Beefing up the Spring Compressor

and other odd jobs


It was a sad day the day the spring compressor broke under the strain of four inches of preload on the Mercury, but i wasn't surprised as it wasn't happy the first time i used it on that rifle. So seeing as i was still able to use it while supporting parts by hand, there is no reason that if i used metal at certain points that it shouldn't be as good as new. I should really design and build a new one thats a lot more stable, but i reckon i can improve on what i built first time round and it'll save a lot of time. After putting my springers over the chrono i think i'll be needing the use of one for quite a while to come, so fixing up the old compressor is the order of the day.

Spring compressor all broken up.

Folding and bolting plates of metal will strengthen it up with out a doubt, this i should have done when i first made it but was too keen to use it. Any way in the metal bin is a length of 3mm thick galvenised steel about 25mm wide, i've used this before to make brackets and i can hammer a right angle out in the vise easily.

Bend in a vice and hit with a hammer till a 90 degree angle is achieved.

As the measurements don't have to be precise because the bolts will hold it tight, i used a long wood screw and my thumb to mark the lengths then scratched it off.

Tabs to be bolted down.

 Needless to say i marked one of the vertical lengths too long, but it was no problem to straighten out and hammer out a shorter bend for the tabs that will bolt on to the bed.

Whoops! Have to do that tab again.

I guestimated where the bolt holes should be and drilled two 6 mm holes to fit onto two bolts holding the back plate on, the back plate was one of the reasons precise measurements wouldn't work that well in this case. 

Holes drill quicker with a dab of grease on the drill bit.

Low and behold it fitted and with the two metal tabs on top was bolted rigidly into place.

Might need a spacer or two but it fits nicely.

Up until now i had been turning the threaded bar with mole grips or pliers, so i ground off two flats for a spanner to attach at the end for turning the bar. i then remembered that this didn't last long as a solution last time, so i drilled a 5.5 mm hole through the end. 

Hole took no time at all with a dab of grease on the bit.

This allowed a length of 6 mm threaded bar to be wedged tightly into the hole, that was after i filed a bit of the thread off.

I will have to harden the 6 mm threaded bar at some time i reckon.

It now seems to be a bit stronger than when i first built it, so lets see how many springers i can get on to working on before it buggers up again. The only cost on this has still just been on the lengths of threaded bar, the rest is out of odds and scrap so its a win/win situation whatever happens. Plus i have threaded bar left over for other dingbat projects, and believe me i have a lot of them.

Large grinding wheel was 50p from a car boot sale, 12 mm threaded bar, nuts, and washers less a quid. Momentum is a bit of a problem on this one

TTFN

Wing Commander Sir Nigel Tetlington-Smythe