No good deed goes unpunished

[Chuck in Indiana]

The other day at Guzzi lunch, Kip mentioned his throttle had been sticking open. (!) I found a broken spring on one of his throttle bodies. Then, at our Indiana NATA rally, he said he couldn't find that spring anywhere. He could find the whole assembly for around $1200. 
So.
I thought it would be a pain to make one, but I *like* Kip, and would really hate to see him crash for lack of a spring.. so I told him I'd make him one. Looked in my Machinery's Handbook on making springs, and there are several formulas that would require thinking.  Decided to go to the Practical Machinist's website, and there was a spring calculator to download. Just fill in the blanks, no thinking.
My kind of job.. 
Downloaded that XL file and my computer gave me the blue screen of death and died. Had Austin take a look, and he said generally you won't find a virus in an XL file, but...
Took it to Larry the computer guy, and he couldn't find anything wrong except it wouldn't boot. Couldn't find anything wrong, though. <scratching head> "Will it run Linux?" Sure.
Put Linux on it and it's better than new..except you can't find any of the Windows files, or any backup files on the backup drive except the latest before it crashed.
Fortunately, it is a new computer, and I hadn't deep sixed the old one yet, so I still had all the old files.
Whew! That would have been 20 years of Guzzi Stuff (among other stuff) down the drain. 
At any rate, I'm running Linux now, and really like it. I'm so over that Windows thingy.. it's not like I was surfin porn for heavensake. 
Went ahead and did the calculations and made the spring.
The one on the left is the first "usable" one, the center is the sample, and the one on the right is the "good enough" one.
2019-06-08_02-54-21 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

 

[oldbike54]

 I predict sales in the single digits 

 Dusty

[lucian]

Well done !   Must have been some heat treating involved after winding that sucker?

[Muzz]

I'm impressed Chuck.  Your range of skills is to die for.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Well done !   Must have been some heat treating involved after winding that sucker?

Thanks.  No heat treat, I wound it out of music wire.

[Aaron D.]

Linux rocks! Now you are one of the cool kids.

I recall thinking how wonderful it was having the Machinery Handbook with all those formulae in one spot...

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'm impressed Chuck.  Your range of skills is to die for.

Thanks, Muzz. I paid dearly.. 30.00 years of punching the clock, and caring enough to pay attention when somebody tried to teach me something. 
Other than doing the fix for the V11S pawl spring breakage issue, (19 years!) I haven't wound a spring since I was an apprentice..uhh.. 50 some years ago.

[lucian]

Thanks.  No heat treat, I wound it out of music wire.

Don't tell me aunt Margaret's piano is missing another low note. 

[Gusable]

You are a scholar and a gentleman and we thank you.  I love guzzi guys... best bike community IVE seen

[Howard R]

Actually, your good deed has been immensely (if unintentionally) rewarded as you are now free from the evil clutches of Microscum!

(Posted from my Linux computer.)

Howard

[canuck750]

THAT is impressive! 

[cliffrod]

The other day at Guzzi lunch, Kip mentioned his throttle had been sticking open. (!) I found a broken spring on one of his throttle bodies. Then, at our Indiana NATA rally, he said he couldn't find that spring anywhere. He could find the whole assembly for around $1200. 
So.
I thought it would be a pain to make one, but I *like* Kip, and would really hate to see him crash for lack of a spring.. so I told him I'd make him one. Looked in my Machinery's Handbook on making springs, and there are several formulas that would require thinking.  Decided to go to the Practical Machinist's website, and there was a spring calculator to download. Just fill in the blanks, no thinking.
My kind of job.. 
Downloaded that XL file and my computer gave me the blue screen of death and died. Had Austin take a look, and he said generally you won't find a virus in an XL file, but...
Took it to Larry the computer guy, and he couldn't find anything wrong except it wouldn't boot. Couldn't find anything wrong, though. <scratching head> "Will it run Linux?" Sure.
Put Linux on it and it's better than new..except you can't find any of the Windows files, or any backup files on the backup drive except the latest before it crashed.
Fortunately, it is a new computer, and I hadn't deep sixed the old one yet, so I still had all the old files.
Whew! That would have been 20 years of Guzzi Stuff (among other stuff) down the drain. 
At any rate, I'm running Linux now, and really like it. I'm so over that Windows thingy.. it's not like I was surfin porn for heavensake. 
Went ahead and did the calculations and made the spring.
The one on the left is the first "usable" one, the center is the sample, and the one on the right is the "good enough" one.
2019-06-08_02-54-21 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

Very cool springs.

Which version Linux are you running?  Slackware is more tech/definitive code instruction-based.  Ubuntu is point & shoot and I've yet to find file formats it won't handle.  It's more likely to be a problem when you forget to convert .xcf or .odt files and export then to an MS or Apple user that they cannot access. 

After a decade+ of running Slackware, Ubuntu is great. 

[Ratso88]

Nice job Chuck ! Getting a fellow Guzzi rider back on the road safely.

I'd assume the spring dropped right in as is working fine.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Actually, your good deed has been immensely (if unintentionally) rewarded as you are now free from the evil clutches of Microscum!

(Posted from my Linux computer.)

Howard

Hiya Howard..  Yep, I'm a Linux fanboy, now. It's *much* faster than Win10. It wasn't a seamless transition, but fortunately Austin, the guy that works down in the shop, built his first computer with Linux on it when he was 12. Of course, it would have been much easier without the virus that killed boot sectors, etc.
He said put Mint on it, and it is very intuitive for me. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Linux rocks! Now you are one of the cool kids.

True.. true. 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Nice job Chuck ! Getting a fellow Guzzi rider back on the road safely.

I'd assume the spring dropped right in as is working fine.

Dunno. There's no reason it wouldn't though.. the ID is within .002" and the ends are in the right place. I *did* put a slightly larger radius on the 90 degree bend. You can see it in comparison to the original. That is where the other broke..

[zedXmick]

It’s great to see someone spring into action when needed!  Great job!

[Turin]

Kip Holowell ?

[Chuck in Indiana]

Kip Plourde. Kidsmoke here..

[guzziart]

Chuck,

Thanks for posting your exploits, Nice!

[cookiemech]

The spring(s) is beautiful, but I'm missing something that must be obvious to others . . .

Just HOW did you wind the springs? Manually, with a dowel-type piece in the middle, or with some sort of machine? Info from the handbooks is used to determine wire diameter, composition, number of turns?

(I'm a EE, not a mechanical engineer, so there's a bunch I don't know in this area . . .) 

[Chuck in Indiana]

The spring(s) is beautiful, but I'm missing something that must be obvious to others . . .

Just HOW did you wind the springs? Manually, with a dowel-type piece in the middle, or with some sort of machine? Info from the handbooks is used to determine wire diameter, composition, number of turns?

(I'm a EE, not a mechanical engineer, so there's a bunch I don't know in this area . . .) 

It's kind of complicated to explain without pictures. I made a bending jig to do the U shaped bend first. Make a mandrel on the lathe with a tapped hole in it for a small screw that bolts the U shaped wire to it. Made a brass rectangular piece with a wire diameter groove in it .010" shallower than the diameter of the wire. That goes in the tool holder in the lathe with a piece of plastic over the top for a clamp. The wire needs to be firmly clamped, but able to slide through it. Then, the lathe chuck is turned backward by hand, and the carriage moved by hand to keep the coils firmly against each other to make a torsion spring.
I already had the wire diameter and number of turns from the sample. After calculating the diameter of the mandrel, it is cut and try to see what you get.  Springs have to be over bent, and will spring back. For this spring, I needed 12 turns to make a 10 coil spring. That varies with the number of coils, diameter of the mandrel, and tightness of the spring holder. Once made with a long leg on the right angle bend area, I used some special needle nosed pliers with tapered round cross section to hold the coil and bend the angle.
It took me two mandrel diameter changes to get the inside diameter on the money (important) and these springs were number 8 and 9 before I said, "Good enough." 

[RinkRat II]

   Thanks for the explanation, Chuck. I was curious about the "overbend" and it makes sense now. You Da Man

      Paul B

[cookiemech]

Yes, now I understand . . . nice to know how it's done!

[Wayne Orwig]

Thanks.  No heat treat, I wound it out of music wire.

I didn't think music wire had what it takes to hold a spring like that. I used it a lot as is for servo linkages. I know I have had to soften it in order to put tight bends in it. And once I hardened it and found it was extremely brittle.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I didn't think music wire had what it takes to hold a spring like that. I used it a lot as is for servo linkages. I know I have had to soften it in order to put tight bends in it. And once I hardened it and found it was extremely brittle.

Music wire is a standard for small coil springs. ASTM specifies it's composition and heat treat..
ASTM A228 / A228M - 18
Standard Specification for Steel Wire, Music Spring Quality

[TN Mark]

Congratulations Chuck! These are my favorite type of threads. I sincerely admire your know how and talent. There are few things better than being able to make things yourself.

[Rick in WNY]

Oh no, Chuck needs to be punished for his good deeds...

I'm thinking he'll now be answering spring-related questions form this crew for years now. Poor Chuck!

Seriously, good job, that new spring looks nice! Makes me want to go fire up my lathe, turn a few mandrels, and wind some springs from my stock of music wire. Yup, I've got a couple sizes now, I buy 1lb coils off Amazon, length varies based on diameter. Good stuff to have on hand, and knowing how to make springs is a handy skill! 

[Stormtruck2]

Chuck, you are proof that success, comes from making good choices and decisions. In your youth you made the choice to enter the trades as a machinist. You then make the choice to listen when someone tried to teach you something and then you chose to diligently pursue your craft. Now in your adulthood, you have skills that 99.5% of men lack, but envy, me being in that 99.5%.  Of course the best choice you made was your bride!!  I am proof of a youth misspent. Instead of pursuing a trade,I went truck driving.  I'm now 58 and learning boiler making, pipe fitting and welding, while working 50-60 hours a week. Pursuing skills a man should possess.  I'm not complaining, merely admitting my past mistakes, and admiring your skills. I never thought I'd be living in Chicago, working night shift 6 days a week, trying to learn blue prints, and all the other things I must know to be certified. I have often though of slipping down to your place on a Sunday with sweet Lorraine and getting a break from here.  Kudos on your skills and helping another man out.  Bravo Zulu sir.