Any help appreciated .
Ive a covered system Hawkes & Sons Crown AZ in F Natural and ive done a spring on it, but no one around me seems to know where ill get replacement spring or the exact material to make a spring for it ( ie size or type of wire ) it also seems a complex job for an amature like myself to replace, any tips ? special tools ? any advice atall would be great ?
Thanks in Advance
A good supplier in the UK to check is Windcraft, they might carry what you’re looking for.
Thanks Gabriel , the real problem i have is “What is it i need” , Size of wire ? Type etc ?
Many thanks all the same my friend .
I would try Ferris Music in Portadown.
They claim to stock springs for their range of flutesincluding an F flute but I cant access the pads and springs section for some reason?
Someone there may or may not be able to point you in the right direction?
I’d guess that a flute of that type and era will probably have mostly blued steel needle springs, but modern stainless steel spring wire would make satisfactory replacements. Some keys may also still have flat “leaf” springs - either steel or brass. You will have to carefully examine the flute and the logic of its mechanism to work out exactly what you need.
It looks as though Windcraft have recently upgraded their website and also changed their terms of business - the Windcraft site is now trade only, but you can research items there and then buy them (online) through the retail side of the business, Dawkes Music. Look things up on Windcraft, then, when you’ve found what you want, click on “Price” and it will transfer you, with the item, to Dawkes Music.
Here’s the Windcraft page on spring wire: http://www.windcraft.co.uk/repair-materials.php?category=springs&header=stainless%20steel%20wire
and here’s the one for blued steel needle springs: http://www.windcraft.co.uk/repair-materials.php?category=springs&header=needle+blue+tempered+
You can also (but not immediately obviously - I had to hunt about the menu!!) find the specialist repair stuff like spring wire or individual springs, pads etc. on the Dawkes site - http://www.dawkes.co.uk/repair-materials.php?section=repair%20materials. This is probably your best bet - looks fairly straightforward, TBH, once you actually know/work out what you need.
You’ll just have to work out what guage wire/spring will be most suitable from your instrument in hand - either by measuring surviving springs with a vernier caliper or by testing the holes in the pillars with some kind of feeler whose diameter you can measure or is known to get a snug fit. You may be able to get advice on needle spring fitting by online searches for woodwind maintenance manuals or such. As long as the spring is long enough to start with, it can be cut to length once fitted. They also supply flat leaf springs of various kinds, but unless you need steel ones, I suggest learning to make your own brass/cupro-nickel ones (old threads here on C&F about that) if those are what you need.
Well Jem i must say your well named !!
Thanks very much for that my friend and yes it is the blue needle springs mate.
Much Appreciated 
Consider Herr Boehm’s advice on springs - he specifically mentioned the English Darning Needle. Your better half (making some assumptions here, but humour me) may well have exactly what you want. Look for a packet of varied sizes, and select the one that just passes nicely through the hole.
They come extremely hard, and you’ll probably need to flatten the end that stays in the post so that it will stick in the post. You can’t flatten it while it’s that hard, so apply a small flame to the area of the pin that sticks, then hammer that on a suitable anvil (railway tracks are great, but remember to look both ways first and don’t use the one in the middle). You only need it a little bit annealed, and a little bit flattened, or you’ll have a very limp spring. Pass the pointy end through the hole and use pliers to push or pull it firmly till it sticks. Cut off any excess where it protrudes past the catch on the key. Cut off any excess sticking out past the post. Give it one more squeeze with long-nosed pliers, one jaw around the post, the other pushing on the tail end of the spring. Now bend the spring gently to give the pressure you want.
Terry
Good point Terry, though in these days of cheapo oriental “Pound Shop” stuff and the general disappearance of traditional haberdashers, getting good quality needles may be problematic! If I recall aright, Rockstro gives instructions on bluing a sewing needle for a spring, but the one time I tried it I couldn’t get it to work and the needles just kept snapping.
Here’s an alternative GB source of woodwind repair and maintenance materials: http://www.windplus.co.uk/supplies/springs.html
Don’t know about the UK, but here in the States any good hobby shop will have lengths of steel spring wire in a variety of diameters. Not sure what configuration a Crown AZ spring is in, but bending the wire to suite should only take a couple of pliers (round tip and needle nose) and possibly a mandrel (I’ve made the latter by polishing up a nail of the appropriate diameter and clamping it with the wire into a vise. Please note that hardened spring wire is a bear to cut and will damage most snips. I usually cut it with some form of abrasive (dremel wheel, grinder, file…).
Good luck
Many thanks folks , much appreciated