Question about Lock Springs Vises

[jrdavis]

You can make both a main spring vice and a frizzen spring vice in couple of hours with just hand tools.
RL Mcroy, I believe has had a book out for about 30 years or so showing how to make them. If you like to tinker you can always go that option.

 

[mule ear]

For those of you who want to make your own, McCrory has simple plans for Spring Vises in one of his books. They are EASY to make, and HANDY to have. Make them so the jaw can be reversed for left handed locks. I prefer to have 2 and leave my springs "relaxed," as has been previously suggested. :m2c:

 

[SAJones]

Somewhere in years past I came across a picture of a "spring vise" used when sidelocks was all anyone had to shoot. This was a flat piece of metal w/ two notches cut into it: one wide enough for the mainspring, one for the frizzen spring (or so I assumed). The mainspring is compressed by cocking, the "vise" slipped on, & the cock released allowing the now loose spring to be removed. For the frizzen springs, I sorta slide it up the spring until slack is felt. Made one for my carry-along repair kit, w/ the added feature of a screwdrive at one end. It's cheap & it works, but I still use my modern spring vise at home.

 

[bob1961]

before i got my spring vise i used a wrench to fit over the spring when compressed but i didn't like how it didn't hold the spring fully compressed from one end to the other....and put it back in the lock till i got my vise..............bob

 

[CrackStock]

Think about the concept of a mainspring vise for a moment.

Anything that tightens a spring presents the risk of over compressing the spring to its snapping point. The mainspring vises are hard to compress anyway.

So... Don't compress. Pull the lock to its normal full cock. Place a crescent wrench

(for those of you who don't speak American, ;-) this is a brand name for an adjustable spanner/wrench which can be seen at the URL below)

http://www0.shopping.com/xGS-crescent_adjustable_crescent_wrench~NS-1~linkin_id-3068594

over the mainspring, snug it gently and then ease the hammer or cock forward to transfer the hold of the spring onto the wrench. No chance of over compression and a lot easier on your hands. If you are like me, you have a collection of these around the shop.

Sorry to annoy any of you who sell these tools, but aside from looking cool in a tool collection, I think that they are all needless junk.

CrackStock

 

My take on that is this: If you do that, then you have to leave the mainspring in the crescent wrench, compressed, until you put it back in the lock, which I don't really like the idea of.

With the mainspring vise, you can take the mainspring off the lock, loosen the vise, and take the mainspring out of the vise. You can then use the same mainspring vise to remove the frizzen spring. When it's time to put the springs back in the lock, you simply position them in the mainspring vise the same way as when you removed them, and you can safely re-compress them to get them back in the lock.

I don't know about your finger strength, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't re-compress a mainspring with a crescent wrench. I think the $20 for the vise is a small price to pay for such a nifty tool that pretty much eliminates the chance of breaking your springs.

:m2c:

 

[sherpadoug]

When I remove a mainspring I usually put the gun at half cock, put on the mainspring vise (one of the cheap ones) finger tight, and then release the hammer to uncocked. Now the spring is held at half cock by the vise and easily comes out of the gun. I don't usually leave the spring in the vise out of the gun for more than a day or so.
:m2c:

 

[mule ear]

:m2c:

The technique for use of the wrench and the vise is similar; the tooling is slightly different! I see no difference between a wrench and the simple, slotted metal device. Like others, I feel the greatest advantage to a spring vise is the ability to release the tension on the spring. To replace the spring, re-tighten only enough (as determined by scientific trial-and-error) to re-insert the spring. If the d---- spring snaps or bends, I feel it was a lousey temper job, and would have failed at some time later in its life, anyway! :imo: Its the technique, not the tool.

 

[mule ear]

BTW - Waddyado if the spring slips out of the wrench jaws?????? :: (you can borrow my spring vise if you promise to return it!)

 

[Zonie]

:imo: The advantage the spring vises, specifically made for this task has over plyers or wrenches is that the spring clamp spreads the clamping load out over the length of the spring rather than concentrating it at only one place.

The typical mainspring is not uniform in either width or thickness. It is designed to bend progressivly easier as it approches the tumbler. This is the end which bends the most and with the least pressure. This is the end you really want to restrain in the bent position when removing the mainspring from the lock.

The top leaf of the mainspring is almost always shorter than the lower leaf so the best a tool like a wrench or adjustable locking plyers can do is to exert their force about half way down the lower leaf.
As this does not restrain the flexible end of the spring, the spring will often still exert pressure on the tumbler, even when the tumbler is returned to the fired, or down position.

When using plyers or a adjustable wrench, there is a tendency to attempt to overclamp this poor mid point clamping location to prevent the deflection of the tumbler end of the spring. This overclamping can, and often does break the mainspring.
If this happens, one cannot blame the spring for being improperly hardened. One can only blame themselves for using the wrong tool.

As a commerically available mainspring vise only costs a few dollars more than a new spring and it can be used repeatably for future needs IMO one is foolish to not go ahead and spend the money to buy the proper tool. :m2c:

 

[mule ear]

Great analysis,Zonie! I couldn't agree with you more, but I think we are preaching to the choir! McCrory's books containing his diagrams are inexpensive - about the cost of a commercial vise, but you get many more great ideas! A spring vise is simple to make, good practice/skill builder for the beginning/intermediate shop hound, and the finished project is a very practical tool. I made one for main springs and a smaller one for frizzen and sear springs. I only regret not making the movable jaws reversible for LH locks!