Gunsmithing - How to Make a New Mainspring for a Ballard Rifle

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Making a new spring for a rifle is a fairly simple gunsmithing job. Watch along as Larry Potterfield, founder and CEO of MidwayUSA, makes a new mainspring from scratch for an antique Ballard Rifle.

[@lmcoopie]

everything is simple for you Larry, the mark of an expert.

[@pierceedwin5273]

i know I'm pretty off topic but do anyone know a good place to watch newly released series online?

[@malachiazariah7237]

@Pierce Edwin meh lately I've been using Flixportal. Just search on google for it:P -malachi

[@pierceedwin5273]

@Malachi Azariah Thanks, signed up and it seems to work =) I appreciate it!!

[@malachiazariah7237]

@Pierce Edwin happy to help xD

[@Whitpusmc]

Yeah we just happened to have three Ballard guns to open and show the internals..... must be a heck of a collection! Thanks for making these videos!

[@whowhat691]

Congratulations on the award from the last video, you are truly an inspiration

[@GamersBar]

yeah love all your videos

[@marknaglreiter9330]

Thankyou Larry for being an avid and knowledgeable firearms enthusiast, and so willing to share great methods and methodical ways to resurrect antique and other firearms.

[@georgeshorter142]

Keep these videos coming! I've learned so many repair, restoration, and refinishing techniques from you that seemed impossible at first thought.

[@BigRooster616]

Thank you Mr. Potterfield for the content you put out

[@mossranchoutdoors7249]

I love Larry's instructional videos. And that's the way it is😉

[@ابوعمر-ل1ت6ق]

هل هل.

[@fatcobra54]

You sir are a National Treasure.

[@328Watcher]

Fascinating and instructive as always.

[@homersimpsonii5455]

And that's the way it is.

[@magiclarry7688]

Great idea using the cardboard for screw placement

[@garywills5682]

Thanks larry love the videos. And your stories the store . Take care God bless

[@k5at]

Thanks for sharing, I always learn a lot from your videos.

[@DrNo-uq7xx]

Larry, , Love your videos and Company. Stay well my friend.

[@adamrosalfestyle]

You guys should put all these videos on a dvd and sell it. I’d buy it

[@mossranchoutdoors7249]

I said the same thing. I bet he could make a ton of money by selling instructional videos on every aspect of gun repair or even an entire gunsmithing course on dvd. Larry is very intelligent and he makes the highest quality videos.

[@jackwashington1484]

More power to you sir Larry ,thank you for your efforts..very informative video.

[@richpeters4705]

Excellent vid, simple and concise. Thak you, I just picked up an old rifle with a missing mainspring.

[@ronniebray596]

The WORLDS best gunsmith

[@andrewcurry3332]

Once again, these videos helped me

[@C.dieslevonankwek7]

Larry knows his guns

[@budmoore8144]

NICE WORK

[@mannequinfukr]

It still amazes me how Larry was able to get the block out first try. I tried it to get excess wax out of mine (chamber cast) and scratched my head for 15 min trying to get the block and extractor out only to discover I had a broken firing pin

[@rachelharrison3383]

Just amazing

[@Hobgoblin1975]

Larry you are a fantastic craftsman, BUT can you tell us how much these jobs would cost?

[@thehasanrohat]

Excellent

[@rushyahr7767]

Watching you work makes me wonder why today's gunsmithing schools think that with only a couple of years of training anyone can become a proficient gunsmith.

[@s0nnyburnett]

First you have to design the spring in AutoCAD and transfer the drawings to a CNC machine so a trained operator can have the machine do the cutting for you.

[@aduchek]

When set up for centerfire operation, this rifle will shoot 32 Long Colt or 32 Short Colt.

[@Anthony071177]

My name is Lanice Anthony and I really enjoy your great detailed videos on firearms and was looking through a lot of yours and noticed I didn't see one on the ejector repair of a crack barrel shotgun. I have an older Stevens 16 gauge crackbarrel myself and it does not eject the shells anymore. I have to either dig them out with a pocket knife or drop my knife down the barrel to knock it out. Yes it a little backwoods style but I don't know how nor have I been able to find any instruction videos on how to fix or repair this common issue. Could you do a video on this please? Thanks.

[@RJ-sr5dv]

bravo thanks

[@Anthonymahon]

Where do you get all these cool old guns

[@jrdeckard3317]

Larry could make a Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a file.

[@douglasthomashayden2566]

C'mon...he'd need a micrometer, too! ;-)

[@chrisclark5204]

When tempering the main spring, how long do you leave in the pot?

[@christopherbenfield7848]

he left it in as long as it took to turn the spring blue. The time was more determined by the blueing process instead of the tempering time. All that is required to temper is to heat the spring to the desired temp giving some time to ensure it is uniformly heated. This time would very depending on part size and thickness...since you are holding the part well below the thermal threshold (when metal turns red hot) there is no danger in leaving it for a long time. Just ensure you quench immediately to lock in the properties or else the steel will just anneal back to its soft form.

[@StarSwarm.]

~20 mins per 1/8th spring thickness is the general rule. So a normal flat spring is about 15-20mins.

[@davids11131113]

Rechamber it for .357 magnum that would make it easy to find ammo to shoot with it.

[@jic1]

.327 magnum, so he wouldn't have to rebore the barrel.

[@franksalterego]

Can we get a source for the spring steel?.. Or, the specs.

[@thegamerEcho_419]

that was tension rod from a metal fence

[@mwelch1212]

that spring will last longer if the sharp edges are all softened

[@blindwisdom9665]

I wish you was in Ga.

[@littlea53]

Nice FFA cup

[@pimpompoom93726]

Spring steel stock should be .5-.7 % carbon, no less. That way your quench and temper operation will provide sufficient tensile strength and spring force. Also, it's not necessary to quench the spring in water out of the Niter tempering salts, you can air cool it just fine and it's less likely to experience a crack from thermal stress.

[@robertdevito5001]

Steel is usually fine getting quenched to room temperature from 600 degrees Fahrenheit unless it has inclusions or some serious impurities, but you're right, that second quench isn't necessary, it just speeds the process along. I wonder how long he was tempering it for though, and how long he let it soak at 1500 degrees before tempering (I know he says 1400 but that's not hot enough for 5160 to austenize and that's what most springs are made of). Hardening and tempering steel is a lot like cooking food, what matters is time, temperature, and size.

[@markdoyle9642]

Where can you order the proper spring steel stock? Is it 1095 ?

[@easydoz1]

The broken spring looks like it's from a colt 1903 pistol.

[@johnanderson186]

Master smith

[@marcosduran1443]

does anyone know where i can get a piece of spring steel stock?

[@coelhoteixeira]

What is liquid product for nitro-bluing,please.Tanhk you.

[@nolansykinsley3734]

+coelhoteixeira It's not a liquid, well they are when you heat them up, but they are salts. Look up Nitre Bluing Salts.

[@coelhoteixeira]

+Nolansykinsley Thank you very much,bt if you can tell me please,the chemical name of the salts it will be usefull here.Thank you again.

[@nolansykinsley3734]

From wikipedia " typically potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate (sometimes with 9.4 grams (0.33 oz) of manganese dioxide per lb of total nitrate)."

[@arzooali7383]

Sir please tell me liquid name Spring was heat in it

[@matijaravnik5411]

It's oil. Metal can crack if you harden it in water, because it cools to quickly.

[@ifitsfreeitsforme1852]

If melted niter bluing salts is the same as potassium nitrate, he should mention how dangerous this stuff can be..it's basically the same constituent as what's in black powder..when heated to that temperature, any organic material that comes in contact with it will immediately burst into flames...ask me how I know

[@paulquiroz4070]

I wish you could work on my Colt Lighting slide action .44. If interested on the project, send me a message. Thank you

[@MegaBoilermaker]

Tempering temperature ? degrees F or C ?

[@MikeSzJr]

yes

[@joeblow1659]

Everybody got that?

[@junglejonny1000]

Love your videos but I am always confused why you have beach music in the background. It seems like there would probably be more congruent music that could be found for your application.

[@gilsonalvesdossantos874]

good afternoon. i'm from brazil and i admire your work a lot. And I would like to learn how to make blue black oxidation. Everything is very difficult here. could you send me a hi via whatsapp? I am currently using google translator. Thank you very much in advance. hug

[@gilsonalvesdossantos874]

My number [phone]. My name is Gílson.