Keep springs sprung

[Cliff_Johns]

As a general rule, you should keep things that have a spring action in their sprung condition. Surprises, when it comes to heavy equipment (or even light equipment) are usually bad.

I was removing my Imatch. Not a big deal, but I'd left the little arms up -- the ones you snap down to lock the attachment into place. There is quite a bit of spring in them, so when I leaned over one to reach something, it tilted just enough to snap down with quite a bang, metal on metal. Had a finger been under it, the finger would have been smashed. I would have lost a nail if not part of my finger.

I've always had that rule about leaving springs sprung, but I neglected to follow it.

Noise scared me and my dog, but the dog forgot all about it in minutes. Me, it reminded me of my rule. So I thought I would remind everyone else too. Public service for the day.

Cliff

 

[Taylortractornut]

I know the feeling I cut open a combine spring a few years ago in the shop it had a clutch i needed yo rebuild. I had cut several before thatwere the same size a 5/16ths sprng in 3 inch coils six inches lanog as soon as it cut throught it was a 5/16ths spring 3 inch coil about 2 feet long. It almost hit dad shot acros the room and hit the tin wall made a good reminderof how serious things are. Spring brake chambers on trucks are the same way befor I scrap one I put it in a pipe with one end welded shut and the other opened towards the scrap pile. I have a hole cut in the side that lins up with the bands that hold it together then I cut them off watching the stuff fly.