I Chopped My NY1

[Matt VDW]

I've been using the Glock 3.5# connector with the NY1 trigger spring in my G35. While this combination works well, I thought that it would be nice to lighten the trigger pull while retaining the same "feel".

Most Glockers would simply use a lighter striker spring, but I had to be different. ;) So I decided to clip a few coils from the coil spring that supports the plastic "leaf" of the NY1. I cut off about 20% of the spring, re-assembled everything, and... didn't notice much of a difference. I assume that the pull is lighter now but my finger isn't sensitive enough to judge whether it's been reduced 5% or 15%.

Now I'm wondering how much the coil spring can be lightened or shortened before there's a significant risk that the plastic of the NY1 will crack from insufficient support.

[4eyes]

Remove the spring and just re-install the plastic piece. Good trigger.

[3rdpig]

Shortening a coil spring makes it stiffer. A coil spring is just spring wire wound into a coil. Imagine it as a straight piece is spring wire. The shorter you make it the stiffer it becomes. A coil is the same way, cutting coils off it makes it shorter and stiffer.

[Matt VDW]

Originally posted by 3rdpig
Shortening a coil spring makes it stiffer. A coil spring is just spring wire wound into a coil. Imagine it as a straight piece is spring wire. The shorter you make it the stiffer it becomes. A coil is the same way, cutting coils off it makes it shorter and stiffer.
The shortened spring may be stiffer, but is stiffness as important as length in this situation?

The original spring was somewhat compressed when installed in the NY1 and compressed more as the trigger bar moved back, pressing down on the NY1. With a few coils removed, it's now only barely compressed when installed and at full depression should be compressed less as a percentage of its uncompressed length than the original spring was.

Anyway... another idea I had was to substitute a spare safety plunger spring for the original NY1 spring. It's smaller in diameter but should still be wide enough to work.

[3rdpig]

Originally posted by Matt VDW
The shortened spring may be stiffer, but is stiffness as important as length in this situation?

The original spring was somewhat compressed when installed in the NY1 and compressed more as the trigger bar moved back, pressing down on the NY1. With a few coils removed, it's now only barely compressed when installed and at full depression should be compressed less as a percentage of its uncompressed length than the original spring was.

Anyway... another idea I had was to substitute a spare safety plunger spring for the original NY1 spring. It's smaller in diameter but should still be wide enough to work.

I see what you're saying.

A normal coil spring takes a steady increasing pressure to depress it from uncompressed to coil bind. Shortening it makes it stiffer across it's working distance.

Let's say, before you shortened the spring, you were starting 1/4 depressed and at full compression were 1/4 away from coil bind (in other words using the middle half of the springs total length as your working distance), now you cut enough coils off to shorten the spring by 1/8 of it's total length. You've made the spring stiffer but the working distance has moved upwards in the springs total movement range.

I don't know. It's a question of "does moving the working distance higher in the springs total range make up for the fact that shortening it makes it stiffer overall?".

Not being an engineer and not having the formulas or the math I can't answer that. I'd have to do it the Jackleg Mechanics way and just get a scale and measure it.

Good thinking though, you've either worked with springs before or you've got a logical mind.

[4eyes]

Originally posted by 3rdpig
I see what you're saying.
before you shortened the spring, you were starting 1/4 depressed and at full compression were 1/4 away from coil bind (in other words using the middle half of the springs total length as your working distance), now you cut enough coils off to shorten the spring by 1/8 of it's total length. You've made the spring stiffer but the working distance has moved upwards in the springs total movement range.

3P, if you remove X% of coils from a compression spring, you effectively reduce the strength per distance and the overall strength of the spring, in that usage distance, is less. An example: cut 25% off your striker spring and see don't it not fire off the primer. OK? (Now it's so short, it won't even compress)