Trouble Finding E-11 Spring Style

[Cladius]

Hey guys, found a good place to buy a E-11 but they don't supply them with the internal spring... 

 

I was wondering if you guys knew of a place where I could find a spring that was 3/4" diameter and around 7 inches in length? 

 

I've looked online and had a tough time trying to find the right style of spring that is in the E11's... 

 

Best I could find was this at 6" but I am not sure if stretching it the extra 1" would give it the right look. http://www.hardwareandtools.com/century-spring-c-856-3-4-inch-od-compression-spring-uecb-7905.html

 

In all honesty, the spring itself looks a little thick and I can't seem to find one that's thinner. 

 

Any help would be appreciated. 

[Colin1138[TK]]

I just took a wire coat hanger, wrapped it round a dowel and shoved it into my doopys. Maybe not super accurate...but it does the job for me.

[Cladius]

Lmao. Okay works for me. I bought some wire that I'll spray paint and probably just make my own spring then. <br><br>

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Do you Ace hardware up there in the great white north? They have springs that will work if you stretch them out a bit.

 

-Eric

[TK 2759[501st]]

Never heard of Ace Hardware, myself, but on that note, try Homehardware?

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Depends whether you want it functional or not. General wire looks great but does not hold "spring" so can't be used to recoil. I picked up some Pirtek and Enzed, an industrial hydraulic hose supplier. Its used to go around the outside of rubber hoses for protection.

 

Apex Guns, and similar places, carry the originals, but are currently out of stock...

Edited January 3, 2016 by Sith Lord

[Cladius]

I do have a home hardware here and went and picked up some random wire since I couldn't find a suitable spring... I don't really need the spring ability, just need it to look like it is a "real spring" so I kinda made my own. 

 

It should be fine since I don't actually plan on making the cocking action work.  

 

Couldn't find anything in the right size to twist it around until I stumbled upon a highlighter lmao. 

 

It's not great looking but I am hoping it should work. 

 

[Cladius]

Btw, is the spring supposed to be left silver or should it be black?

[Sentry71[TK]]

That is how the spring in my E11 build looks - slightly uneven, but the spacing is good.

I left mine silver.

 

Edit: in the E-11 Blaster Reference, the recoil spring section does not mention a specific color, and most of the previous build reference pics seem to be silver. However, Aaron's real Sterling parts photos show the spring to be a dark metal, almost black. 

 

I would think the final decision is up to you on which color you choose to use.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Sentry71

[T-Jay[TK]]

You can try weathering your spring with black spray paint to get that look.

 

That is how I did it in my build, because the silver wire simply was too shiny.

[Cladius]

Thanks for the advice guys. I may just go and do that then.

[Twnbrother]

I got one from APEX a while back. Plus you can get a finishing kit from Tino that has the accurate wire gauge.

[Dday[501st]]

Btw, is the spring supposed to be left silver or should it be black?

 

It's not painted, just colored over time I think.

 

They are a darker steel color, so the silver spring really doesn't match unless you do as tino said and spray it black and then weather it up. Or let it sit out in the weather a week or 2 and it should darken.... maybe.