MADE RECOIL SPRING TESTER http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?p=2796224Yall have helped me out in the past, so now I guess its time for me to give back.
I was sitting around and looking in my tool box, and I noticed that I had a few recoil springs floating around. Upon checking the notes I had marked them with, I realized that I had not specified the weapons that they came from. (My 10mm, or my .45 ACP).
Shoot!!
So that got me thinking. Hmmm
how do you test for recoil spring poundage?
I started looking online, and realized that those recoil spring testers are either super expensive ($80.00 smacker-roos), or almost impossible to find.
So I put ON my thinking cap, looked at a few pictures of professionally-made ones, and said to myself, "Shoot...I can make one myself"!
So here in front of yall, for the whole world to see, is my creation.
Here is a rundown of the parts, and what they cost me:
3/8 x 10 galvanized pipe nipple - $4.53
3/8 cap - $1.47
5/16 x 8 hex cap screw - .37 cents
25 pound fish scale - $9.99
* a few washers that I had laying around
This recoil spring tester only cost me $18.00
and the value of having it is immeasurable!
I got the metal parts at Lowes, and the fish scale at a sporting goods store. (You can go even more "ghetto" and use PVC pipe nipples and caps, and a less expensive fish scale).
But I was not comfortable with PVC parts, and I thought a cheaper scale would not be too accurate.
Anyhoo...here is a step-by-step guide with pictures - to making your own recoil spring tester.
Consider making this a sticky post.
Below are the parts I used to make the recoil spring tester. (See inventory list above for details). Make sure to purchase a bolt that is NOT completely threaded.

Below are a few pictures of the new bolt and the pipe nipple. The bolt head will need to be ground-down to fit inside the pipe nipple. Here are a few pictures to show you a before and after of the bolt head and threads. (I didnt like feeling the threads at the end of the hex screw
so they had to go).




After the bolt head (and threads) are ground down, the next step is to get a few washers and stack them onto the end of the pipe nipple. (In this picture I only show 2 washers, but in the end I had to use 4 of them. More later).
