Spring bender

[MAStuart]

Dawai's last post inspired me to post this. I have been building pedal boxes for my coupe. I ordered a set of pedal pad castings cost was $18.95. They also came with the rubber gromets . To use them on a original type car you have to machine a grove and drill a pin hole. I need another set of them but now I will make a pattern and cast them myself now that i know the size they need to be. It will probably cost more for me to cast them myself than to buy them. But I am going to do it because I can. This brings me to another part I need Springs . These little springs are $20.00 buck a pop. I need 4 . so with shipping they would cost about $100.00 . I'm cheep so I made my own. They only take about 2 min to make.

The spring

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The jig made from scrap

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Wire .041 music wire clamped with a C clamp and first bends

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Other part of jig over wire

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Twist the proper amount of turns

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repeat for the other side

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Bend the last two bends and clip off exsess wire

Pic of pedal pad

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Shot of the back with spring installed

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Hope this helps someone. Mark

[Dawai]

Very cool.

Use your shaping "oil spray" so them springs slide easily as you twist them.
Everything needs springs, from the Waa Waa foot pedal on the inverter, antique guns in the gun safe,shaping pliers, to the shrinker-stretcher dies.

You left out a few things,........

(tip #2, use a board behind lathe so it does not throw chips where you can't clean them) They all land in the pan after sliding down the board.

(tip #3, five gallon bucket to clean up chips in) Them are some clean machines you got there, mine need a steam genie. AND is that the floor?? Gee you got too much room wasted, need more hot rod parts and tools.

I'd say you got a lot more to show/teach a lot of people.

[jlrussell4]

Good trick to know Mark. Thanks

[oldgoaly]

Great post Mark! I kinda feel bad i bought one of those 1950 spring benders...don't think I could make a spring like that with it.

[MAStuart]

Thanks guys Terry do have a pic of your 1950 bender. I have a old atlas lathe book that has a section on winding springs on a lathe. I know DiAcro Had a small spring winder or bender.

Dawai Good eagle eye! But its just a chunk of cardboard. It needs to be a lot bigger lots of chips still gets back there and oil gets on the wall. Someday I will make something better. The bucket is for chips . At times I'm making chips that have some weight to them . As for the machines i just cleaned them off earlier in the day. The rest of the room looks like a bomb went off.
I had the machines all apart and sand blasted them and I painted them with Polland on the rockwell mill and ppg Delta on the clausing lathe . Both machines are just far enought along to use them . They still need work. A friend wanted to know are you going to use them or show them. I told him both.

Anybody Know how come the springs cost twice what the castings cost?

[oldgoaly]

castings made 3rd world country, springs here in North America. I hear they made a a lot of springs in Canada.... I guess cause it's winter for 364 days a year? I will take a pic, cause I can't remember the name of the company that made it. Back to "branch managing" wood / gas generator is what I need so many limbs down.....and worse a few still dangling

[Dawai]

Anybody Know how come the springs cost twice what the castings cost?

Cause people who can't make them, buy them.. at the highest price the market can bear. I've made real simple ones.. nothing like you inspire there.

Where do you get "music wire" is my next question.. never saw it anywhere.
Ever looked at a AK47 spring? it is a set of "twisted" smaller wire springs. Look like rope. even if rust gets to one of them, the other bear the load..

[MAStuart]

Dawai MSC Enco McMaster-Carr local hobby stores usually have a rack with K&S metals they will have music wire. Hey just to let you know how messy the garage is . My neighbor come over to help him change a brake caliper and we have to do it outside because we cant get it into the garage. We both looked for my floor jack.........looked for about 1/2 hour...... call some buddys that I thought may have borrowed it ........nope! Thought someone stole it. Come back outside and there it was ......disguised as a coat rack............If it had been a rattle snake we would both be dead. I guess its time to clean the shop! Mark

[oldgoaly]

here ya go Mark!
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got this at an auction, someone bought a pile of stuff and asked if I wanted it, duh what is it i asked. I was informed it was a spring maker.... So i grabbed it. think you are to supply the rods to wind the spring on. But maybe I'm wrong?

[MAStuart]

Terry Not sure I am smart enough to use that thing . Maybe if I played with it for a while I could figure it out. Have you ever used it? Mark