Working on the home can be pleasurable if you have the appropriate tools. Having quality tools to do the job saves you both time and money. Handheld tools come in an assortment of styles from wooden handled to hard plastic, but one factor that continues is the internal mechanisms of individual tools: a lot of them have springs so that they can operate sufficiently.
Springs aren’t a recent concept as they’ve been around since before the 1300’s. The first ever coiled spring was invented in 1763 by R. Tradwell and by the time it was 1857 the first steel coil spring had been invented. Since then we’ve been using various kinds of springs to make a difference in the strength that our tools and machines can produce. This article takes at those springs, as well as the different products they are used in.
Types of Springs
Springs are needed throughout all machinery, toys, equipment and household appliances so it’s no surprise that there are numerous, diverse kinds of springs that can be utilized. The springs are:
- Constant Pitch Compression Spring – This spring is the most popular of them all you can find it in many tools and machinery that you use every day.
- Variable Pitch Compression Spring – These springs are more typical for decreasing the volume of vibrations received in the machine you are using. With a variable rate spring, some of the springs are connected simultaneously and the others are equal distance apart, this reduces the vibrations within the spring.
- Conical Compression Spring – A conical spring is the one you would come across in remote controls where you insert the batteries. They can be seen in comparable places that require space, as the conical springs compress into one another to produce a near flat spring. They are cone shaped springs.
- Flat Wire Spring – The flat wire spring offers higher energy absorption which is less susceptible to bending and friction. Flat wire springs use less space opposed to round wire springs but take advantage of the equivalent velocity. They can be seen in seats to produce a bounce and in cars as shock absorbers.
- Barrel Springs – As the name indicates the barrel spring is shaped like a barrel where the top and bottom springs are smaller than the inner springs. Barrel springs are used where only a small space is accessible, this spring is less susceptible to bending. You will come across these springs in toys, furniture and cars.
- Tension/Extension Springs – These are the springs you see in trampolines and metal garden swings. These springs come with hook or loop ends to attach onto something at either end of the spring as you would see in a trampoline. They are constructed to resist when stretched. Once they are stretched apart, they will naturally attempt to get back to their primary appearance.
Tools Containing Springs
Staple Gun
Staple guns are needed for many DIY jobs around the home, from upholstering a chair in your dining room to fitting lights around your bedroom. This tool is often designed to be handy, and can likely fit in your rat pack tool box to be pulled out whenever needed. The staple gun has two springs inside it. One in the chamber where you add the staples – like a small stapler you would use for the office – and the additional one in the handle. The first spring is a constant-pitch compression spring constructed of a thin wire and the second spring is also a constant-pitch compression spring but it’s a thicker one
Sealant Gun
Sometimes identified as a cartridge gun. You will come across this when tackling DIY jobs around the home. Your tube of sealant is positioned inside the gun and loaded tightly with the support of the spring at the end of the gun. As you use the gun by pulling the trigger, the spring compresses the gun onto the tube and releases the sealant. This tool is essentially used in the bathroom and the kitchen. When designing a bathroom, for example, especially if it’s a DIY job or through a contractor, often the owners of the home have no clear idea of where to begin sourcing tools from. Especially in intricate jobs that require thorough work such as installing drains, tile work, and underfloor heating, specific tools need to be used, such as a sealant gun. Therefore, anyone looking into Wetroom Design guides should probably also make sure that the right tools are being used for the project. Similarly, for other home renovation projects too, sealant guns could be useful when applied to the right tasks, such as:
- Sealing around the skirting boards to block the drafts coming through
- Sealing up holes in the corner of your woodwork
- Sealing the joints between floorboards to prevent draughts coming up through the floor
Cable Strippers
These can likewise be identified as wire strippers, these operate by positioning your wire in the section allotted to remove the cable. Squeeze the handle, this will force the spring to compress and the cutter removes the cable. The spring will force the handle back to its starting position ready for use again. The spring inside the cable stripper is a constant pitch compression spring that you will come across in similar tools of this kind.
Plunge Router
Plunge routers are needed for many ornamental details like making panels in doors. The router works with the internal spring-loaded arms at either side, allowing the motor to slide up and down. With the lever locked in position and the router set to the dimensions needed and the template in place, it’s a matter of following the template until the panel is cut. This also uses a constant pitch compression spring.
Spring Clamp
Spring clamps are used for various projects in the home, garden and garage. They have a coil spring at the cross end of the handle to give the clamp the force it needs to clamp hold of objects. As you squeeze the handle the spring is compressed when you clamp on to something. This helps the clamp stay in place and anything extra you have clamped together, the force of the spring holds it in place. When you release the clamp from its position (clamped to something) it will depress back to its original state.
Within most hand tools that have switches (whether they are electric or mechanical), you need to squeeze to operate them, there is a spring inside them buried out of sight. It operates in the background providing you with the resources needed in order to use the hand tool effectively. This would usually be a coil spring.
Most springs are manufactured from stainless steel, as this is the most durable and non-corrosive material suitable.