Itsy bitsy teenie weenie ---- SPRING?

[Dave Harris sctchbld]

You could also make your own springs, using some small-diameter brass wire and a suitably-sized piece of music wire as a mandrel. The wire could be wound around the mandrel manually, or you could chuck the mandrel in a drill and crank-out some l-o-o-o-o-n-g springs, then cut them to size. Of course, using soft brass wire won't make true springs, although they should look spring-like.

Wayne

Yes , making springs is not all that difficult. In fact this little panel roller I built has 4 interchangeable mandrels just for that purpose. You can see one of them peeking out a bit in this picture . They fit into a collar on the shaft thru the roller & are locked with a set screw. The mandrels have a hole drilled thru them to trap the wire used for the spring. With the right material, you can make a working spring.