Froment Regulator Key Springs

Uilleann Pipes
1

I’m just putting this information ‘out there’ to help others.

I wanted to replace some of the springs on the regulator keys of my Froment set. The old springs were over 12 years old, and on removing them I found that some of them had broken…not good in terms of keeping the set airtight.

I spent a looooong time trying to find a supplier for similar springs, and found a supplier, but they had an absolutely massive choice. So again, a lot of time was spent measuring the old springs and narrowing down the choice on the website.

So, to hopefully make life easier for any fellow Froment owners here is the type of spring I selected which I have found to be perfect replacements:

www.leespring.com

Spring type: LC020A12S316

These springs are:
made of 316 stainless steel
OD: 3.047mm
Wire Diameter: 0.508mm
Free Length: 14.3mm
Solid Length: 7.874mm
Load@solid length: 17.783 N

Each individual spring needs to be cut to length with snips, and I got 3 regulator springs from 1 stock spring.

I have no connection with this company, but they were fast to deliver, and I am very pleased with the results.

Search no further :slight_smile:

Kind Regards,

Steve

2

Great info. Thanks for that! My Froment set is 21 years old and the springs have no issues yet, but I’ll certainly save this info. Maybe I need to disassemble the keys and do an inspection (eek, that’s 19 keys on the set total.)

3

Glad its of potential use. I found that even though some of the springs had broken, they still remained ‘functional’, albeit at lesser efficiency. Basically, they were acting as two mini springs, one on top of the other. They fell apart on removal. The new springs have certainly had a positive effect on airtightness. Also it was a good opportunity to feed the leather pads.