Another garage door spring thing

gab

Well-known Member
When we bought this place thirty plus years ago this had a long track for two doors, one was missing and the other demolished along with the back wall. One day one of my buddies from work stopped in on his way to the landfill with that overhead door, bottom panel was loose in every joint. Think it was a 9ft door for about an eight and a half foot opening in the cement. I plated the bottom section on both sides, chiseled the cement out and cut and rewelded some track brkts and still couldn't come close getting the lower section in so took my plates off and sawed the ends off in a vee.
That old door worked perfectly until this spring, it wants to drop on it's own like the springs are weak. Springs are on each side. I was about thirty five years younger when I cobbled that up and am looking for a way to cheat.

Don't they make some kind of clamp to shorten a cable, think I might of seen it on parking brake cables years ago.
I didn't even know this building had a cement floor for months.
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Those cable tighteners only adjust the length a couple of inches at most. Chain the springs over to the next stud stretching them maybe 8 to 10 inches farther. use 1/8 link chain or even bicycle chain, and two or three #10 screws into the stud. Cut off the spring bracket if it gets in the road. Jim
 
If you haven't done it, it's a good practice to run a cable (aircraft type) through the spring. It doesn't have to be large or tight, just secure it where it comes out on each end of the spring. This is to contain the spring should it break and go flying. Old springs will do that, especially if there is a little rust and age on them.

I had a similar issue with a building I put up nearly forty years ago. I manufactured a door out of sheets of grocery shelving. It ended up being pretty heavy. I had overhead door tracks and rollers left over from several demolitions. It took two sets of springs much like the pictures shown. I did use an electric opener, but it had to have the extra springs to get it up. After about 20 years of working OK one of the springs broke and made a dandy hole in the roof, and that was with the cable running through it too! Made a heckuva racket. Two new springs fixed it back like it was. They aren't really very expensive as I recall.
 
Yes put a safety cable through the springs. Leave them slack. Attach each end. I had one break once, thought it was a rifle shot! It flew across the garage and put a hole in the wall. Good thing nobody was in line of fire. Or a vehicle.
 

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