com or maybe Mcmaster.com, music wire will probably be good enough.

phfitz · Dec 27, 2008

Hi all,

guitar strings from a music store, comes in all different sizes.

do NOT heat it to bend, you will lose the temper and spring action.

spring pliers have fully round pinchers, if you cannot find them you can modify needle nosed pliers with a file.

for coil springs try to find a cash-register repair shop if they still exist.

walk around barefoot, you will find the spring.

have fun with it.

John Koehrer · Dec 27, 2008

You'll never find the spring! It's wherever all those missing socks go.
But on the off chance it's still in the room if you have one of those nail picker-upper magnets you can try rolling it around the room for a while.

Mark Fisher · Dec 27, 2008

Make it cold...do not heat it before bending. Most springs are wound cold. The trickiest part will be deciding the right wire diameter to get the right force (assuming you know about the right number of turns and overall diameter). McMaster stocks music wire down to .009 in dia. Hobby stores may have music wire also.

Hamster · Dec 27, 2008

G-string compur!

archphoto · Jan 8, 2009

Next time I have to replace the strings of my guitar I will think of you...... The thinnest is the e-string by the way

archphoto · Jan 8, 2009

As for round-nosed pliers: I use the EREM 543, made in Switerland and expensive to buy, I had mine for over 25 years now and still good.

Ole · Jan 8, 2009

It is possible to remove the temper first, form the spring, and then re-temper it.

It's not easy, but sometimes it's easier than getting tempered spring steel to take the shape you want it to!

Mike Kennedy · Jan 8, 2009

What John Koehrer said.

I bought this from Lee Valley in Canada.Not only does it find & pick up those wee bits lost on my shop floor but I have retrieved tiny screws etc. from my camera work area.

alan/dublin · Jan 8, 2009

Is it anything like the spring in a floppy disk?

archphoto · Jan 8, 2009

The idea looks good, but whitch spring is missing....... there are quite a few in a shutter..........
Otherwise Hamster needs to wait for 3 month until I am home in The Netherlands again, I am in Brazil right now and have no other parts with
me than a couple of verry little screws.....
Peter

archphoto · Jan 8, 2009

One other thing to considder: the new spring must exersize more or less the same tension as the old one.
(fogive me my english.....)
Too stiff and you are into trouble, too weak and nothing happens......
Peter

How to make hair spring.

Hamster

ricksplace

Bob-D659

Paul Goutiere

Greg_E

phfitz

John Koehrer

Mark Fisher

Hamster

archphoto

archphoto

Ole

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Mike Kennedy

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alan/dublin

archphoto

archphoto

How to make hair spring.

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