Best Custom Spring Manufacturers in the USA

The short answer: for 1 to 10 prototype springs you need this week, start with Lee Spring or Century Spring, because both ship stock springs the same day and both will sell you a single piece. For a custom spring with a price you can see before you talk to anyone, Acxess Spring is the most transparent maker we read, with a published quantity ladder and an instant quote tool. For wave springs, Smalley is the specialist, with no minimum and no tooling charges. For medical and aerospace paperwork at a US plant, look at John Evans' Sons and Century. And if you only need prototypes, skip Master Spring and Wire Form: it states a $2,000 minimum purchase order and says it prefers not to work with solo inventors.

We built this comparison by reading 19 US spring makers' own websites, terms of sale and engineering guides in September 2026. Almost none of them publishes a custom price, so this is not a price ranking. It is a ranking of what they put in writing: minimums, lead times and when they start, who keeps the tooling, and which plant a certificate actually covers. The full buyer's guide, including which spring parameters you should and should not specify, is on our custom spring manufacturers page.

Custom spring manufacturers, compared on what they publish

Lee Spring and Century Spring: the prototype picks

When you need a handful of springs to prove a mechanism, stock beats custom on every count. Lee Spring lists more than 25,000 inventoried products and says orders to the US and Canada normally ship the same day. Its FAQ answers the minimum question directly: you may order as few as one spring, and orders under $40 carry a $20 handling charge.

Century Spring in Commerce, California, owned by MW Components, lists over 40,000 stock items for same day shipping and cross references most Lee Spring, Associated Spring and McMaster-Carr stock springs. Where it pulls ahead of Lee is custom work. Century states custom orders as small as one part and prototypes shipping in as little as one week, and MW publishes typical custom lead times of 2 to 3 weeks for compression, extension and torsion springs. Lee publishes no custom lead time of its own.

Two things to check. Century's FAQ states a $25 minimum purchase while the MW store says orders under $40 carry a $15 handling fee, so confirm which rule applies to your cart. And MW's published terms allow a shipment "up to 90% more or less than the quantity set forth in the Sales Confirmation." That may be a drafting error, but it is what the terms say, so put your own quantity tolerance on the purchase order.

Acxess Spring: the most transparent custom pricing

Acxess is the one custom spring maker we read that shows you what quantity does to price. It publishes a ladder for one stainless compression spring: $2.44 each at 10 pieces, $1.44 at 100, $0.93 at 1,000, $0.24 at 5,000, $0.15 at 10,000 and $0.11 at 25,000. At those prices, 1,000 pieces cost $930 and 5,000 cost $1,200, which tells you how much of a small lot is setup. It states a $25 minimum order, a $15 small-order fee below that, custom lots from 25 pieces up to 25,000, and it lets you design and price a spring online and pay by card.

The weak spot is lead time. Acxess publishes at least five versions, from "5 days" to a common lead time of 4 to 5 weeks, with expedites of 1 to 2.5 weeks at extra charge. And the clock does not start at the order: it says it cannot start work until it receives its tolerance approval sheet signed and approved. Custom springs are non-returnable, and first orders go on a credit card with no exceptions.

Smalley: wave springs, no tooling charges, and still its tools

Smalley in Lake Zurich, Illinois makes wave springs and retaining rings by edgewinding flat wire, and says all of its manufacturing happens in its 300,000 square foot US facility. It lists 11,000 standard parts shipped same day, offers free samples on standard parts, says it never requires a minimum quantity, and trademarks "No-Tooling-Charges." Custom parts are quoted at two weeks and at three weeks in the same catalog, so ask which applies to yours. The certificate list is the fullest in the set: ISO 9001, ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100 and ISO 14001, plus ITAR registration.

One detail for the file: despite the trademark, Smalley's terms of sale say tools "shall remain the sole property of Seller." No charge, but no ownership either.

John Evans' Sons and Century: medical and aerospace paperwork

John Evans' Sons says all of its manufacturing takes place at its Lansdale, Pennsylvania plant, which holds ISO 9001:2015, AS9100D and ISO 13485:2016. For a regulated part, one certified site with no offshore sister plant is the simplest audit trail you will find. It also makes constant force springs and micro springs from 0.002 in. wire. It publishes no price, minimum or lead time, even under an FAQ heading that promises the lead time. Its terms bill pilot lots at a "Set-Up Charge" rate and keep the tooling, which it may scrap after three years.

For defense and aerospace programs, AS9100 and ITAR registration are the certificates that usually matter. Century holds AS9100D and ISO 13485 at Commerce. Capital Spring, another MW plant in Columbus, Ohio, lists ISO 9001, AS9100D and ITAR, and Smalley lists AS9100 and ITAR. Lee Spring states it is ITAR registered, but its AS9100D certificate covers only its plant in India. If you are chasing defense work, search open federal contract opportunities before you lock the spring spec, because the contract's clauses decide which certificates and sourcing rules your springs must meet. ASRaymond, for one, says in its FAQ that its global manufacturing presence restricts its ability to commit to DFARS 252.225-7014 Alternate I on standard catalog products.

Western Spring and W.B. Jones: the clearest lead times

Western Spring in Hugo, Minnesota publishes the most detailed timing in the set: compression springs in a one to two week range, extension in two to four weeks, torsion in three to four, with tooling adding two to five business days and specialty material one to three weeks. Its terms start the clock when the buyer has provided complete specifications, and its article says production begins within one to two business days of drawing approval.

W.B. Jones Spring in Wilder, Kentucky makes the boldest claim: no minimum order on custom springs, custom springs in 5 to 10 days, and expedites in 24 to 72 hours. We did not find certificates or terms of sale on its site, so ask for both before a production order.

Murphy and Read and Newcomb: engineering and volume

Murphy and Read in Palmyra, New Jersey is the maker to read before you draw your spring. Its design reference says only two of spring rate, load at L1, load at L2 and free length may be specified, and that coil count must be reference if you specify a force or rate. It says it can usually hold tolerances 25% smaller than SMI guidelines, and its store lists a stock music wire spring at $6.41 each for 10 to 24 pieces and $0.38 at 1,000 or more.

Newcomb Spring runs seven US plants plus one in Ontario, each ISO 9001:2015, from a Georgia office. It publishes calculators for compression, extension and torsion springs but no price or lead time, saying lead times depend on backlog at the time of quotation. Its terms allow 10% over or under and let it dispose of tools after three years.

Master Spring and Wire Form: production only

Master Spring in Roselle, Illinois is clear about who it serves. Its quote page states a $2,000 minimum purchase order, split shipments carry a $300 minimum invoice, and its FAQ says it prefers not to work with solo inventors or design firms that only order prototype quantities. For a first prototype, go elsewhere.

Three questions to ask before you pick

Who owns the tooling? Every published terms document we read that addresses it keeps the tooling with the spring maker, including Lee, MW, John Evans' Sons, Newcomb, Master Spring, AMFT and Smalley. None publishes a tooling amount. Ask for the figure and for transfer rights before you pay. It is the same question that decides a second source with die casting manufacturers.

Which parameters do you control? Tell the maker which two you care about, usually a load at a working height plus a rate or a second load, and mark free length and coil count as reference. Makers that publish the rule say over-specifying leaves them nothing to adjust, and that costs money. Our spring maker buying guide covers the rule in detail.

When does the clock start? Acxess starts on a signed tolerance sheet, Western on complete specifications, AMFT on receipt of all necessary information. Vulcan Spring's terms, also used by Gardner, count delivery up to thirty days after the requested date as on time. Get the start event in writing.

How much does a custom spring cost?

It depends far more on quantity than on the spring. Acxess publishes one stainless compression spring at $2.44 each for 10 pieces, $0.93 at 1,000 and $0.11 at 25,000, and cites $12.20 for a single prototype. Murphy and Read lists a stock spring at $6.41 each for small lots. Other makers publish no custom price, so quote at two quantities.

Shortlist the right spring maker in one brief

Suppliers is an AI sourcing agent. Describe the spring, its material, the loads or rate that matter, the space it fits, your prototype and production quantities and any certification. The agent shortlists spring makers that fit, shows their published terms side by side with vetting evidence, and sends one consistent request for quote through our RFQ tool, so every answer covers the same points. If the spring rides in an assembly with a cable, the same brief can go to wire harness manufacturers. You pay a flat monthly fee, there is no commission on the order, and you contract with the spring maker directly. A human on your side reviews the evidence, approves the samples and decides.