Recoil Springs

[Rolex]

Have several new recoil springs given to me for my SV .40

None are in packages, but are all new and never used. A

person told me that you can weigh the spring and therefore

find out the lb of said spring. I would think this may be so but-

does a 14lb spring always weight the same? And same goes for

other springs? Hay how about someone that KNOWS the lb of

14-20lb springs weighing them then checking to see what they

measure on a spring guide!!

[mpeltier]

This may help. The diameter of the spring can tell you which are heviest and which are lightest. The set of wolf springs I have are listed this way and not by a lb rating. The strongest I have is .047 (which is also what my Kimber factory 16 lb spring measures) and the lightest is.042. Measure and mark each so you can determine in order the lightest to heviest and compare to what you are running now.

Weighing the springs will mean little if any coils have been clipped or if they are extra long to allow cutting for use in 6" guns.

[Rolex]

Thanks for the info I'll try it!

[kmitchl]

I have measured the spring wire diameter but never tried weighing springs to get an indication of spring rating. I use a spring tester. A spring tester can be made from an eye bolt, a few washers and a spring scale for weighing fish. The one I use is a little more elaborate but works on the same principle. As an alternate to the spring scale you can use weights. I measure recoil springs at two points - the length at full recoil and the length with the slide fully forward. The spring weight at full recoil length is where recoil springs are rated. So a 16# recoil spring should measure close to 16# at full recoil length.