This episode on Blondihacks, I’m making springs! Exclusive videos, drawings, models & plans available on Patreon!
/ quinndunki
The fixtures shown in this video borrow substantially from Kozo Hiraoka in his amazing book, The Pennsylvania A3 Switcher. If you thought this was clever, go buy his book for way more stuff like this: secure.villagepress.com/store...
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"Because shut up, thats why" makes me laugh every single time.
Sometimes it's the only appropriate response! 😅
Needs to be on a coffee mug... Because Shut up... That's why!
@@mattmanyam I'd buy one of those for sure!!!
@@LRCXed, so would i! steve
I also got that answer before teach said it! 😅
Quinn - I have made some springs on my lathe, but you added so many steps of refinement I never realized were possible. Thanks for an enjoyable, and super-useful video!
Like he said!
might be time to make a sheet metal spring?
@@nilzlima3027 What is a sheet metal spring?
@@ellieprice363 a springey sheet metal thing intended to act as a spring for something.
and each of them shall be costing half a fortune.
The best springs are made of hope steel. It springs eternal...
_[polite golf clap]_
I can clap single handed for that one.
@@oldfarthacks I just snapped my fingers a couple of times.
I'm a fairly long time hobby spring maker since I need a lot of custom sizes for one of my other hobbies. I wind my springs differently than you but given your need to make multiple identical copies I would and will use your idea for when I need the same. Your method has more control over the initial shape than my own freehand method. One last step to suggest though. You want to "passivate" or post form relax the springs with a sub temper heat soak. Without this last step I found that my springs would easily collapse or stretch. After the relaxation heat soak the springs "remember" their new shape and return to it despite being stretched or compressed fully to the limit. The heat soak is a 450F at 20 minutes in my old toaster oven followed by a 50F reduction at 15 minute intervals until the oven is off. The wire comes out with a light to medium straw. So well below the usual "spring blue" temperature. And with that last step your shop springs will be as good or better than commercial springs. The idea for this came after watching a lot of videos to figure out why my springs were not as springy as commercial ones. A YT video in passing right at the end said "...and now off to a passivation heat treatment...." and left me hanging. That led to some searches and my trial of this 450F relaxation step which you'll find works amazingly well. If in doubt by all means fish a few of the discarded springs you showed at the end and test them both pre and post "relaxing" and see for yourself. I've even stretched commercial springs back to length and did this same relaxation treatment to them. And they hold the new length very well. For my arbors I bought a set of transfer punches. The punches are secured in one of three short 1" diameter blocks that have a center hole and an offset hole on the face. I secure the right angle bend of the wire in the offset hole with a screw from the side and the punch with another screw. The holes for the punches being different sizes to accept 1/3 the range of the punches. A little wobble but it's not a big deal. I'll make a few more at the inbetween sizes to go with your controlled feed method when needed. And for use with your tool post wire feeder I'd then use a cup center for the point of the punch to rest into. So far I've used a different tool that is self balancing so I don't need the tail stock support.. Springs are a key element of many of our projects. It's nice to see a different approach which is aimed at your specific need. Nicely done!
Thanks for the tip @brucematthews6417 I’ll keep this in mind if/when I need to make a spring
A well tempered thing to remember.
One quick thing - on that passivation treatment, you can use sand to help control the cooldown. If you preheat the sand and throw the springs in, give it a couple minutes and then kill the heat and it'll cool slowly like you want but without requiring constant monitoring. Let's you carry on with other tasks while the springs do their sauna time and get all relaxed. 😉 You just need some kind of small(?) metal container for enough sand to surround the springs by at least their diameter. The sand holds all the thermal energy and cools slowly from the outside in, so don't go shallow and wide here - think more cube shaped if you have the room (this obviously depends on the size of the springs being made). The nice thing is that almost any basic sheet metal box is sufficient for the task, and any method of getting it up to temperature is also perfectly acceptable. Another side benefit is that if you're measuring the temperature of the sand first, you have 0% chance of overheating the springs and ruining their temper. 😉 This is actually an excellent way to temper literally anything you want to - the mass of the sand helps to control the temperature and also helps to heat the item more rapidly and thoroughly. And in the case of springs, allows that slow cooldown that is so important to their functional temper.
@@Broadpaw_Fox That's true. But the trick is to hold the spring at the 425 to 450F temperature reasonably accurately for around 20 minutes or more before the slow cool down. I'd want to pre-heat the sand in a tray of some sort to temp first and then push the spring(s) into the sand, soak for around 30 to 40 minutes and then turn off the oven. While this would certainly work just fine I'm thinking that the same amount of energy used to pre-heat the sand is roughly what I use up during the graduated cool down. And if you're suggesting using a torch of some sort I simply don't have the temperature measuring or controls to manage that. So it's a toaster oven for me.
@@brucematthews6417- yeah, I wasn't so much worrying about energy savings - I realized a while ago that it's not beneficial for that, but the smoother temp control and the ability to just leave it be IS a definite benefit. Get it up to temp and ready, set your timer for the soak, and go do something else for a couple hours. Sort of automation, without having to buy an expensive kiln/temper oven. 😀 An old adage I tell myself often is "keep it simple, stupid", and a basic setup with something like a toaster oven (or regular one for larger parts) is an excellent example of simple, but effective. 😉
That makes so much more sense why we studied where feathers and cannonballs would land if when dropped in the fall semester.
When I took the left front coil spring out of my 1955 Studebaker President Speedster for the first time, I was amazed at the length, quality, and squareness, despite having been bent and compressed for 45 years. As I was working on the car I kept hearing a strange noise until I finally got up to find it. The spring was literally dancing across the concrete in tiny vibrations. It did this for about 12 hours as it tried to grow back to its pre-loaded length. I have done a ton of suspension work in my career but never experienced this before. Respect big springs, they can kill you.
Especially the one(s) on your garage door. Super dangerous. One of the few things I won't d-i-y.
Yep, the forces in coiled springs can really be interesting. Not so much with the flat ones, they generally have room to move when they are installed.
@@UnlikelyToRemember The roll-up doors aren't so bad, with the spring captive on the rod. It's the cantilever doors that'll get you. I re-sprung my garage door back in 2001. I ran a wire rope through them and secured it to the frame to keep them from flying if they got loose.
@@GrayRaceCat You're a braver man than I!
@@UnlikelyToRemember Not so much brave as desperate. I needed to build a wheelchair ramp for my wife, all my tools were trapped in the garage, and I was broke, having sunk all my cash into materials for the ramp. (They were stuck in the garage too.) The door had to get fixed and I couldn’t afford to hire someone.
8 springs. I thought you were done making 8 of the same thing. Great video and easy to follow. Thank you, once again, for showing that things don't happen perfectly on the first try.
Oh honey.... I think Quinn would be fine if she only had to make 8 of these... there's like 3 or so on each truck, and there's several trucks on this locomotive. ;)
I love your gentle voice and humor, and your willingness to show how things can go wrong, and how to fix them. I'm always delighted to find you've made another upload regardless of the subject. I don't even have a lathe, but I love watching your work. You should make a springy, sproingy, toy thingy for Sprocket to annoy you with!
I bought myself some piano wire a few years ago, and it came in a reel. There was no warning on the packaging, but with hindsight I suppose I should have seen this coming, but wow do those reels contain a lot of energy! When I first unhooked the wire from the latch thingy which was holding it in, the reel unravelled, quite explosively, hurting myself a tiny bit. Thankfully I was wearing goggles, and a leather apron, otherwise I may have lost an eye and a nipple.
Important story - i worry about my kid and eye-pro all the time! need more scary stories👍❤
THIS STORY WILL HELP ME WITH MY KID AND THEIR WANTON DISREGARD FOR PROPER NIPPLE SAFETY.
But you could have made a cool eye patch out of the detached nipple.... Ew i grossed myself out lol
I've done similar with steel wire rope. The manufacturer had wound it tightly around the reel and i've just gone in with side cutter and sliced the banding. Like Dave my PPE saved me that day.
Yep. Try working on watches, clocks or pocketwatches. The mainsprings can be deadly little buggers. Take out an eye, slice fingers...
My toxic trait is me telling myself I can learn to do this in a weekend on the 75-year-old metal lathe I have in my garage that I have never turned on! All jokes aside, this is some amazing instruction, thank you for sharing it with us. New subscriber because of this video.
I have something similar, but I made my wire feed able to accept MIG torch tips then I can use the same feed bar for various sizes.
I’m 40years at various types of engineering and thought I knew how springs were made until I saw you make them. Your a super teacher and presenter really enjoyed looking at your work .😊
If you think that`s how springs are made, you need to go to a springmaker and watch.
Well that was worth it just for the 'Spring semester' gag and the understated badum-tish in the background... 😂
"Spring Semester" is the best 'Dad Joke' of 2023. RESPECT!
I always appreciate that you include your vulnerability in presentation. Makes me feel like a pro rather than a failure when the work goes in the bin! Thanks again and God bless!
In the summer time a young woman's fancy turns to springs.
Every now and then Quinn reads the minds of her followers and posts another great how to video. Making springs has been on my list of things to learn and do for some time.
The algorythm decided to show this channel to me after my most recent ToT binge. Bravo, good springs.
The thing with being able to "buy a thing" is that only works if a whole bunch of conditions are met: The store is open, you have enough money, you can get there, it has the thing you need, and it takes less time to do all that then it does to make the thing. And, the best part about making 1: You can usually make 2 or to as much stock as you have.
Always a treat to see a blondihacks vid
Agree, and her, calming H.R., voice overs are the best!
I appreciate your content. Thank you. I've never done much machining work, but I'm learning a metric ton from you.
She said because shut up that's why😂😂.... you go girl! Awesome content Quinn
"That would be the spring semester." I literally laughed out loud! 🤣
As a non-certified spring aficionado, I must say, your springs look terrific!
You are absolutely right! Coiled helix technology is an ever-growing body of knowledge. My undergraduate engineering degree had 5 spring semesters. When I went back to earn my master degree 10 years later they required another 2 spring semesters. 😜
Been a tool maker since 79, but enjoy learning things I have not experienced. Also enjoy your voice and no rock music.
Buying springs stinks when you want it *right now* Thanks for showing how to DIY it
Wow that vintage tool is amazing.
Quinn , you amaze me ! What a great educator you are . Thank you for the videos you do !!
Sometimes it's simply a matter of not wanting to leave the workshop, to get a spring, in the middle of a project, or wait for one to arrive in the mail. Especially repair jobs tend to fall in that category. Sure, if it's a long project with lots of drawing things up ahead of time foresight will kick in and you might as well order the springs when you order stock anyway.
You’ve not seen nothing like the ‘Mighty Quinn’!
Thank you for showing the mm !
This video changed something inside me! I'll try once more! 😅You just proved that devil is in the details.. but you kicked him out and decided to reveal the secrets. Then you made this magic instructional vid!!! No waste of time with joking and THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORLD. It's highly needed :)
i dont even do any metalworking, and here i am watching this entire video
Quinn, thanks for the laughs as well as the tips on how to make quality looking springs.
I enjoy your videos Quinn and have watched many. When I need a spring that isn't in my salvaged springs container I'll come back to this one. I've never made a spring but back when I was teen working for Dad in his repair shop we used the lathe to wind 20 foot lengths of 1/4" round hot rolled mild steel into a tight helix with an ID of approx 2". The helix was then cut apart to make rings for coat hangers. These were for the school unit and we made them in batche4s of 100 or so. The idea was that once the hangers were hung on a pipe they wouldn't come off. Thought you might find this interesting.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this
Very enjoyable and handy, and as I always say... you have the ability to transmit knowledge and in a very reach way... Thank you.
Not sure which was better , the technical ability or the humor. Did subscribe and thanks for the video.
I recoil at the thought of spring injuries.
I don’t like injuries ANY time of year…
I really enjoy watching your videos. I not only learn from them but you make it so interesting and fun. You are one fantastic person and thank you for taking the time to share.
Quinn is wonderful, sharing and instructing. Smart. Methodical. Well, if you're a machinist ya better have a method.
I'm delighted to stumble across your channel. Very easy to listen to as well as very informative.
Also, petition for merch with Sprocket playing with one of those ball of fluff on a long coil spring toys with the caption "Spring Semester". 🙏
Extremely helpful video, nicely produced, with a wonderful sense of humor. Thanks a lot!
Thank you once again for a very informative and entertaining video, Quinn. It's amazing how many incredibly useful "little things" of method and process one learns watching these videos you make... __AND__ I cant thank you enough for posting and mentioning the missed steps as well! While failure is often the best teacher, and thus I can't guarantee I won't repeat similar mistakes, it sure adds significant context and emphasis behind choices made in those processes and methods!! ♥
Very fine teaching. I definitely learned more about making springs from your clear presentation!
So cool. I'd had a lathe for many years. Had no idea I could make springs with it. This will come in very handy. Thanks Quinn!
Quinn, I truly hope you’re “don’t be a buster and cut your springs” was a fast & furious reference. Nice jig, love the channel. 👌
Great video Quinn, I always wondered about making shop made springs. Thanks for sharing.
Your a great content provider. I look forward to seeing what tips and tricks you come up with next. I hope youtube shares this with many people.
You are a rock star in my beginning machinist world. Thanks for the videos over the years.
That case you printed for the tooling is awesome! Nice Job!
Starter anchor hole can be drilled inline with the jig making removal easy. Occasionally this becomes a feature you need anyway.
Spring semester got my upvote... bumper book of Dad jokes, page 101 :D
...and having watched the rest of it, I'm really pleased I did. Transparent finger got a LOL. Great video! Thanks!
Your the Bomb. I'm 2 days new and you have taught me a lot.
Hi Quinn, there are easier methods for making one or two springs to replace ones that got away. Lots of bolts have convenient diameters, put into the chuck with the end of the wire tucked into the gap between teeth. Mig welding wire, stainless or steel can be hardened by drawing it over a sharp edge. Winding the wire close together with a large strong ball bearing pressed hard against the mandrel. Run the wire in highly tensioned and close wound. The spacing can be by stretching later. When grinding the ends with a rig like yours, press firmly and the end turn will heat up and glow, just quench in the water. A final light touch will give a tapered end turn like commercial springs. Cheers from NZ where springs are expensive.
Superb tutorial and product! Thank you.
This was great! I need a few custom springs and this was just what I needed.
Fantastic presentation, loved it 👍
I stumbled on this channel by complete accident and I love it, btw thx for the metric numbers.
Amazing process, thanks for teaching us it.
My first Machine shop job was back in the '70s in a custom shop that made manual spring coilers and spring grinders. I made all the parts and accessories over a 10 year period, even now almost 50 years later I can make them in my sleep, no blueprints needed! Hmmm, might be a good project!
I LEARNED SO MUCH in 20 minutes! Mind BLOWN! Keep up the good work!
Nice video! Well done! I’ve been doing this 50 years there’s always something new to learn.
How tf did I not find your channel earlier. This is gold content, well explained and with many ways to do things. Thank you so much.
Don’t make springs out of gold. It’s much too soft.
Thank you ma'am. Great tutorial for gunsmiths and clock makers!
So good! It's surprising how often you need specific springs for diy projects and they're not actually that easy to find (conversely, I'm usually building the part around the dimensions etc of a spring I already have). So much practical knowledge in one video! That's a sub from me!
Another entertaining and instructional video - between Blondihacks and This Old Tony, I have learnt all of my machining! Worth pointing out that piano wire is no stiffer than other steel wire, just very strong.
Spring semester? Boooooooo! :-)
This was super cool, thanks for showing us
Your videos are just so good. The perfect amount of explanation, not overly concerned with being perfect like most on youtube, admission to mistakes, great cadence...wonderful content. Keep up the good work.
Transparent finger! Love your dry humor! The finish grinding jig was new for me. Great idea, thanks!
Thank you for taking the time and effort to make your excellent videos
The best explanation how to make springs on a lathe. Brilliant from end to end. Thank you for sharing 👏👏👍😀
Thank you for a really good video about, how easy it is to making springs. The tools you make is easy in a way to copy and your explanation is very easy to follow, so I will try to make my own small springs. Keep up your good work 🙂
That's the new source of springs! Thanks for ideas & 'how to'
Hahahahahaha you totally got me and my husband with your Spring Semester joke! 😂🤣😅😂
Another great video. I always enjoy your insight on things.
Funny enough, I found this channel all because of springs. I needed a spring for small robot Im making, but it needed some specific dimensions. So I needed to make it. But the more I looked the more I needed a lathe. Then I slowly drifted to mills and ended up on this and a few other channels for mills and lathes : P
Hi! This is a very nice video for making strong springs. However, for my work, I need to make very light springs for chiming door bell hammers. I use the lathe, but also place two pieces of leather in the tool post and clamp the 0.001" stainless wire to cause resistance as the lathe turns and winds the wire on the mandrel. As the wire is pulled through the leather pads, the frictional resistance also helps to maintains the spring diameter. I do like your technique to flatten the ends of the spring. You always do such great, well calibrated work. Thanks so much for your videos!
Flippen loved that!
Nice video Quinn, springs are easy to make, getting them perfect is hard. Really nice fixture for grinding the ends square, you taught me a new trick, arf arf! Enjoyed, cheers!
Instead of your L shaped metal part I use a pair of wood strips that go in place of a tool bit. They are two layers with the wire run between them. By adjusting the tool hold down screws you control the wire tension. One set of strips covers any size wire. With good tension control you get better springs.
Never got to the spring semester. After fall I simply bounced. 😁
Great spring video Quinn!
Excellent Tutorial thanks so much, you got me hooked
I had always thought about doing something like this using a grooved, 3d-printed mandrel and a hand drill, but got stuck on how to determine the mandrel grooves for a desired spring constant. Good to know thats in the Machinery's Handbook (of course it is). I'll have to look at that.
Haha. Brings back memories. As a kid building models, I found I could do much the same thing with a drill press set for lowest revs. Not nearly as precise as your setup, but all we owned. Chuck up a bit of rod (nail, bold shank, or even coat hanger wire for the tiny ones) for the mandrel. Bend a 3/4" right angle on the end of a 3' length music wire. (The extra length helps with pitch angle.) Grip the other end hard with a vice grip. Insert the bent end between the Jacobs chuck jaws and the mandrel. Pull hard on the vice grip and make the first 1/2 turn of the chuck by hand. Eyeball the angle to get the right pitch. Goose the power to wind the spring. With practice, I could actually get fine results most of the time. Tension springs are particularly easy this way. You want a negative winding angle to pre-tension the turns. The 3/4 end becomes the hook. Up to .04" wire was fine. Yeah. I think this convinces me you could make the mandrel with no taper, but a slot parallel to the axis rather than the cross-hole. Removal would be much easier.
Great job of manufacturing springs. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.
Great video thanks for posting!
A quality spring making by hand.. that's what you have taught in this video.. Quite a number of steps.. Thanks for the video
Thank you for a good video again. 👍🏻 I made a contraption for rewinding an ignition coil for a 100 year old small 2-stroke engine in my lathe, using the same principle with using the thread making features on the lathe. More than a kilometer of 0.08mm copper wire. It is remarkable how useful a lathe is.
That's way safer and nicer than the springs I've made on a lathe.
Thanks for adding in the learning curve experiments at the end.
Because "Shut Up That's Why"! Gets me every time.
Thanks Quinn, informative and entertaining as usual!
I enjoyed that very much. I've been wondering all these decades how in basic principle that was done. Thanks!
You can make spings without a a lathe. You will need a vise., a hammer, a file, a propane torch and spring wire. Caution does not work well for small diameter spring wire. It tends to melt. Great for making micro steel balls. First heat the spring wire to red hot then let it air cool. this softens the wire. Next wrap the softened wire around a rod of the right size to make the size io spring you need . If you use a threaded rod you can get as many wraps per inch as you want. After making the spring, heat to a even cherry red over the entire lenght of your spring. Quench your spring in oil or water to make the wire hard again. Volila homade spring. An oil quench will make a slightly softer spring than a water quench.
I have made a few custom springs... I like the end grinder setup!
Excellent presentation. Thanks for sharing.