I've had good luck restoring gummed up spring loaded pins by putting them in a small zippered sandwich bag with 99% alcohol, sealing it, dipping in near boiling water, pulling it out, and squeezing the pin to actuate its travel.
If it doesn't come back to life after through cleaning, one likely culprit of the spring's failure may be that the ceramic rod was installed too far down, causing excessive pressure on the spring. The spring doesn't tend to wear out quickly when the rod is installed properly, "up" high enough to prevent over compression. I'd like to look at your rod placement over videoconference, if you're game we can try out an alternate Hercules assembly method to check clearances. The same method can be used to help dial in placement with a collapsed spring and I can help ensure a new post's longest life. My Skype ID is samuraisam33 , if you'd like to reach out.
Please don't think I'm ignoring it, I must ask regarding your request to isolate the spring loaded pin. Regarding shipping you're welcome to purchase a half dozen posts at the same time to lessen the impact of the shipping cost on a small order if you'd like. Our shipping costs go to the USPS in their entirety, you can check the price they ask for Priority Mail shipping with a Signature Requirement at
https://postcalc.usps.com/ with our address (and complete shipping details at
https://www.w9tech.com/shipping-returns/ )
$2.99 is a handling fee to cover the cost of handling the order. That starts with our Shipworks shipping computer, the label printer and label, baggies, peanuts, mailers, boxes, tape, shipper's wages, and mail room fees. I might be forgetting a few items in there- I don't work in shipping and might be missing something.
If we shipped First Class mail (which we've done in the past) there'd be an exponential increase in the amount of lost packages (and reported undelivered packages) that are the inevitable result of forgoing a tracked, insured, signature required-upon-delivery shipping method. The cost paid to from a customer to USPS would be less, and our expenses would go up exponentially:
1. We'd have many more customers asking for reshipments of uninsured items they did not receive. There's far less reports of lost items when both parties are provided tracking information and can easily see the shipment's progress, attempted delivery times, actual delivery time and who signed for it. There's far less reported shipments that "never made it" when packages aren't left on door steps or in mail boxes for criminally motivated folks to find. "Sorry we missed you" slips are left instead and there's no easier place to visit than the post office to pick up a package if you aren't available to sign for it when the delivery is attempted.
2. Without tracked, insured shipping, our 'second shipment' costs per issue increase. Lower cost items like spring loaded pins that might cost a fraction of what a vaporizer does have a much smaller profit potential, and that profit is eliminated if we have no chance of reimbursement through the shipper. If we have to send out a second Omicron package because a First Class Mail shipment was left in a mailbox, we're losing money on that transaction.
The result is that we'd have to raise the cost of our products to offset the increased losses that go hand in hand with less costly shipping. And while the high of shipping might be frustrating initially, the headaches prevented by shipping this way greatly outweigh the few dollars worth of frustration. If they do not then I would be happy to help find a retailer that carries the part you're looking for so you don't have to stress further about w9tech.com's shipping policies. Please write
support@w9tech.com if I can help with anything further!