How to Make Springs

HOW TO MAKE SPRINGS

The content of this treatise on making springs is substantially derived from the website http://home.earthlink.net/~bazillion/intro.php which now defunct and reproduced here in the public interest.

There are three things you'll need to read before you get started:
First, the DISCLAIMER:

This document is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter being covered. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents. However there may be mistakes, both typographical and in content. Additionally, work in the metal trades implies an acceptance of the risk of injury, loss, or damage, the cause of which is clearly beyond the control of the writer of a work on the subject. Therefore, the author of this document accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any injury, loss or damage sustained by a reader who, having read this material, then seeks to apply what he or she has learned therein.

Please read the Terms of Use.

Second, before you start to work with spring wire, read the section on safety. When you have read that section, read it again. No kidding.

And third, about this document: I've tried to write for the benefit of someone who has (or can gain access to) basic hand and power tools. The sections of the document are arranged in logical order presuming a minimal knowledge of the metalworking trades in general or of springmaking in particular, and cross-linked to provide a forward path that leads from this point through the entire manufacturing process. There's a glossary of spring terminology and an addendum, which should help you to define terms and find additional resources. Where possible, I've indicated where to find additional information in the main body of the text. Most of the current material relating to the subject is written for mechanical engineers, but there are some other writeups I've heard of, too - see the addendum for links to these.

In its first incarnation, this site was made in frames. In the second, I did away with the frames for the sake of design simplicity. Since then I've added a thing or two like for instance the site map, which will give you a bird's-eye view of the whole shebang. This is now the third incarnation and except for freshening the links from time to time, I consider it done. Lastly, the text itself is of very limited use without the graphics, and there is no 'text-only' version. So if you've got your graphics turned off, turn 'em on, OK?

INTRODUCTION

This section will give you some basic information about springs, what they look like, what their parts are, and how they work.

If you already know about springs and want to get right to it, be my guest.

There are three basic types of springs:

Compression springs can be found in ballpoint pens, pogo sticks, and the valve assemblies of gasoline engines. When you put a load on the spring, making it shorter, it pushes back against the load and tries to get back to its original length.

Extension springs are found in garage door assemblies, vise-grip pliers, and carburetors. They are attached at both ends, and when the things they are attached to move apart, the spring tries to bring them together again.

Torsion springs can be found on clipboards, underneath swing-down tailgates, and, again, in car engines. The ends of torsion springs are attached to other things, and when those things rotate around the center of the spring, the spring tries to push them back to their original position.

See the Glossary for detailed diagrams of these types of springs.