Put a Lot of Spring In Your Seat

For generations, springs have been used in mattresses, chairs, and sofas to provide a firm-yet-comfortable sensation for those laying or sitting upon such pieces of furniture. While some are substituting springs in seats for new types of form-fitting foams, one designer has decided to go in the opposite direction and make a chair mainly entirely from springs. For the those crazy about springs or just looking for a conversation starter, the Home Improvement and Knowledge Q & A Blog has a piece dedicated to spring furniture. 

For quality springs custom-made right in Tulsa, OK, Ebsco Spring Company manufactures custom springs for everything from the aerospace industry to springs for the medical field as well as agricultural equipment and beyond. 

Springs For Fun: How Spring Airsoft Guns Work

Airsoft: How Do Spring Airsoft Guns Work? on Howcast
One sport/hobby that has taken off in recent years is that of airsoft weapons. Resembling actual firearms, airsoft guns use a combination of air and spring power to fire plastic pellets without the use of any form of explosive such as the gun powder found in tradition firearms. Airsoft weapons are used as a safer target-shooting alternative as well as for simulated gun fights with friends while wearing equipment that protects the eyes, face, and other sensitive regions. In this video, airsoft weapons technician Josh Meyer demonstrates how springs project the plastic bb's through the barrel of the weapon.

For the finest American-made springs, custom-made to order, look no further than EBSCO Spring Company in Tulsa, OK. Building springs for everything from the agricultural industry to springs uses in aerospace and defense, EBSCO is dedicated is proud of never having let a defective spring out of the door.  

Typical Items With Big Uses

From the eclectic pages of LifeHackery.com comes 99 left-field uses for items you can find around the house. From crafting custom ear-protection with an old tennis ball to spring-loaded chopsticks, readers are invited to discover the off use of ordinary household items. Head over to LifeHackery's website for more information.

For more information on high quality springs and their numerous uses within various industries, log on to EBSCO Spring's official website. Based out of Tulsa, OK, EBSCO is pleased to bring American-made springs customers can trust. 

EBSCO Springs Into Action

Every so often, the experts at EBSCO Spring Company get in a crucial order that gives them the opportunity to really show what they're made of. This last week, EBSCO Spring Company received a rush order for a spring component that was keeping a Sikorsky helicopter grounded until they could supply the proper part. Shifting gears, EBSCO Spring Company was able to churn out the necessary part and up to quality standards, a process that normally takes three weeks, in 2 days. Now, this essential helicopter is back in the air, all thanks to the hard work of the spring manufacturing experts at EBSCO Spring in Tulsa, OK. For more details on the order, from start to finish, visit EBSCO Spring Company C.O.O. Todd P's blog. For more information on custom spring manufacturing performed here in the Midwest, log onto EBSCO Spring Company's official website. 

EBSCO Teams

Including the different departments of EBSCO Spring Company are the different teams throughout the company. In order to make EBSCO Spring an safe, efficient, and enjoyable place to work for employees, EBSCO Spring Company COO Todd P and CEO Cheryl D worked together to create many different subgroups throughout the company. Included in these subgroups are the EBSCO Fun Team, EBSCO Safety Team, EBSCO Lean Green Team, EBSCO Community Service Team, and the EBSCO Healthy Living Team. To address all the aspects that go into what makes a company successful, efficient, and an enjoyable place to work, these different teams help round out the workplace atmosphere into more of a compatible community instead of just a business. For more information on each of these teams their function, check out the official EBSCO Spring Wordpress Blog written by EBSCO Spring COO Todd P. 

Tomorrow's Innovation Based On Yesterday's Craftsmanship

There once was a time when people wanted to know the time, they didn't look to the bottom right-hand corner of their computer monitor, push a button to light up their smart phone, or even look down at their wrist. The answer to their question was typically on the end of a chair connected to their vest, belt, or in the breast pocket of their jacket. According to an article by Mike Eggert, pocket watches have been in use since the 16th century and continue to have much of the same appeal as they did during the time of their first introduction; aesthetics. Yes, train conductors and other professions that required a precise measurement of time did popularize the utilitarian aspect of the pocket watch, but the first pocket watches were primarily a status symbol that only the elite could afford.


The reason for the steep price tag of early pocket watches were not only the materials from which they were constructed (many were crafted from silver or gold), but the craftsmanship that went into every watch to ensure accurate time keeping. A series of springs had to be very carefully calibrated to work with a series of gears in order to accurately reflect seconds in time. 


Though pocket watches have fallen in popularity with the onset of wrist watches and even more so because of the accurate and virtually maintenance-free electronic watches of today, many still collect pocket watches as a memento of days gone by or to remember their original owners who had passed on generations earlier. At EBSCO Spring Company in Tulsa, OK, we truly appreciate the craftsmanship and precision that went into the pocket watches of yesteryear and are dedicated to the same attention to detail in every spring we make. For more information on EBSCO Spring Company's variety of spring products used in various industries, log on to EBSCOSpring.com for more information.

Check Springs: How Springs Help Keep Your Clothes Together

Adding to the list of complex devices that require the use of a simple mechanical spring, today we're going to talk about the "check spring." What is the check spring? If you haven't used a sewing machine, you probably have no idea just how crucial this very simple device is to the machine that is responsible for keeping your clothes together.

Most people (even experienced sewers) do not know how a sewing machines works; it's just one of those inventions that people take for granted. You see a needle drive into a piece of fabric as the fabric is pulled through the machine and a stitched piece of fabric comes out on the other side. Though this seems like it is a tremendously complex machine, the way it works is quite simple. 

 As you can see from the animation, the real action of a sewing machine occurs out of sight; just below the stitch plate. The needle carries the thread through the fabric to meet up with another device called the hook (as represented in red in the animation). While the needle is carrying one supply of thread, the hook is guiding another supply of thread from a smaller spool known as the bobbin. As the upper thread is brought down by needle, the hook helps guide the lower bobbin thread to form a stitch with the upper thread. In space between where the needle and the hook interact is often measured in fractions of a millimeter to ensure proper stitch formation. Even though this process seems highly technical, the action itself is not much different than someone tying a form of knot or stitch by hand, but rather the entire system is automated to be able to form as many as 3,200 stitches in a minute on an industrial machine and around 1,500 stitches a minute maximum on a sewing machine for the home. 

Though this seems complex enough as it is, none of this could take place properly without this simple device:

Though it looks relatively straightforward, the check spring (as it is referred) is crucial for proper stitch formation. Located on the upper "head" of the sewing machine typically near where the upper thread tension is adjusted, the check spring keeps tension on the upper thread as the take-up lever (an arm-like device also on the upper "head" of the sewing) is in the process of pulling the upper thread up to tighten the stitch. Without the check spring, the additional slack in the thread would cause the take-up lever to throw the thread around and get tangled on other components of the sewing machine and negatively impact the desired tension of the stitch.

A check spring just below the take-up lever.

The next time you put on your favorite pair of jeans or even a custom-tailored suit or dress, take a moment to look at the stitching of your clothes. Though it seems very simple, many components went into the formation of the stitches that keep you covered up! For more on springs and for various applications, visit the official website of Tulsa's own Ebsco Spring Company.

Leaders in Any Industry

You wouldn't know it by seeing how he runs his business, but EBSCO Spring Company's C.O.O. has only been working as the brains of the operation for 2 years. Not only that, but he's only been involved in the manufacturing industry for the same amount of time. Todd P. was in a retail manager's position at Walgreens just a few years prior; a career trend that has been sweeping the manufacturing world as the industry looks for determined leaders to head up their operations. Not muddied down by the industry, Todd's fresh look on the business of manufacturing springs has lead to great successes for his company as he strives to evaluate what business tactics are working for the successful spring manufacturing company and which are not. On his latest blog, Todd gives readers his top 10 tips for people entering a leadership role in the manufacturing industry. Though directed at those in manufacturing, Todd's wisdom transcends industry to be applicable to any field of business or leadership position. To check out Todd's blog on leadership, click here. For everything related to springs and spring manufacturing, be sure to check out the official website of EBSCO Spring Company. 

Denture Dilemmas from a Founding Father

The legendary pouty expression is rumored to depict
Washington trying to keep his dentures in place.

Though simple, springs have served a variety of amazing function since their development in the Bronze Age. Commonly overlooked, springs have played a crucial role in military victories and industry innovation, but few spring uses could be quite as odd as the following: the springs in George Washington's dentures. American's first president, famous general, and Founding Father, George Washington is known for many things; but good oral hygiene was not one of them. Rumored to this day to have worn wooden teeth, this bit of information is not entirely accurate, but George Washington's dentures did help revolutionize the field of prosthetic dentistry forever. Starting to lose his teeth in his early 20s, the Founding Father only had one tooth of his own left in his mouth by the time he uttered his presidential inaugural address; which its brief nature is rumored to be because of the immense pain brought upon by his poor dental health. 

Over the years, various dentists of the day hand-crafted dentures for Washington. Many of these dentures were either carved from hippo ivory or made from cow teeth bonded on a gold, bronze, or even lead base. Because denture adhesives were not yet used to bond dentures to the inside of the mouth, dentures were kept in place by the use of bent springs on the corners of the teeth which pushed the false teeth into the roof of the wearer's mouth and lower jaw. This allowed for somewhat natural chewing, but made his mouth appear bulky when closed and at times, very uncomfortable. Had George relaxed his jaw, the dentures springs may have popped out and gotten drool all over the Constitution! Without springs, the dentures would have had no way of staying in place. 

The above pictured is a replica set of George Washington's dentures. For a set of his real dentures on display, click here. For more information on everything springs, check out Oklahoma's spring experts at EBSCO Spring Company.