RSS for MAKE
Idahoan Dean Williams used to make a living by repairing vintage mechanical cameras. If you’ve ever pulled your hair out trying to replace a small spring that hasn’t been manufactured since the factory was bombed by Göring’s Luftwaffe, you may be interested in his well-documented DIY method. Dean’s trick for annealing them inside a wad of steel wool in a toaster oven is worth a click all by itself. His entire site, in fact, will likely be of interest to those who appreciate close mechanical work.
More:
How-To: Make Springs
you don’t need a lathe for this.
Sorry, just to clarify: he’s not annealing the springs, he’s re-tempering them to relieve some stress without killing the temper completely. It’s certainly a good way to go about it, as these are tiny springs!
Thanks! I guess I’m pretty naive about metallurgy. My thought
process was: slow cool = annealing, fast cool = tempering.
Since i don’t have a lathe i use a very old technique.
Make the arbor from thick wire bent into a crank shape, at the end of the shaft i cut a slot for the thin music wire.
To use it, put it between two pieces of soft scrap wood in a vice, insert the thin music wire and start cranking in the angle you want, One advantage of this is that the wood works as a angle guide ones you get started so the spring will be uniform.
Follow MAKE
Maker Shed: Deal of the Day
On Sale: $79.99
DIY Hologram Kit
Make your own holograms! Just set up the included jig, use the laser to illuminate your object, and expose the self developing film. You'll have your very own high quality hologram in less than an hour!
Read More →