by Geoff Byman

There goes another one into orbit. The far reaches of the universe that is my workroom must be full of space debris – in the form of springs – mainly the drawbar type. Struggling for the hundredth time with needing three hands of extremely thin and strong multi-flexi joints of the type that mechanics often wish they had, a motion was passed in the works design department to come up with an effective, simple solution for the seemingly simple job of hooking a spring over the back of the drawhook, that would hold it in place whilst the spring retainers – usually in the form of a washer and split pin – were fitted and secured.

After a good deal of thought and a few sketches, the solution was simple. A flat bar, the end of which has a small 90 degree return – just enough to retain the spring from slipping out - a slot along the length of the hook that is sufficient to fit over the back of the drawbar and you're part the way there. This worked well, but it is still a struggle to hold the bar and fit the retainers. Solution, obviously, was a second hook to hold the first hook in place, if you follow me. A quick measurement determined the position and size of the second hook, which then simply hooks over the buffer beam, thereby holding the spring retainer in place unassisted.

Material could have been of most metals – steel, brass, nickel silver – anything with enough beef for the job. As I had some offcuts of 0.036in nickel silver in my ‘scrappy bits box’, this seemed – and was – ideal. The material was cut and formed as in the middle photo and drawing – note the dimensions are an approximate guide. There was no need to solder together as the clasp was pressed tight (in the vice or lightly hammered tight) onto the handle – but solder can be applied if this doesn’t hold well enough.

Ah! Just a minute. A message received from the far side of the universe asking why they aren't receiving missiles any more…?