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[thomashoward]

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[thomashoward]

I have several coil hammer springs of various lengths and gauge sizes etc.
There may be away to determine the spring weight but i don't know it. could someone tell how to check these?
thanks

 

[folkenheath]

Springs rates are usually measured in lbs/in. So you would have to have a force gauge and a way to measure exactly how much you compressed the spring, then calculate it. For instance, if the spring takes 3 lbs to compress it .250", then it would be 12 lbs for an entire inch, or 12 lbs/in. This only works for linear rate springs.

 

[haggis]

Springs in guns are usually measured in pounds for full compression, that is, at the length the spring assumes when it is compressed by the gun in question. For example, a 16 pound recoil spring for a 1911 exerts 16 pounds of force when the slide is at its most rearward position. It may or not be at the solid compression point, that point where all coils touch and no further compression is possible - depends on the gun.

folkenheath's description of spring rating is the most generally accepted definition in engineering terms, but for some reason, gun springs are not listed that way. No idea why.

Buck

 

[Glitch]

I puzzled over this, too, and came up with an empirical way to rank the springs: Just slide some of them over a stiff metal rod in series and compress them. You will immediately see which compresses the most easily, second most easily, etc. If you know the weight of one or more you can often figure out the weights of all the others. I use a piece of old car antenna that has a little ball on one end so the springs don't slip off, and I clamp the other end in a vise, but you could just clamp a vise grip onto the end. Having a stop of some sort on each end of the rod is important to avoid launching a spring into your eye.