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Cordura Bfg 158 31/7 Hairspring Replacement After Marks Video


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what's up,

My pin lever obsession and immersion continues, and I though I'd show a just-completed hairspring replacement on a Baumgartner 158 31/7 17 Jewel autowind day date diving watch. This movement is one of the "maxed-out" pin lever engines representative of the 70's. It keeps great time now, but it wasn't always the case.....we shall begin!

 

Ebay purchase--$40.00, the usual issue: NOT running!

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Started the dial-side disassembly:

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and continued on the baseplate:

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Done!

 

Now the rebuild.

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dial side:

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Afterward I TRIED changing the hairspring but ordered one with a shorter stud. This was not apparent to me at first (duh!) because I was so elated just having accomplised it,  but I now know that the difference was quite obvious. The hairspring became entangled in the auto winding wheel which extends over the spinning balance and is very close: after wearing it one day it completely jumbled and snapped. I ordered another hairspring and you can see the difference in the length of the stud. This is crucial to its clearing the autowinding wheel gears.

 

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 Prep for mounting new hairspring

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Finally in position: Thanks Mark!

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Done

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Hope this wasn't too tedious. I have a whole bunch of twisted hairsprings. but who wants to see pictures of that?!?

next project I am doing an Omega Constellation 751: The last of the great vintage in house Omega movements.

See you soon,

JC

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Edited by noirrac1j
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Great job :)

 

You will enjoy the Omega, great watches to work on. But be careful when removing the pallet cock as this can be quite tight on the classic Omega movements and it's quite easy to snap the pallet pivots. Softly softly :)

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Hello,

Thanks for the comments. I am excited about the Omega too because it will be my first time working on an Omega plus it is one of my favoriyes from my collection--I am going to go very slow. Geo I see what you mean about the hands, but you know....its just one of those things where my aesthetic sensibility is biased towards keeping a watch as original as possible--but that probably shouldn't be too much of a factor on a $40.00 watch thats probably been around --or maybe not. But my collection began with Omega and that is how I like my wathches--as unadulterated as possible. Oh yeah, plus I don't know how to re-lume and don't have any of the luming powder to do it either! Thanks for the comments guys and Mark thanks for all the great videos.

 

JC

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Hi Joe, I know you like to keep things honest and original. The only reason I was bing picky is that you're doing so very well, and it would be another skill for you to learn. Whether you do it on this watch or just a spare pair of old hands it's worth having a go, I am confident that you will manage.

Check out Mark's excellent videos on the subject:- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GyEB2yDBXbM

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  • 6 months later...

Hi everyone and greetings from Israel.

JC, I am working on the exact same watch with the exact same problem, namely, I need to replace the hairspring on the balance.

Where did you find a hair spring with a long enough stud holder?  I am searching all over the net nut zilch...

I tried CousinsUK, Jules & Borel, Ebay but came up with nothing.

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

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Hi everyone and greetings from Israel.

JC, I am working on the exact same watch with the exact same problem, namely, I need to replace the hairspring on the balance.

Where did you find a hair spring with a long enough stud holder?  I am searching all over the net nut zilch...

I tried CousinsUK, Jules & Borel, Ebay but came up with nothing.

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Hello Tall Saul. Yes I know this problem very well.....I am away from home at the moment at a conference but will be back in NYC tonight. I am pretty sure I have a new hairspring at home with the long stud holder. I'll give you the exact info very soon....and welcome to the forum!

 

 

Regards,

JC

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Hello tallsaul,

 

The complete balance/ hairprings I have in hand I did get them from CousinUK The order number should be BFG 1582793. I have two in my personal inventory. They should look like this.

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The reason for the longer stud as you may already know is for the clearance. Check Cousins again and if you have no luck, PM me.

 

JC

 

 

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Hi,

With the help of your photos the picture is absolutely clear now.

I guess we went through the same path.  The movement I am working on shows: 158 31/7 and based on that I ordered the wrong balance.

With your photos I am now confident to order the 1582793.

I also ordered the regulator for that watch and again, the one I received was way to short.

I will post photos and movement analysis when I complete the project.

Thanks again!

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Hi,

With the help of your photos the picture is absolutely clear now.

I guess we went through the same path.  The movement I am working on shows: 158 31/7 and based on that I ordered the wrong balance.

With your photos I am now confident to order the 1582793.

I also ordered the regulator for that watch and again, the one I received was way to short.

I will post photos and movement analysis when I complete the project.

Thanks again!

My pleasure TallSaul. Yes the actual movement is indeed stamped 158 31/7, but there are also some stamped simply  with "158"....the difference (I think) is mostly in the 17 jeweled version vs. the one jewel basic movement. The one you have is obviously the 17 jewel version which Sicura used for their day/date Cordura divers watch, so these hairsprings will work. If you need any help or info, let me know and I'll be glad to help you out. Looking forward to see the pictures!

 

Regards,

JC

Edited by noirrac1j
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The balance is being shipped from the UK.

There is one job which i am not sure how to perform.

How does the stud holder being hooked to the beat error adjuster? simply by pressure? is it riveted or just snug fit?

 

Thanks.

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The stud holder is held in place by snug-fit, yes. The old one must be removed with gentle but firm pressure with a pair of brass tweezers and gently wiggled until it comes out. The new one is hard to get in place in the proper position, but it can be done with patience. Once you get it in place, use a sturdy steel tweezers that can be opened wide and put one end on the top of stud and the other under the beat error adjuster and squeeze gently until it stays in place. Once you've checked that its OK, exert more pressure until it is firmly seated...take your time with this.

 

J

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  • 4 months later...

Just started to play around with one of these, put it all back and realised the hands arent moving, stripping back i noticed that the hands are driven by a wheel attached by friction to the barrel.

Unfortunately the rivet has popped off into the stratosphere of my room so looking for a spare if anyone has any parts for the this watch going spare!

Thanks

Jonathan

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Just started to play around with one of these, put it all back and realised the hands arent moving, stripping back i noticed that the hands are driven by a wheel attached by friction to the barrel.

Unfortunately the rivet has popped off into the stratosphere of my room so looking for a spare if anyone has any parts for the this watch going spare!

Thanks

Jonathan

Hello Jonathan,

I have many spares for this movement. What wheel is it you need? I have barrels and I have drive wheels, but I'm not sure I understand when you write "wheel attached by friction to the barrel." I'll be happy to send you a spare of whatever you need. Perhaps a picture will make it clear?

 

J

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Thanks, attached to the barrel is the driving wheel, its attached by a rivet , this is moved by friction to move the hands , I stupidly lost the part that holds the wheel to the barrel, see the PIC below

The piece is the bit on the left of the second picture, it will be easier to find the whole barrel with the wheel already attached.

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks

Thanks

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Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

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Ah yes! You are correct about the drive wheel on this movement. I've worked on so many of these I sometimes take for granted that the drive wheel is indeed attached to the barrel in this case.  NO problem with the part. I can send you just a new drive wheel with the rivet in place, a barrel case with the drive wheel minus the mainspring, or the entire functional assembly: drive wheel, barrel and mainspring.

 

I guess sending the drive wheel would be a matter of just placing into a piece of cardboard inside envelope. The entire barrel might need a little more protection but it would not be expensive to send. Let me know what you'd prefer along with your ship  information (message me) and I'll send it out.

 

Regards,

 

JC

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