spring making on the 9x20 jet lathe.

[casca92]

I would like to make a few springs on my lathe. The 142 rpms at slow speed is to fast. Until I locate a treadmill motor, is there a way to slow speed down even further ?

My idea is , perhaps a hand wheel which COULD POSSIBLY WORK ! Is this idea realistic ? REASON: I would like to fine tune a few buffer springs for a 300 BO AR-15 and some AK47 springs.

thank you
kerry

 

[RJSakowski]

I have made springs by reducing the belt tension so that it keeps tension on the wire but not enough to pull it out of my grasp. I oppose the force by holding the wire with a pair of vise grips. I assist the winding by hand turning the lathe chuck. Your hand wheel would be4 a more elegant way of doing so.

 

[savarin]

I made mine under the lowest power on my 9x20
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/80mm-long-focal-length-refractor.26212/page-3
go down to message 64
I just held the end of the wire in vise grips and used the the threading feed to get the coil spacings.
For the wire I used stainless solid wire fishing trace.

 

[T Bredehoft]

I made a hand wheel for mine, have used it for winding springs. picture the lower part of a bicycle handlebar, the diagonal clamp. That's what holds the hand wheel. Instead of tension on the spring I found that a piece of flat steel to hold the wire tightly against the turning mandrill does a good job. I've made up to .055 springs with this method, not sure how heavy a wire can be done this way.