I ordered the wrong torsion springs the first time around and ended up with stainless 90 degree springs. I then returned those and ordered piano wire 120 degree ones instead. They arrived yesterday.
I haven't really had time to take a closer look at them until now. I knew they weren't EXACTLY the same as the McMaster or Amazon Supply ones, but the data were close enough to not cause too much trouble, I assumed. The thing is that it doesn't have as many winds as the one you guys use. Force-wise all three of them will still be able to hold the weight of the platform with the handle AND added weight of my hand. On that I have no doubt, but lesser winds on the spring also means lesser width. Lesser width on the springs will create empty areas on the shafts if I maintain the current spacing between the bearing blocks. That's too bad, because I have made a base plate already. I think I will need to redesign the base plate and have narrower width between the bearing blocks.
With my current bearing blocks the shaft ends up a tad bit too high from the base plate surface for my taste. The torsion springs doesn't expand that much when under pressure, so there is really no need for the shaft to sit that high up from the base. So it looks like I will have to go back to "ye olde drawing board" like Wile E Coyote and redesign everything from scratch to fit the available hardware. That means narrow the space between the bearing blocks to eliminate empty gaps between the parts. Shorten or redesign the bearing blocks to sit lower on the base plate. That means I have to switch from M4 screws to M3 which is slightly smaller and a little more common find in my parts drawer at home. I want to make the shaft sit as low as I possibly can without compromising movement of the pivot arm and expansion of the torsion springs.
It is with mixed feelings I choose to abandon my finished base plate and the bearing blocks.
If someone would like to take over my old parts and continue working with the size that was made for Actobotics parts, send me a PM.
I can make a new Z-spring anchor for myself, so I'll leave the one that's one there so it's a complete base plate with bearing blocks (and no bearings).