DIY Starter Spring?
 

Hi, tried out a starter spring on my norvel and it was great! A little extra weight perhaps, but the convenience is nice. It does impart a much snappier flick than I can manage by hand.

But I can't seem to find them on sale anywhere locally! I can get some generic springs, but the doirection of the coil seems to be in the opposite direction. Any problems if I just bend these so that they flick the prop the right way? Or can someone provide a more elegant alternative?

Thanks!

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

hey there efish... buy some spring wire from mcmaster carr and wind them from scratch on your new lathe.... thats what i do... just make sure the chuck is real slow :)

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

Hey! that sounds like a great first project on the lathe/mill combo for me!

Haven't really had the chance to play with the machine, but the speed controller does seem to be able to go really slow. Sorry, but I have absolutely no experience - do I need to make some sort of mandrel and thereafter feed the wire on with gloved hands or is there a simpler way of going about it?

Thanks so much.

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

Yep you got it, just cut a mandrel the right size and have at it...

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

Very interesting idea. Peter, do you have any pictures of your setup or even the setup for doing this? It sounds like you have a nice setup and plenty of ideas, being somewhat of a beginner myself, pictures help a LOT!:D

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

What ptulmer said. Pictures!

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

You don't need a lathe. Just a round metal pin sticking out of a vise. The size needs to be experimented with to allow for the expansion. Winding around machine bolts is nice as the thread spaces the wire nicely. Wear HEAVY leather gloves and definetly eye protection. You can also use regular music wire from the LHS.

YOu need to pinch the end in the vise between th bolt and the jaws then pull and wind the wire around the thread. Just be VERY careful at the end and ease off the tension on the wire as it'll easily spring back at least one full turn and if there's much wire sticking out it could whack you real goooood if you just let it go.

I'd start with .055 wire and see if that is heavy enough.

PS: if you feel the need to do this in the lathe then turn the chuck by hand only while keeping tension on the wire with the other. Because unless you have a back gear (something I doubt on a machine this small) you'll never be able to turn the power on and off again fast enough to avoid trouble.

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

Thanks Bruce, that sound simpler and more straightforward..... the machine bolt tip is good.

Sad, but I was looking forward to using the lathe!

RE: DIY Starter Spring?
 

You can still use it but this isn't a case where you want to use the power switch.... :D