Mark, for future reference, if you want to glue metal (I'm guessing cast iron from the look on the pictures?) de-grease it first with e.g. acetone, roughen it up and remove corrosion with some sandpaper and de-grease again. Then glue it.

BTW, if the 12-gauge wire isn't stiff enough to resist the bending forces applied by the spring, there is no way that glue is going to restrain it.

If you just want to keep the wire from falling out, a small drop of superglue (cyanoacrylate) would probably suffice.

If we're lucky, Mark's fix will last a good long time, but if not, we'll definitely follow your advice for the next repair job.

Thanks for the feedback Rolland.

This spring just barely puts any force on the 12 gauge stub and is mainly used to return the iron finger back to the original position.

I agree that extra prep work on a surface is critical if you want a good bond, but this only needed to hold the pin in place and the surface was mostly clean.

Where did you get a spring for 30 cents. I paid $2.21 (Canadian) for a spring that was a bit too long. For the pin to hold the spring, I used a pop rivet, cut off half the shaft and applied a spot of solder on the shaft opposite the side of the rivet. Fits in the groves nice.

This is helpful. What's the length and diameter of the spring hat I need. Both mine are MIA.