Jim writes: >When regulating an action one of the first things I do is clean out the > spring grooves and clean off the springs themselves ( a little alcohol >rag makes this a quick job). Greetings, I used to do something like this, but found what I think is a much faster way. With the whippens still on the rail, go through and lift all the springs out of their slot and pull them up past the balancier. Drop a 1/4" dowel under them and then with the Dremel tool and its little felt buffing wheel, go down the line and just touch the tips. A groove will form very quickly in the felt wheel and it will clean and polish all the tips like new. The dowel keeps the springs from dropping back out of the way, and it also keeps the wheel from hitting the balanciers. The rotation of the wheel is important, one way will grab the springs, the other just pushes them back against the dowel. I also haven't seen problems with using a small dab of graphite paste on the tops of the springs, which is easy to apply while they are all resting on the dowel. After they are treated, it is a simple move of the spring tool to put them back in the slot without touching anything. At the school, I have actions that were refurbished this way in 1984 and they are still in fine shape. Regards, Ed Foote RPT
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