fitting mainspring barrel arbour.

[gary17]

hey

Whats the best way off fitting a arbour to the mainspring.

Is it best to have the spring wound up and in the barrel and then try to fit the spring to the arbour.

(I have lost the arbour twice doing it that way.)

Or fitting the arbour to the mainspring then inserting them both at the same time into the barrel.

(lost arbour once this way)

Or is there a simpler way?

I don,t have them mainspring winder contraptions so i have to do it by hand.

thanks

gary

[nickelsilver]

This is a real enough issue that there are specialized pinvices called the cumbersome name of "barrel arbor holders", with nice smooth bores, to grab the arbor and help you get it in there.

Yes, you want the spring in the barrel. If you don't have a nice pair of blunt strong nickel or brass tweezers or a pinvice with soft jaws you'll want to do this in a plastic bag. Grab the arbor, get it in the center if the spring, then turn it in an unwinding direction (usually clockwise), giving a little tilt and wiggle here and there, until it clicks in. Check that it is hooked, if not keep going until it does, but be careful- some hooks will push the end way backwards to the point of possibly damaging the inner coil. If that seems apparent wiggle some more, or get another tweezer in there and get it hooked.

When they fly, it's usually far.

[anilv]

To add to nickelsilvers post.

I usually lay a layer of rodico down and use the end of rod to make a dimple/divot. I then lay the barrel with mainspring installed on the rodico so that the hole in the barrel is centered over the dimple. This gives a secure hold on the barrel and leaves you free to concentrate on handling the arbor and manipulating the spring away.

Next I lay the arbor on top at an angle and use a sharp tool to enable the other side of the arbor to drop in the loop.

I've never heard of installing the arbor before installing the mainspring but I think  the chances of it coming adrift is high, especially on the last bit as the end drops into the barrel.

Anilv

[Nucejoe]

Best way of installing/removing a mainspring starts with eye protection. 

                                       He dosn,t know. .

Plastic bag is wise, nothing wrong with more protection.