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This morning I drove to the big city (Winnipeg) with finding springs as the primary item on my list. I tried Princess Auto, Home Depot and Parts Source to no avail. Man, I'm getting frustrated to say the least. There is a small town fairly close me with a Bumper to Bumper and Home Hardware store. They are both closed on Sundays. I'll check with them tomorrow to see if they have anything close to what I need in stock. If not it's off to A'zon or Fleabay.

In the meantime, can someone give me general dimensions for suitable springs? My jig is 19.5" long and I'm guessing I would need 6" or 7" long springs.

Mine are below - my back one is good, the front is a little soft and I just got a new one (shown) but I just tried them and they are too strong.

The order of the photos is: 1) span of back hold down, 2) back hold down springs, 3) span of front hold-down, 4) front hold down springs

Thanks Morecowbell for taking the time to share your information. That sure gives me something to go with tomorrow. I suppose the strength depends on the spring wire diameter and length plus the hook up span.

It looks to me like a span ratio of 3/4 - 1 should be workable. I'd like to make one hookup point in the center of the body if possible and I think 5/8" - 3/4" dia. and 6.5" long springs might work for me. I can always move the hook up point if necessary. Hope I can find something like that.

In the meantime I do have some small details to work on while I'm waiting to do the bending.

Hopefully some other folks can chime in - its taken me a few tries to get them to the "right" tension and my front ones are still off a bit

I ordered mine through the local Home Hardware. They are on their web site if not in stock.

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/search?q ... on+springs

The brand is Trakar and they are called extension springs. They are not expensive and I bought several so I could choose the best size for the job. You may have to move some hardware to get the right fit for the tension and size. I subsequently saw them in stock at Bumper to Bumper and Lordco in my town, which would have been easier, had I known earlier. Bruce W.

Bruce thanks for the tip about Bumper to Bumper. I never would have thought to check with them.
BB was my last stop and they had a pair of 6 1/2" & 4" springs. The tension seems ok on my jig.
Oh happy days (LOL). I think I'm in business with the third repair to my jig.