Same here.. I’ve used a modified pair of vice grips for years.
-
This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.
Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades -
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Is there another tool that can sub for spring vice?
- Thread starter morehops52
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
Parallel pliers? Patent date July 1892.
- Joined
- May 28, 2022
- Messages
- 9,108
- Reaction score
- 21,999
- Location
- Louisiana & My camp in Mississippi
Haven’t seen those in years! Yes, that would be a good option.
morehops52
45 Cal.
Well grnts my order is on the way from TOW. I will have the proper vices ffor both type of mainsprings and I have most if not all of the additional tools mentioned like 3 sizes of vise grips etc., I will be taking pictues all along the way as I have a terrible phobia of "sproing-itis". Fear of the sound of a spring bouncing off the kitchen wall and landing 8 feet way in an indeterminate direction".
- Joined
- May 28, 2022
- Messages
- 9,108
- Reaction score
- 21,999
- Location
- Louisiana & My camp in Mississippi
Just take your time and you’ll do fine.
- Joined
- May 28, 2022
- Messages
- 9,108
- Reaction score
- 21,999
- Location
- Louisiana & My camp in Mississippi
Aahh, don't worry about that with leaf springs,
It's the "CLINK", sound that's followed by cuss words that's the worst!
Anything, especially coil springs, that can bounce on my shop floor.
Uncle Miltie
50 Cal.
Lots of people use pliers, etc to cramp mainspring and frizzen springs with no problem. But lots of people breaks springs too. Finding and fitting new springs is is no lots of fun so a spring vise or cramp is cheap insurance.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2021
- Messages
- 321
- Reaction score
- 494
I have two pair of these and is usually the first thing I grab out of my pliers drawer. Can't remember where I found the second pair after 20 years of seeing how well they work for numerous jobs. Never tried them on a lock spring though, I use a good spring vise.
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2018
- Messages
- 259
- Reaction score
- 370
Like you and 64Springer, I use a vise grips, but I cut lengthwise a piece of copper pipe, flattened it out and placed the copper over the top and bottom jaws. I made "ears" on the copper so I could anchor the copper to the jaws by curling the copper ears over the top and front sections of the vise grip jaws. Works great. I actually made these for blacksmithing so they wouldn't mar the heated metal.
Same as every one else I have used pliers and vice grips but highly recommend a vice.
I too use a small mounted vice and gently compress to remove and gently compress to remount. Much more stable and less fiddly. I have the tool and have been changing leaf springs on Spanish sidelock shotguns for years and seem to always default to the vice.
I now use either toolmakers parallel clamp or mainspring vice. I used vice grips until the time the mainspring slipped out of the vice grips and I found one part of the mainspring stuck in the wall across the room.
Va.Manuf.06
58 Cal.
To answer the question "Is there another tool that can sub for spring vice?" - No, there is not.
Here's the modern version of those parallel grip pliers.
https://www.knipex.com/products/pip...wrenches-pliers-and-a-wrench-in-a-single-tool
I've done like Deerstalkert and a small crescent wrench has been more than sufficient. No reason to relax the spring once removed.
https://www.knipex.com/products/pip...wrenches-pliers-and-a-wrench-in-a-single-tool
I've done like Deerstalkert and a small crescent wrench has been more than sufficient. No reason to relax the spring once removed.
