6498 Hairspring - Can It Be Saved?

[BlakeL]

I started taking apart the 6498 following along with the TimeZone course and I got to the hairspring and was able to get a picture with my loupe and cell phone.  I watched Marks hairspring videos but this seems a bit more extreme. Do you guys think it can be saved?

 

 

[Geo]

You certainly have nothing to lose by trying, but you will have to remove it from the balance first. There is a fairly sharp bend just where the good coil stops, it may break there. It will not be an easy fix though. :-(

[Mark]

Yes - you should be able to do it if you are careful.

 

See my blog post here, I managed to save one in a similar position using the same techniques as in the videos I published.

 

http://www.watchservices.co.uk/2012/05/22/new-balance-staff-new-jewel-and-repair-hairspring/

[BlakeL]

I don't currently have any hand removing levers which is what Mark used in his video to remove the hairspring. Only other way I could think of removing it would be to use two of my screwdrivers.  If it does break do you think the hairspring that Ofrei sells for ETA would be compatible? 

[BlakeL]

Yes - you should be able to do it if you are careful.

 

See my blog post here, I managed to save one in a similar position using the same techniques as in the videos I published.

 

http://www.watchservices.co.uk/2012/05/22/new-balance-staff-new-jewel-and-repair-hairspring/

 

Thanks for the response mark. That hairspring looks very similar so I'm glad there is hope in repairing it. Another question, is there any easy way to remove scratches from a movement?  There are a few bad ones near the engraving on this one.

 

Edited January 15, 2015 by BlakeL

[Mark]

Sure - I am doing this currently with one of my old Omega's which was in a terrible state. The downside is you could start eating into the engraving but it's a trade-off.

 

I used a metal diamond plate as it wont round off the edges but you could use an emery stick if it's fresh and you don't press too hard.

 

I stripped the watch first and then re-mounted just the plates and rubbed it along the diamond plate keeping the grain in the same direction.

 

Here, I made a quick vid for you, play it full screen as it's 1080:

 

[BlakeL]

Sure - I am doing this currently with one of my old Omega's which was in a terrible state. The downside is you could start eating into the engraving but it's a trade-off.

 

I used a metal diamond plate as it wont round off the edges but you could use an emery stick if it's fresh and you don't press too hard.

 

I stripped the watch first and then re-mounted just the plates and rubbed it along the diamond plate keeping the grain in the same direction.

 

Here, I made a quick vid for you, play it full screen as it's 1080:

 

 

Great! THANKS AGAIN MARK!

[Lee]

I followed Marks video to straighten a hairspring, only I spent an entire day (maybe two) f**cking thing...... it takes years of experience to do that. its like anything, someone whos good makes things look soooooooooooo easy.

[bobm12]

Thanks for the video Mark, one more step in my learning experience! And yes, I agree with Lee. I still have a hairspring to fix, it is accumulating 36 hours of work as it is now! :)

 

Eventually we will get there and do it in a reasonable time. By the way, those Seiko diashocks or whatever they call them, the difficult ones for the 7S26 and family, I used to spend more time with those than anything else. After a few movements the process became "amazingly simple" to remove and replace! So, there you have it, back to the old formula of practice and patience!

 

Blake, I agree with Geo that the sharp bends could break (it happened to me) so thread carefully with those and try to be as precise as possible (like Mark)...it won't take many "corrections" back and forth to end up with 2 hairsprings out of that one!

[BlakeL]

I'll be working on it tonight so will report back.  Do you guys think it's save removing the hairspring with a screwdriver or should I be buying a hand removing set?  I was able to finish disassembling the movement today and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.  Working on this size is much easier than the 11.5 and 10.5 movements I have.

 

Overall the movement has quite a few scratches possibly from past services and it also had a ton of oil on most of the parts.  It was pretty dirty so for now since I don't have an ultrasonic or professional cleaning fluid I'm just going to use the Naphtha and a toothbrush for the bridges.  So far I really like the TimeZone course.

 

 

[Geo]

You could use two single sided razor blade to raise the collet far enough to allow a screwdriver to enter before twisting to raise the collet off the shaft.

The razor blades are the type with the heavy metal stiffener on one side, and sharp blade on the other. They are also very useful when removing bezels on vintage watches.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Single-edge-razor-blades-good-quality-scraper-blades-pack-of-25-blades-/281509779875?

[BlakeL]

You could use two single sided razor blade to raise the collet far enough to allow a screwdriver to enter before twisting to raise the collet off the shaft.

The razor blades are the type with the heavy metal stiffener on one side, and sharp blade on the other. They are also very useful when removing bezels on vintage watches.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Single-edge-razor-blades-good-quality-scraper-blades-pack-of-25-blades-/281509779875?

 

Good idea! I have some of those.

[bobm12]

Hi Blake,

 

I use my Horotec levers for about everything from hairspring collet to dial hands and whatever in between (I have 2 different sets). The hand/pinion pullers are not too useful anymore for me and when I've use them it has never been too satisfying. That is one thing they ask you to buy in the Time Zone course I don't think is really useful. If I had known it, I would have bought the levers first and maybe a hand/pinion puller different than the recommended.

 

I have no experience with razor blades and screwdrivers for this job but Geo's advise if very sound and if you lack the proper tools I would follow it to the T. Don't forget to watch Mark videos on the subject (3 of them) and to mark the spots so you re-insert the spring in the proper place again.

 

Also, how are you going to re-assemble it? I own a staking tool but, do you have one? I'll be curious to know of any alternatives to that one too!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[BlakeL]

Hi Blake,

 

I use my Horotec levers for about everything from hairspring collet to dial hands and whatever in between (I have 2 different sets). The hand/pinion pullers are not too useful anymore for me and when I've use them it has never been too satisfying. That is one thing they ask you to buy in the Time Zone course I don't think is really useful. If I had known it, I would have bought the levers first and maybe a hand/pinion puller different than the recommended.

 

I have no experience with razor blades and screwdrivers for this job but Geo's advise if very sound and if you lack the proper tools I would follow it to the T. Don't forget to watch Mark videos on the subject (3 of them) and to mark the spots so you re-insert the spring in the proper place again.

 

Also, how are you going to re-assemble it? I own a staking tool but, do you have one? I'll be curious to know of any alternatives to that one too!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

 

I watched all Marks videos yesterday and will probably watch them all again tonight before I start.  As for reassembling... I never even thought about it.  I indeed do not own a staking set so I'm not sure what I'll do.

[bobm12]

Yeah, I don't know of an alternative for the staking tool. Let's see if another member has an idea.

[BlakeL]

It's defiantly slow delicate work. This is all I'm doing for tonight. Still not sure how I'll get it back on since a staking set is out of my price range at the moment.

[Geo]

Well done Blake, you're doing well so far.

I have a thick block of cork with a sheet of white paper placed on top when working on hairsprings. This lets me pin the hairspring down firmly to stop it moving when I manipulate it. I use an old watchmakers screwdriver cut down as a tack and push it through the spring collet and into the cork.

A block of cork is a very handy addition to your equipment, it's good for pinning down all sorts of odd shaped parts that are otherwise difficult to hold.

[clockboy]

Geo a great idea, re-cork, I will hunt some down

[WillFly]

That's a very good idea, Geo!

[Maurice]

I purchased a cheap ETA 6497 pocket watch a while back with a view to making a big wristwatch, However when it arrived the balance was in bits and on assembly the hairspring decide to get itself all out of shape! This was shelved as I had no confidence in correcting the self destructing beast. Until 2 nights ago armed with my new Dumont no4 tweezers and having watched Marks excellent videos over and over, operation Do or die commenced! After a couple of hours of bending ,stroking, cursing and manipulating the little bugger the watch was running...Badly! By 4am the whiskey i had been sipping to stay relaxed had over relaxed me so I went to bed! Last night phase 2 began. A little more caressing and back together, still bad! spring looked ok but no amplitude and the loudest knocking I ever heard from a watch. Further investigation showed the balance wheel spokes were hitting the index pin, the arm had a slight bend which was finely adjusted with a set of pliers! Much better! On to the timing machine and I saw what looked like a blizzard so then decision was made to strip the movement down ready for cleaning today! I ended up cleaning reassembling and oiling and having got to bed at 4am again I left the watch running. It now shows good amplitude. 0.3 m/s beat error and around -10 to +6 secs a day. Happy Bunny. If there's a moral to this it must be never give up and all credit to Mark without whose brilliant videos this movement would most likely have never ticked again. The End....or just the beginning?

[Geo]

Excellent job Maurice, isn't horology a bundle of fun! :-)

[Maurice]

Thanks Geo! More like an addiction that needs to be fed!!  :startle:

[Geo]

Thanks Geo! More like an addiction that needs to be fed!!  :startle:

No argument here! :-)

[BlakeL]

Well done Blake, you're doing well so far.

I have a thick block of cork with a sheet of white paper placed on top when working on hairsprings. This lets me pin the hairspring down firmly to stop it moving when I manipulate it. I use an old watchmakers screwdriver cut down as a tack and push it through the spring collet and into the cork.

A block of cork is a very handy addition to your equipment, it's good for pinning down all sorts of odd shaped parts that are otherwise difficult to hold.

 

Thanks Geo. I still have some work to do. The last part has a slight twist outward/upward that was giving me a lot of trouble. I like the cork idea because I defiantly was having trouble keeping it in place.  I actually started watching a few staking sets on eBay last night.  We'll see if I can push that purchase by my wife.  I know K&D are supposed to be good but how about Marshall?  They seem to be less expensive.

[Mark]

It's really starting to look a lot better. Very, very well done!