Scott & Deb's Place

A simple jig for making springs

After perusing the Internet and looking at a friend's design I came up with the following pattern for making springs. I have tried to take the best features of each design I found. I have seen designs that allow you to use a drill or drill press to turn the take up rod. These methods put a lot of stress on the drill and I find the idea of spinning wire at high speeds to be risky and dangerous. With the jig below I can roll a 32" spring in less than 5 minutes.

Photo courtesy of Ed Fraley

Hand Drill

Phillips screwdriver

Hammer

1 8ft 2x4 (or the equivalent length in scrap lumber)

1 4ft round steel bar 1/4" diameter (Take up rod)

1 3ft round steel bar 3/4" diameter (Feeder rod)

Box of 2" drywall screws

1 Finishing nail

1.) Cut the 2x4 into the following lengths: 4 pieces 4" long, 2 pieces 12" long, 3 pieces 1/4" long, 2 pieces 24" long.

2.) Bend the take up rod at a 90-degree angle 4" from the end. Use a vice or something else hard to bend against. Do not use wood. I used the mounting holes on my belt sander.

3.) Bend the take up rod at a 90-degree angle 4" from the first bend. Both bends should be in line with each other so that the both ends of the bar are parallel to each other (see drawing.)

4.) Screw together two of the 4" pieces at a right angle to form an L. Pre-drill the holes to prevent the wood from splitting. Repeat to make second leg.

5.) Place the two legs you just made back to back on a flat surface to form an upside down T. Clamp them together. One inch down and centered, drill a hole through both pieces of wood. The hole should be the same diameter as the take up rod.

6.) Using the same bit as above, drill a hole in one of the 1/4" pieces as shown. Hammer the nail in at an angle. Do not bend the nail or the nail will move when coiling. This is the wire guide.

7.) Pick a drill bit the same diameter as your wire. Drill a hole through the take up bar 4" from the inside of the handle. Use clamps to hold the bar down and keep it from rolling. A drill press works best for this.

8.) Assemble parts to form take up. Clamp the legs to the table using the two 1/4" slices on the underside to keep from marking the table.

At this point you can start coiling a spring. If you are using a spool you will have some problems with the wire kinking or jumping backwards on the coil. Hanging the spool on the feeder rod below will eliminate these problems.

9.) Stand both 12" boards side by side on their ends on a flat surface. Clamp together. One inch down and centered, drill a hole through both pieces of wood. The hole should be the same diameter as the feeder rod.

10.) Screw a 12" board to the center of a 24" board at right angles forming a T. The end with the hole should be at the top, away from the foot. Notice that the leg is turned sideways to the foot (see drawing.) Repeat for second leg.

11.) Set feeder rod into one leg. Slip the wire spool onto rod and attach second leg to other end of rod.

12.) Position feeder rod under table beneath where you've mounted the take up rod.

13.) See drawing on how to feed wire.

1.) Put on heavy work gloves.

2.) The wire should come off the spool below and is put in the starter hole in the take up rod. Press the wire guide against the wire. The wire should rest in the V between the nail and guide. Hold guide and wire loosely together with left hand. Start turning rod with other hand. Keep the wire guide pressed against the coiled wire as you coil.

3.) At end of coil snip the wire close to the spring. On other end use a flat head screwdriver to gently separate first link from rest of spring. Cut off first link and remove slug from starter hole.

4.) Unclamp left leg and slide spring off rod.

1.) The diameter of the take up rod determines the inner diameter of the chain links.

2.) Most of the dimensions do not have to be precise. I just grabbed whatever scrap wood I had in the shop. Key lengths to be careful of. The take up rod should have about 4" of clearance for your hands to move freely. The feeder rod should be high enough that your wire spool has 2-3" clearance beneath it. All holes should be drilled to the same diameter as the rod that is going through them.

3.) You can attach a handle to the take up bar rather than bending the bar and add another 8" to the coil length. I was looking for quick and cheap.