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Spring

A Maverick REV-6's spring.

A spring is an internal component of a Nerf blaster; it is also one of the most important parts of a blaster. Without it, a blaster will not prime, fire, or load darts into a plunger. The main purpose of the spring is to push the plunger forward and backward when a blaster is being primed.

Many modders often replace springs with stronger ones or stretch stock springs in order to make them stronger.

Details[]

Stock springs that come with Nerf blasters are all unique. As a result, some springs aren't compatible with certain Nerf products. There are some standard sizes of springs, e.g. the Retaliator and Alpha Trooper CS-12 share a similar spring, but usually springs are proprietary.

Springs are usually made of an alloy, such as an iron/carbon or iron/chromium/nickel alloy so that the metal doesn't rust and render the spring useless. The most common spring modification is double springing the blaster. This is where two springs are placed inside the blaster to provide double the power.

Other uses[]

Of course, as a common mechanical component, small springs are commonly found in other parts of blasters such as triggers, catches, etc.

Modifications[]

There are several types of spring modification, most of which involve the addition of another spring. Some of the more notable forms of modification include:

Spring compression[]

Spring compression is when objects like coins, small pieces of cardboard, or 3D-printed spacers are placed behind a spring to compress it from behind. Doing this will allow the spring to release at higher speeds, causing the plunger to fire faster. This method is very effective for increasing the power of a blaster. However, it is not without its downsides; it may cause the blaster to be harder to prime, and will cause the spring to weaken over time, since it is compressed even when unprimed. If the spring is compressed too much, the plunger will be off-track and will not fire completely. This is the easiest to do on a reverse plunger; direct plunger systems usually have a plunger rod that would interfere with objects placed behind the spring and not allow the blaster to be primed all the way. Some blasters such as the Game Face Trion come with their own spring spacers to adjust the power of the blaster.

Spring stretching[]

Spring stretching is a method which is used on some springs, usually in the case that the owner does not have a replacement spring to use instead. This method is proven not to help blasters, as it wears out the spring more over time, causing it to compress more than it should have. It is recommended not to use this method.

Spring heating[]

Using a blowtorch, springs are heated up to supposedly increase stiffness and improve the performance of the spring. However, spring heating is very dangerous and has not been proven to increase the performance of a blaster. In fact, while heat-treating and quenching the spring might make it stronger, it will likely also make it more brittle. It is theoretically possible to temper the spring using a relatively low temperature to make it slightly more ductile and thereby more useful, but this is a difficult process that is best left to experts. Additionally, most factory springs are already heat-treated and reheating them will usually ruin the spring.

Spring additions[]

Spring additions are the additions of other springs into the blaster. These are very common, and are among the most effective spring mods. Some blasters will not catch with a second spring added, so the catch may have to be improved in order to do this mod. Additionally, the coils of the spring might interfere with each other making the blaster harder to prime.

Spring replacements[]

Spring replacements are used to replace weaker springs and add more powerful springs. This is very common, and is used mostly with hardware store springs. Some blasters after spring replacement may suffer breaks in the plastic due to the power of the replacement spring. Thus, catch mechanisms are usually replaced to prevent breaking, although this does nothing to reinforce the strength of the actual blaster's shell.

Spring weights[]

Weight Blasters with spring
1.5kg Quick 16, Speedload 6
2kg Nite Finder EX-3, Stampede ECS
2.5kg Alpha Trooper CS-18, Deploy CS-6, LongStrike CS-6, Raider Rapid Fire CS-35, Rampage, Recon CS-6, Retaliator, Vulcan EBF-25
3kg Longshot CS-6, Sharp Shot, Swarmfire
4kg Maverick REV-6, Spectre REV-5
7kg Kronos XVIII-500
10kg Apollo XV-700, Helios XVIII-700

Spring dimensions / specifications[]

Collection of spring specifications that will help when ordering replacement springs. Consult the various modding

Blasters with spring Outer Dia. Inner Dia. Length Compr. Leng.
Rampage, Retaliator, Alpha Trooper (Elite) 18mm 16mm 100mm 23mm
Apollo XV-700, Helios XVIII-700 22mm 20mm 90mm ?
Catch spring 5mm 4mm 12mm 5mm

Trivia[]

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