Spring compressors for a, er, spring change

[kash2001]

Is it easier to remove the barrel first before fitting in a sash clamp ?

As I find that trying to keep the gun in postion whilst compressing the spring is awkward and can mark the gun as the compression gets greater, sometimes i find the gun wants vear left or right - Gas struts I usually send to a professional - Removing the spring i find is easier.

What do you guys use to protect the guns surface when compressing ?

Cheers

[derekm]

I'll try and describe my spring compressor. It's all wood and doesn't risk marking the gun (Gamo CFX).

Lay the action on bench (length of action down length of bench and screw two blocks of scrap wood, one each side of barrel, so that breech end of cylinder can butt against them.

Two more blocks, one either side of trigger end of action to prevent movement side to side.

Take a piece of approx 1 1/2" x 3/4" x about 2feet long. Screw one end to bench, with screw (forming a pivot) approx 8" towards rear of bench and approx 2" behind rear plug of action. Add suitable packing between this lever and end plug and lean on lever to compress spring, then you can use both hands to remove plug retaining bolt or pin.

Sorry if it's a poor description, I was trained in heavy electrics, not English!
The CFX required about 10lbs to compress the spring and unloaded, it projected about 1 1/2" out of cylinder. I imagine other springers will be similar.

I should have taken a photo, but hindsight is always 20/20!

[Nige]

Here's a guide with photo's I did for the FWB 124, I suppose it could work with other springers?
WEBPAGE HERE

Nige

[kash2001]

Thanks for all the info guys, wish my wood work skills were as good as yours Nige52 , i noticed that the c clamps / sash clamps are different to mine,.

A c clamp doesn't appear right unless you cut part of the clamp off then youve got to mount it sash clamps usually fit on en edge are there any clamps for sale that are L shaped that can be fitted straight into place ?

Any links to good clamps to use would be welcome.

Paul

[LukeB]

Paul,

I am in the process of making a spring compressor and bought a cheap 6" G-clamp (£5.00 from B & Q), and was expecting it to be a complete pain in the backside to cut & drill to end up with the same kind of thing as pictured in the link that Guppsta posted. In reality all you need is a decent hacksaw (full size, not junior) and an HSS drill bit and some 3-in-1 oil. It took me about 3-4 mins to cut though the clamp when held in a bench vice, and as long as you go fairly slowly with the drilling and use a bit of oil to stop the drill bit from overheating it goes through easily enough. I wanted 7mm dia holes so started with a 4.5mm drill bit first, then went through again with the larger drill bit.
If you do use a G-clamp cut down to make an L shape, note that a strip of timber is used in that spring compressor to space it away from the base bit of timber board.