Let's hear it for the forgotton parts of locks!

[Engineer]

Been meaning to post this for ages, but we never seem to spare a thought for the part of a lock that must have one of the hardest jobs of all - The springs!

We all know that if you bend metal often enough, it will break, yet the springs in locks are compressed many thousands of times, exposed to rain ingress and worn with any grit that enters the lock. Whether cylinder, wafer, mortice or even warded, they all contain springs. If you think of the abuse they take when being picked (especially with an electrical pick) it's a tribute to how well made they are (even in the cheap locks) that they don't break more often on us!

So let's spare a thought for one of the most hard working and under estimated bits of engineering in a lock.

[n2oah]

This topic probably fits better in General Chatter than Locks.

[TOWCH]

I've always liked the egg shaped ones that compress flat.