Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[durhambargeman]

 Hello all, Does anyone know of a supplier of small springs, principally for use in tensioning control cords inside the hull.

[portside II]

there must be a few supliers out there for you,but for a suply of various sized springs try unwanted turntables and casette players etc from your
recyling center (tip/dump) there are lots in these items and if its an older model with a radio in you even get pullys and string as a bonus
daz

[Roger in France]

The moral of this is....never throw anything away.

I broke a plastic washing line peg yesterday (......don't ask!). I immediately thought, "Ah, there is a small, strong spring and a couple of paint stirrers with a little notch to rest on the edge of a tinlet".

Roger in France.

[DickyD]

Assorted springs here, click on "Miscellaneous Fixings" and scroll down. 

http://www.yellowcatshop.co.uk/shop/default.asp?clientid=14&gid=4dmod&viewstate=32769&tabcatid=3500045

 

[bogstandard]

If you go around the tool traders on market stalls some usually have mixed boxes of springs for a few pounds, or if you go onto the net you can get the same sort of thing but you have to pay the postage. If you have to buy them individually as I had to do a week ago from a local engineering supplier, £1-80p each plus the dreaded vat.
Most spring manufacturers have a rather large minimum order of say about £20.
I tend to take apart anything mechanical before it is thrown away, disposable lighters and click ballpoints are a good source of small compression springs.

John

[RickF]

We have a "cheapo" shop locally called QD - part of a chain. Don't know if they have them where you live, but they have all sorts of cheap tools, which, as a serial tool abuser, suit me down to the ground. More to the point, however, they do "bargain boxes" at a quid a time - 100 assorted screws, washers, metric nuts and bolts -  and springs.

Worth looking out for.

Rick

[malcolmfrary]

If the line is accessible, stationary stores do a pack of about 100 spring tensioning devices for about 80p.  They call them rubber bands, but we know better. 
I have just a few minutes ao had to change a bulbholder - twp small spirings fell out of the remains of the old one.

[durhambargeman]

 Thanks for all the advice fellers. I am now dismantling every household appliance and gadget. There must be some springs in there somewhere.

[Colin Bishop]

Thanks for all the advice fellers. I am now dismantling every household appliance and gadget. There must be some springs in there somewhere.

Well, for God's sake don't start on the vacuum cleaner! I did once and the spring chased me round the room. It was like a Python had got loose. And as I was supposed to be mending the thing I had to work out how to get it back in the cage. Never again!

[Bluebird v2]

Ah, Colin, you have what is known in my house as the 'Drumming Bear' syndrome  Quick explanation:

When my son was very small, he had a drum playing plastic bear that we used to wind up and one day it failed, over to Dad to fix. So, 18 years later bits of bear are still in the box, main spring sprung..never to be seen again..but, on a more serious note,

How about the clicky top biro pens, there are springs in them; and by hey there are some 'howking geet' big springs in an automatic washer and aye, I could tell you a good story about them too.

As previously mentioned I have also dismantled an old cassette player that I thought my son had finished with, to use some of the springs and pulleys in there. 

aye
john e
bluebird

ps my son doesnt know about the cassette player yet 

[edible_engine]

if you want a long thin spring take apart a empty lighter one with a flint

[HS93 (RIP)]

I got some from Bruce eng , they are compression but you can tread the wire through the spring on both ends and it should work

http://www.pollymodelengineering.co.uk/sections/bruce-engineering/materials.asp

Peter

[Telstar]

Hi Try this site, They stock just about averything

http://rswww.com/cgi-bin/bv/rswww/searchBrowseAction.do?Nr=AND%28avl%3auk%2csearchDiscon_uk%3aN%29&Ntx=mode%20matchpartial&N=4294953270&name=SiteStandard&in_dim_search=1&callingPage=/jsp/search/search.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@0966503801.1190624470@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccgaddmdhjgdkgcefeceeldgondhgh.0&cacheID=ukie

Cheers

[durhambargeman]

 Thanks once again chaps, as usual one finds a lot of helpful folk on this forum.