"Roger Shoaf" wrote in message
...
Ed

The reason I was asking this question is because I was involved in a
discussion about building a coffee roasting drum to be used in a gas BBQ
grill and it was suggested that a music wire cotter pin might be used in
it's design.

When I built my roasting drum I considered using a spring for the door
latch
but opted not to as I was worried about the reliability in an environment
that you are shooting for a 500 F temp.

Seems to me you have confirmed this.

Yeah, music wire would not be a good choice, unless it doesn't matter if
it's quickly softened. If you need real hardness at that temperature (and
I'm guessing that you don't really need very much), high-speed steel is the
solution. That's a little extreme, but it will hold its full hardness up to
around 1,000 deg. F.

There aren't many steels that make good high-temperature springs. But the
application doesn't sound very demanding, so you'll get it solved without
too much trouble.

Good luck.

Ed Huntress