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OK, here are the bad boys. The curving ones I have go from 00 to 5, the lifting ones from 00 to 4. The example hairspring would be about right for a deck watch- very big, and the largest of both sets worked well. You can see in the 4th pic that the end of the lifting tweezers can be adjusted for the thickness of the spring (red circle) and how far it pushes (screw in blue circle). I just did a simple overcoil, there are many shapes, here the goal was to get the curve to follow one of the spirals more or less imagining in our imaginary watch that would be where the regulator lies.

This is what I use for hairspring work (and some of the best German watch manufacturers, too). Price however is just a fraction of the above mentioned, I am sorry... Frank spirdose_flde_c.pdf

Can you post a picture, always worth 1,000 words? Some of what you call dirt can be oxidation or top laquer corrosion, it has no remedy beside full reprint, otherwise you can minimize it working on other details and call it "vintage patina".

Nucejoe, if the run to the banking and/or drop lock are too small (yet still functionally safe) then yes there could be too much amplitude, causing rebanking.

You can get fluttering, that is where the pallets escape to quickly from the teeth of the escape wheel, causing very little movement from the pallets, normally caused by a chipped pallet stone or pallets set in correctly.

There's no way really other than checking the escapement functions. Some forks have a significant gap at the back where the jewel sits, some none, generally somewhere in between. As even a move of 0.01mm will have a real impact on performance there's no shortcut. Luckily it seems few forks get 'adjusted' willy nilly as it requires heating up, on the other hand I think every American watch with eccentric bankings I've seen has had the bankings put in the weirdest positions.

Remove (with crystal press) the crystal and measure, generic flat sapphire crystal are easy to find. Same for bezel insert, measure and search internet for a replacement. Working on mov't is another matter, you will need even more specific tools and skills, I highly recommend that do not begin with valuable pieces because the very high chances of damaging something. Now, a 7S26 can be conveniently replaced with an NH36 that hacks and winds, still the caution applies. Watch the below videos by our Host mark Lovick and consider enrolling his excellent course for gradual and complete education. Finally use the search function on the top right, we have very many thread about the 7S26 here.

I have contributed on this thread by helping the original poster about the hairspring and pointing out one of the problems from his first photo. Also mentioned by the original poster he said De Carle mentioned using curved forming tweezers, he says he cannot find. I posted a link to the type of tweezers he asked about. Please respect all members contributions.

Another small step successfully taken

Off to another of these largely forgotten horological corners today with this all-steel Vixa, dating from the 1940s and running on a 15j Lorsa 237B. There’s no nice ‘n’ easy linear narrative for this French “Vixa” brand which isn’t recorded in the usual databases but was made by Stéphane Boullier of Besançon who was much involved in Timex setting up their Kelton brand in Besançon. Boullier became head of Timex France so, given his profile, I’d have thought that the history of his own Vixa Watch Co would have been reasonably well documented but either it’s not, or I’m not finding it. I’m not alone in this - others have tried and have also come up empty, so this fragmented synopsis is as much about what I can’t find, as what I can. I can’t even establish when the Vixa brand was first registered, nor what they were doing either before or after Boullier took charge at Timex France. However, it is reported that when WW2 ended, they were one of six companies (Breguet and Dodane amongst them) commissioned to supply Type 20 Chronos for the French Naval Air Force. Seemingly, Vixa’s cases and movements for these came from the German Hanhart factory under war “reparations” and were then assembled into complete watches for Vixa back in France by Kiplé in Morteau. Thereafter Vixa appears to have largely concentrated on watches for the French Military, possibly alongside other civilian models like mine, but when those orders dried up, the company’s doors were closed in the early 1960s by whoever was running it then. If anyone has any more insight into the original Vixa company, then please do share. Regards.

Fixing a friends dad’s old Waltham and it needs a new staff. Step 1 is to remove the balance cock. Step 2 is removing the balance with the roller table and hairspring attached. Step 3 is removing the hairspring. Then have a look at the good pivot. It will provide a good reference to measure for the new pivot. Step 4 is to remove the roller table. Lots of different tools and techniques here but I have an old factory tool. Step 5 is to cut off the old riveted balance away from the staff, on a lathe. Step 6 is to punch out the old staff from the balanceStep 7 is to measure the old balance staffThen you prepare a piece of blued steel for the Lathe to cut the new staff. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

i asked the same in a facebook group and got this answer from mr. Lass "3mm is the most common. But the 4mm is the same size as in the Seitz jewel pusher, then you can use those ones if you find a cheap seitz set. The horia pushers is around $1000 for a set." if you buy the 4mm. you can use it all by making a kind of bushing...