OR: Post on the shed for some weak spring take off's, should be pretty cheap.

Yes, there should be some folks who have some “helper” springs laying around that they’ve replaced with stronger music wires! I’d think doing a little searching would be wiser than dickin around ruining stock springs! Because of this thread I removed the main springs on a Duke #2 but left the helpers on. Easier to set of course and certainly strong enough to easily hold a mink or rat!

Just put mink pans on them, the flat part of the pan engaging the entire width of the dog will cut the pan tension in half.