How to make a Flintlock Mainspring. Swallow Forge

How to make a Mainspring for a flintlock.
This shows the process I use for making new or replacement Mainsprings.
www.swallowforge.co.uk
theswallowforge
This particular one was for my good friend Jonty who I owe my thanks for the Sparrow footage. He's a top class Sparrow (amongst other things) impersonator and a true gentleman to boot.

[@nazdagg2027]

I bought a rusty old "penntucky" rifle made in Italy back in the 70's. mainspring broke and I couldn't find a replacement. watched your video several times, found an old table saw blade in the basement, now I have a new spring. thank you. now onto straightening out the wood and reassemble this thing. can't wait for it to go bang.

[@SwallowForge]

Glad the video helped. Good luck with the build :)

[@unclefox5022]

You should do a video about making a complete lock.

[@gorp27]

This has got to be the best video on spring making on KZbin. Thank you, I actually learned something.

[@SwallowForge]

Thank you for your kind comment. I am glad it has helped. all the best SF

[@daniedupreez6678]

Thank you for this video! I tried making a Snider sear spring over the weekend. For steel I cut off a piece of an old building trowel. It was just the right thickness. First and second attempt broke. Then watched your video, followed the instructions, and the third spring is installed and working! I do not have an electrical stove, or thermometer, so for tempering I dipped it in molten lead (melts at about 330 Celsius), let it air cool, and repeated the process three times. Thank you again!

[@SwallowForge]

Molten lead is a great trick, glad my video was of help. All the best. Sf

[@Xarschia]

How fortuitous! The mainspring on my dag pistol broke recently. Now I can make one myself! Thank you much!

[@cristianpopescu78]

Now I know why I didnt throw that blade to the scrap yard! Thanks,very nice work! The end is just perfect!

[@jckoibra2662]

This is just what I was wondering when I turned on my computer. I guess KZbin sure does have a good algorithm after all.

[@FerociousSniper]

you had me at the intro. you got yourself a new subscriber.

[@SwallowForge]

+Quintus tAurelius Symmachus Thank you , much appreciated.

[@kathryntruscott6351]

It really helps to put a shim inside the bend when forming it. Only need to be 1/32" or so, but it relieves the stress in the corner where they often break..... :-)

[@Frogmobile52]

Simple, quick and one of the best video I have seen Thanks mate! (I hope the 18th century gentleman got it on time!)

[@never2late454]

Very helpful and easy to follow demonstration. Thanks.

[@SwallowForge]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@steveinthethumb6441]

Well done. I subscribed after watching this. I need to make a sear spring as it doesn’t seem to hold sear correctly in tumbler firing position....tight enough.

[@edwardteach1992]

Love the Pirates of the Caribbean song at the end 😂

[@activelyrandom7652]

Oi, you're supposed to be dead

[@ldwithrow08]

It never occurred to me to use a carbide saw blade disk for spring material. I've been searching for a good cheap source of spring stock for years. The next time I make a spring I'm going to tap the pile of old saw blades I've got.

[@SwallowForge]

This is what i love about youtube, sharing simple ideas. Glad you enjoyed the video. All the best. SF

[@redhametatha2372]

Je veut une autre matière pour le ressort

[@KathrynLiz1]

The thin blades of old hand saws are great for those little sear springs on flinties. I also pounce on old car and truck springs and have a stack of them in my workshop. Coil springs from cars are good too, but need a lot of forging, which I am OK with as I am an ex-farrier and have a big anvil and a large gas forge....

[@countrysportstv5995]

well done, like the tempering, I normal file the pin after bending and one thing I would do is always polish the inside of the spring before bending.

[@deeprumdali]

Hi even it is late i have like and subscribe your channel. So My muzzleloader gun main spring is broken. What kind of iron should i use would you recommend please. Thank you

[@Renaissance-fw1ox]

I am myself and attempting to make some lock work from scratch and have made the same spring but I couldn’t find a tempering process to make it a proper spring I guess you can do it just like a knife blade thank you very much.

[@TheBertieW]

Great job, thanks for sharing.

[@GreenleafWorkshop]

Another good one mate :)

[@epictroll2887]

You sir have won life

[@greglaroche1753]

Great video ! Just what I’ve been wondering about and if I could make one myself. Thanks !

[@erikcsader]

Hello, I try to make a V shape leaf spring too but I have some problems. I studied how to make it from various videos, forums and articles. Also I read some of your replies in comments. I already did a right shape of spring, but I´m afraid of hardening and tempering. So I made another simple experimental spring which I tried to harden and temper. I polished it, heated it to red/orange colour and quenched it in old engine oil. Then I polished it again and put it in oven. Oven was set on maximum: 275 degrees of celsius. I measured temperature with a laser thermometer just like you and it reached heat even 350 degrees. I left spring there for 50 minutes. Today´s evening I tried to work with spring and as I was doing it I saw that spring flattend. Maybe it´s because of bad hardening? It´s true that I didn´t try with magnet if spring is non-magnetic. Also I saw in one of your replies that some steels need annealing, may it be this case? May I try harden and temper this experimental spring again or rather do another one? Thank you for any answer.

[@KeithBair]

You can heat treat it again. It never hurts to anneal first though. That will relieve any stresses in the steel from your last attempt at heat treating. Did you check to see if a file would dig into it after the quench? If you did a proper hardening, a file won't bite into it. Not sure on temper colors, but I temper springs to a blue color

[@erikcsader]

I found out it was because of a bad materiel, so I found another one, tried to harden it and found out that´s the one.

[@erikcsader]

@@KeithBair yes I tried it, but I thought maybe I am a laic who doesn't see it right. But a new material is from a saw blade, I tried it and it is right material. I still didn't anything more since, but I will try to do some spring again. Also I will anneal it first this time, thanks for answer! :-)

[@cynthiarenou849]

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[@fw.bagiomotorsport5006]

ok what steel did you use?

[@tinkeringclaws5559]

would a car leaf spring be good material for this?

[@samellowery]

Long as it's high carbon it should and from what I know they are lawnmower blades work aswell

[@chikenxlegend1833]

That was amazing! God bless!

[@SwallowForge]

Thank you 😊

[@nigelkavanagh2048]

Great vid sir and very nice work.

[@sirhrmechanic2648]

Brilliant video and very helpful... any tips on “scaling this down?” I am making a 1/6scale Puckle Gun lock and the hammer spring is driving me mad... after watching this I am wondering if I should use a file for donor material rather than spring steel. Thanks for posting! I learned a lot watching this.

[@DarkWolfeKnives]

Very cool!!! Thanks for sharing!

[@glockstr1]

Awesome, thanks for making this!

[@Suprassumo-222]

Beautiful work

[@kalyan4870]

Bro... How did you make that trigger mechanism....please make another video with full details

[@rcarlmoy5795]

This is a really interesting video. Thanks for making it. Is that a particular sort of electric hob that you are using to blue the spring, or will ordinary ones get hot enough?

[@SwallowForge]

Hello, Its just a standard hob. It is a rough and ready way to get up to the 300C or so required to temper the spring and take out the brittleness. Its a handy way of doing it as it will never overheat the spring and spoil the hardening.

[@Tids1960]

When you tempered the spring you used a electric hob ( what brand and model ? How many watts ? ) You held it at 360 Celsius ? ( which is why I'm asking about the hot plate you used ) Your input would be greatly appreciated

[@sandroventania782]

O fogão elétrico foi para fazer o revenimento da mola, não a têmpera.

[@Tids1960]

@@sandroventania782 Right, Thank You. but I really wanted to know what brand of hot plate or electric hob was used. BTW, my spring turned out great.

[@sandroventania782]

​@@Tids1960usou um fogão elétrico também? Eu fiz essa semana uma mola usando o fogão elétrico e também ficou ótimo!

[@Tids1960]

@@sandroventania782 I have a wood burning stove that will hold four 3 to 5 inch logs two foot long. I have read temperatures above 400 degrees with a digital thermometer on the top of the stove. I use that to heat my shop, and coffee, during cold winters. I'm glad your spring came out good for you, it took me two tries for me to get a good workable spring. It truly is an art.

[@sandroventania782]

​@@Tids1960Tentei o fogão de lenha, mas não obtive sucesso, acho que meu fogão não estava na temperatura certa. Sim...fazer molas é uma arte!

[@icanbelieveitisnotdonebyap941]

Super cool bet it is allot harder then you make it look the but I'm going to try I no longer have the spring so I'm going to have to make it from scratch thank for the video

[@SwallowForge]

Hello John, glad you enjoyed the video. If you need any help just message me on my facebook page. facebook.com/swallowforge

[@matthewmillar3804]

That is a very cool little anvil! What is it called and what was it made for?

[@SwallowForge]

It's a little stake anvil. I mostly use it for making arrowheads. It was one of those things I found in a box of old tools at a car boot sale about 20 years ago. This was before blacksmithing became popular so I only paid a few pence for it.

[@justynwithay7820]

Nicely done chaps :)

[@SwallowForge]

Cheers Buddy. Now when are you going to start uploading your prop making videos? :)

[@RawanRawan-p7m]

Bravo

[@howarddeheer8295]

I need a new mainspring for my rifle. I need your help

[@geovanniregalado3592]

Muy buena idea para hacer la muelle 👍

[@kastone1976]

I love the body shop hammer! Stake anvil is nice, is it a silversmith's stake?

[@SwallowForge]

+spanky stang On light work a panel beaters hammer gives a lot of control and is well balanced. I just polished up the face a bit. The little stake anvil is one I have used for many years for making bodkin point arrow heads. Can't remember where I got it. But it's very solid for its size. Much heavier a than the average silversmith anvil. Thanks for commenting :)

[@jakeeasterday1663]

Swallow Forge it looks like the one I just finished forging, coincidentally. Is it odd that I keep a smithing kit in my car?

[@jimandjeanboyer4526]

Very good tut.

[@SwallowForge]

Thank you.

[@ScrapwoodCity]

Awesome!

[@SuperWasweissichdenn]

I use old car flat springs for my potsdam and olbernhau locks, is a sawblade a better choice than a car spring?

[@SwallowForge]

It all depends. There are good quality blades and bad ones, same with springs. I tend to go with the sound of the steel. If it gives a good sharp 'ting' when tapped, it usually indicates a higher carbon grade. You can get obsessed with grades and bogged down with hardening and tempering quench medians ant time/ temperature charts. The gunsmiths of yore had none of these things, I like to keep my smithing organic. Sight (colour of the steel over temperature) sound of the steel to help determine grades. But most of all how the steel is worked. I have made countless springs, all from steel from different sources, not to my knowledge had one fail on me yet. :)

[@williambond7243]

@@SwallowForge What brand of hot plate did the gunsmiths of yore have?

[@uhmax5066]

Lol, that last scene was great

[@Bnscholet911]

Hello swallow forge, where can i find info on how to forge these parts by hand like the hammer for example, is there any dvds or literature. Thanks

[@nickulvatten1039]

Hey Swallow Forge, I'm having a ton of trouble with tempering the springs first one broke then I made a new one I tempered it in burning motor oil for 28 minutes and it snapped when I tried to compress it. Now I'm making a third one but I get a headache just knowing that I have to temper it and hope it won't brake. Can you please tell me a secure method of temepering that will assure it will not snap? Thank you in advance. Nick

[@SwallowForge]

Hello Nick. Sorry to hear you are having problems. It often depends on the steel you are using. It may be that the steel needs de stressing (annealing) before you work it. Take it up to a cherry red for 5 mins or so. Then let it cool slowly. Work the steel then harden ( easy way is to take up to a heat where it becomes non magnetic and quench in oil) for a relatively fail safe temper, take your oven at home up to its hottest heat (around 300deg C)and leave the spring in it for at least an hour. When you fit the spring it is very important to work it slowly before spanning it fully. Take ten to twenty minutes working the spring back and forth, taking it a little further in stages. Hope that helps, if you are still having problems contact me on my facebook page and i can discuss it further. facebook.com/swallowforge

[@nickulvatten1039]

@@SwallowForge Hello and thank you very much for the reply, I am using new spring steel stock 4mm thick. I do not know if it is stress relieved from the factory but I do 3 normalization cycles before the quench. The main problem is that my oven does not get hotter than 250 C°. The first spring I attempted tempering by using an old gunsmithing method by submerging it in engine oil and slowly heating it over the fire until all the oil burns off then dunking in in the oil for the second time burning it off again then finally cooling it off in oil. This method works great for sear springs but the first main spring broke exactly at the bend. The second mainspring I had to anneal and quench for the second time because I did not adjust it properly to fit the tumbler and in the first temper I kept it in a can of burning oil for 30 minutes and it seemed to work well I compressed it many times and it held it but for the second time tempering it broke again at the bend. I am building the whole right hand lock from scratch for a 4 Bore Double Gun I'm making , You can see videos of the proof test on my channel if you are interested. Thank you again for your time and willingness to help.

[@EthanPDobbins]

Bring it up to 1500 degr bright red just over non-magnetic and let it air cool three times. When you were heat treating this has to be done before you quench in anything you're doing whether it be a hammer a spring a knife it needs to be done this is called normalizing and helps refine grain structure. Then quench in cooking oil from just over non-magnetic there's no need to go to bright yellow like this dude says. That's very bad for the steel. After you've quenched it temper it. Somewhere between 5 to 650 degrees A nice blue color.

[@nickulvatten1039]

@@EthanPDobbins Hey Ethan, I do normalize the springs three times before I quench them, and I get them just above cherry red slightly into the orange when I quench I found out spring steel hardens better this way. But tempering them is very hard I found out today that probably the best way to do it is over a hot plate, polish the spring so you see the colors and heat it until you reach a pale blue, and you need at least two temper cycles in order for the spring to not break, and for thick mainsprings three cycles just to be sure. Cheers. Nick

[@KathrynLiz1]

MMM.... temper it a bit softer.... but a mistake often made by beginners is a function of their speed. Holding steels of this kind at high temperatures for long period causes changes in grain structure that cannot be restored by working. Use only enough heat to work the steel easily, avoiding yellow heat if possible, and use as few heats as you can manage. That gets easier with experience. working steel on an anvil is an art. I usually temper my springs, after an oil quench from cherry heat (dead hard) by heating them in the flame until the oil just burns off....no more. Repeat that three or four times and you are usually good to go. I use used car engine oil which give a lovely blue-black finish which is as good as a factory blue. When making and finishing the spring, get as high a finish on it as you can. Rough finishes mean thousands of little stress points that can be the start of an incipient break. Good luck... :-)

[@bendiksbendiks1859]

Bravo exelent. Very well. Nice

[@mathieugariepy2948]

I hate to tell you this but I think the guy you worked for is a bit shady... I'm still suscribing.

[@SwallowForge]

+Mathieu Gariépy I must say I was a bit worried when he paid me in aztec gold....

[@TrueTreeRadioNetwork]

Been thinking of having a flintlock commissioned, just not sure about the laws regarding them.

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

What country are you from?

[@landon9560]

If your in England, that's a hell no.

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

Landon Swallow Forge is British, you only need a license. I own many perfectly legally.

[@landon9560]

Oh, I was talking to a friend who lives in England, and he was said you cannot own a handgun unless it was made before X date or whatnot.

[@TrueTreeRadioNetwork]

***** United States

[@braydannixon8751]

how much would you charge for a barrel and trigger mechanism??

[@piruprostifacil]

hey great work!!

[@daviddicken8394]

Nice video, but I have to ask why you were using a cordless grinder, its inefficient and wastes cutting blades much faster than using a corded grinder.

[@SwallowForge]

The cordless grinder I'm using is one of the best grinders I've ever used. This isn't a payed product endorsement. But the Panasonic is top class. Plus the balance is spot on, making it far easier to cut straight. Plus the corded grinders (of which I have many) regardless of how careful you are, the cords always seem to get in the way. Final point is buy decent quality slitting discs, they will last longer.

[@chrismorse3862]

+Swallow Forge had a similar problem with my hedge trimmers and mom's longest extension cord that I borrowed..

[@sampathgamage861]

Verry Nice.. Good Job..!! 👍 < 🇱🇰

[@yeoldepirate783]

Alex ! mate, you just saved me a tone of time thank you for this video, I have a reproduction sea service pistol that the cock will not move the frizzen out of the way, or the frizzen spring is too mighty, It needs a good cleaning and perhaps a polishing to the mating movable surfaces. Can you do a video on such, also this pistol I speak of have a huge trigger pull. Thanks Bo

[@SwallowForge]

Hello, check out my video on electrolysis cleaning tank. I show how to clean up a musket lock in that. Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for the kind comment 😊

[@nakoawarrior3186]

I'm seeing a saw blade getting sawed and getting filed?

[@SwallowForge]

Isn’t youtube great 😊

[@kowalski363]

Great video

[@SwallowForge]

Thank you. Much appreciated.

[@duncangallagher8702]

how much would it cost to make a small mainspring for a percussion lock for me.

[@SwallowForge]

Hello. It depends on where you are in the world. Postage can be tricky. 😊

[@duncangallagher8702]

@@SwallowForge scotland glasgow

[@SwallowForge]

Oh thats fine :) Send me a pic of what you want fixing and we can discuss things. Email me [e-mail]

[@edwardhayes5000]

Great video.

[@rolandvos]

Great vid...

[@KathrynLiz1]

Interesting to see how someone else does it... :-)

[@Paracorder]

Very cleaver theme

[@ilganis]

bravo...

[@christianhembach4527]

very clever ! perfect!

[@SwallowForge]

Thank you.

[@igormokrik2729]

Отличная работа

[@shinoobsoman9269]

Very nice

[@nilsonpina9453]

Belo. Trabalho. Você. Trousse. Os. Anos. Do. General. Wochinton. Homen. De. Corajem. O. Estados. Unidos. Merece. O. Lugar. Que. Tem. No. Mundo. Obrigado. Do. Brasil. 👍👍👍

[@fw.bagiomotorsport5006]

Tudo certo amigo vc faz essas molas?

[@fw.bagiomotorsport5006]

Estou tentando acertar com aço 5160 uma mola V de um sw 32 não tá fácil

[@rolfisalinas]

Why quench it in oil?

[@spwicks1980]

Spring steel needs to quenched in oil otherwise it may crack as it cools too quickly in water. Its to do with the alloy of steel used.

[@allansmith6140]

@@spwicks1980 yeah that is an old opinion but untrue, the opposite is actually true. When you quench hot steel in water, the water vaporizes around it giving very poor cooling. Oil on the other hand is very good at transferring high heat and you get a quicker quench.

[@spwicks1980]

@@allansmith6140 You can water harden certain steels without issue. Basic 1080 steel is water hardening. I used it a lot as a kid for tool making. The trick is to keep the steel moving to prevent the steam jacket as even water queched steel will crack.

[@allansmith6140]

@@spwicks1980 I'll agree that it helps to know what one is doing ;) I once experimented with cracking various steels on purpose by various quenching methods just to see for myself. What I found that its not that easily achievable and that it was more related to poor preparation methods before quenching. By cracks I mean non-visible cracks that later caused failures during testing. I've never seen cracks visible to the eye or have had things break apart when quenching.

[@kanionargentina4157]

Jajajajaja, excellent video Swallong Forge!

[@gizmogoose.2486]

Build an Ulfberht !

[@apemnr]

THK YOU.

[@asaadnaeem4121]

Wonderfull

[@aramirez8427]

Awesome.....

[@FiXiT5313]

By Captain Jack Sparrow 😁

[@redjohn4968]

Good.

[@disconnected4140]

2 nice !!

[@pedrosilvaslva2625]

CANON TO PIERCE BRAINS

[@redhametatha2372]

I need your help

[@adelsogarciabol8490]

Explicar en español.

[@jacobcarbajal7094]

Better if you learn English you will discover a lot of videos like this explaining the processes of forge missing parts

[@zeber127]

Красавец!

[@кузнец-р3е]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@eldersaquic1879]

Como se ase

[@hamidyaha2272]

ممتاز

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I like you

[@sidneybetosila2846]

como faz o cão q bate no ouvido

[@Yashupunta]

Mereko bhi bnayege

[@邵风]

杰克船长的手枪吗

[@nuzhmizafidi2037]

Such a long proscedure.

[@scotthaddad563]

The geometry of the spring was not quite the same as the original. I foresee more repairs in the future.

[@SwallowForge]

The original broke because its geometry was incorrect for the lock. I fixed that issue. 😊

[@markrigsby2425]

ATF is going ,crazy

[@SwallowForge]

ATF? Whats that?

[@sandervanduren2779]

Swallow Forge the BATFE(usually abbreviated as ATF) is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It’s an American bureau. They basically interpret the law from the government to decide what is and isn’t legal with regards to guns, alcohol, etc, and then enforce those laws. It’s kind of funny, because even if you were in America and subject to the ATF, they literally could do nothing about this since it’s legal to make your own firearms in America, as long as the guns follow the current laws, and along with that, black powder guns that don’t use metal cartridges aren’t even considered firearms by law.

[@roostamfarokhzad9316]

یاشا

[@ytr7790]

vendez-moi. merci

[@antoniobarajas4785]

Maestro Gracias

[@bluflame6413]

great craftsman ship truly bravo

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Helo bro one item parcel me dress send it

[@AmericanDefender]

Aarrrrgh.

[@8.gauge.shotgun]

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