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TIG rod sizes?

I just wound a new longer-lasting(?) spring for a garden spray nozzle from 1/16" type 312 TIG rod, which works but is considerably stiffer than the 0.050" rusted steel spring it replaces. The Airco catalog gives the next size down as 0.045", on spools and in tubes. AFAIK the spooled wire isn't as stiff as the straight rod.

Does anyone know if that stainless straight rod or another size or type that's available in small quantities is hard enough to coil into a spring? The alloy shouldn't matter as long as it doesn't rust out as easily as the factory springs.

--jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins
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If you can't get the right size wire, you can make more coils on your spring with closer spacing to give you the right overall length. It will have lower stiffness.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Thanks, I'll try that next time.

I guided the wire with one hand while turning the lathe chuck with the other, and paid more attention to maintaining an even spacing than to matching the broken original.

Compressing the spring in the vise made it work well enough.

--jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

"Next time" came sooner than expected. Winding the coils tighter worked fine. I can make a stainless spring from 1/16" TIG rod faster than I can go to the store for a new spray nozzle that will soon rust out.

--jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Good deal. Spring rates for a given wire diameter and modulus of wire depend highly on torsion load per unit of wire length -- I'm sure you can see the relationship to the number of turns per unit of spring length.

Within a limited range, you can wind a spring with more turns than you think you need, and then cut off turns until you have the right spring rate. Then, again within a limited range, you can stretch that cut spring to get the overall length you want. The spring rate doesn't change much from stretching it.

Reply to
Ed Huntress

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