coil main spring

[prairie flinter]

    Recently started working on putting together a Cabela's Hawkin kit for my nephew that he has had laying around for probably 10 years.  It's going to take a lot of epoxy to get this one together.  I want to take the lock apart but I can't figure out a good way to compress that coil main spring to reassemble it.  Anybody got any ideas?

[Turtle]

 If it's like the ones I have worked on it has a rod running through it? I put it on full cock and clamp small visegrips on the rod to capture the spring and release the sear to go back to uncocked. I leave the spring captive until reassembly.
                                 Turtle

[Captchee]

  You can buy a tool for it or just make you one . They are nothing but a set of duckbill pliers  with a  notch on one side  that’s large enough to  fit around the  guide rod of the spring .
Also a lot of times  the ones  that I see , have spring that  with   little effort

[Bob Roller]

Turtle has it right and its easy to do.I have seen some coil and rod set ups that when fully cocked have a small hole in the rod that a pin can be inserted in and capture the spring.

Bob Roller

[prairie flinter]

    Thanks for the replies fellows.  I had the vice grip clamped on the spring rod, but didn't want  to leave there while I was trying to file the bolster flat.  Tried to compress it with the cock all the way down, but it's still to stiff.  Guess I'll just have to work around it.

[4ster]

As Bob Roller said, if there is a central guide rod... Is there a way you can drill the guide rod and install a cross pin to hold the spring?  I recently did this on an old Stevens .22 model that has a reputation for being difficult when reinstalling the coiled hammer spring.  Worked like a charm.  Hole was drilled so that at full cock the keeper pin could be withdrawn with no spring pressure on the pin.  Lowing the hammer put pressure on the pin and allowed the spring/rod assembly to be withdrawn.

[Captchee]

 the coil spring isnt anything new . its used on many firearms ranging from revolvers to centerfire rifles and shotguns
 all you need is a set of compression pliers  to remove it . Make a pair .
 you may also be able to used a shotgun mainspring tool .
 

[Hungry Horse]

 Some late period Japanese matchlocks had not only coil springs, but coil springs made of brass.
  I hate them, but they did exist.

               Hungry Horse