hairspring repair

[gina]

Hello,

I'm brand new to this forum and also to watchmaking. I've barely disassembled and reassembled a BFG 866. That was great. And then, I bent a hairspring. And then another. So...my first question would be: is there a point where a hairspring is too far gone to be repaired? 

 

Thanks ahead for the answer!

g

[watchweasol]

Hi Gina  there is a time when the spring is beyond saving usually when its a rats nest or the kink is so sharp that the molecular structure of the metal is damaged and any further flexing will cause it to snap.  Most soft distortions when the spring is not flat or the coils are not even causing them to touch and that causes rate errors are in all probability salvageable with care and deft use of the tweezers or manipulation tools. The subject has been covered before and the references can be found via the SEARCH box at the top right of the home screen.   We have all managed to butcher a spring or two during our carees.    Cheers

[gina]

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Gina  there is a time when the spring is beyond saving usually when its a rats nest or the kink is so sharp that the molecular structure of the metal is damaged and any further flexing will cause it to snap.  Most soft distortions when the spring is not flat or the coils are not even causing them to touch and that causes rate errors are in all probability salvageable with care and deft use of the tweezers or manipulation tools. The subject has been covered before and the references can be found via the SEARCH box at the top right of the home screen.   We have all managed to butcher a spring or two during our carees.    Cheers

OK, thank you. I did search the forum, but will look again for more detailed tutorials.

[watchweasol]

Hi Gina   I posted one on balancespring needles,  lookup "balancespring needles" there was some response to that.

[oldhippy]

Here is a hairspring in a right mess. A skilled watchmaker would be able to sort this out, so it would work properly.  

[gina]

6 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Gina   I posted one on balancespring needles,  lookup "balancespring needles" there was some response to that.

Oh, cool. Thanks!

[JohnR725]

What you need to do is purchase broken watches off of eBay.  Watch repair is all about continuously practicing. Practicing putting the gears in and out for instance without breaking pivots. Practicing working on hairsprings much nicer if it's a disposable watch that you purchase that's never going to be fixed. So you can destroy the hairspring learning how to work on it. Versus trying to fix the hairspring of something good where it is going to take a lot of practice to learn how to fix it.

[gina]

On 3/2/2020 at 1:21 AM, JohnR725 said:

What you need to do is purchase broken watches off of eBay.  Watch repair is all about continuously practicing. Practicing putting the gears in and out for instance without breaking pivots. Practicing working on hairsprings much nicer if it's a disposable watch that you purchase that's never going to be fixed. So you can destroy the hairspring learning how to work on it. Versus trying to fix the hairspring of something good where it is going to take a lot of practice to learn how to fix it.

Thank you John. That's good advice. Fortunately, these are cheap movements, and I'm using them as practice. Would love to learn how to fix what I break before I try working on anything of value! 

Btw, everyone is so nice here. Glad to be a part of this forum.

[Nucejoe]

Countless spare hairsprings were produced during the past hundered years, what dose that tell us? 

 

[nickelsilver]

56 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

Countless spare hairsprings were produced during the past hundered years, what dose that tell us? 

 

Hahaha, that even trained watchmakers kill them sometimes! I mangled a microscopic one last week in a Lecoultre 426, the balance diameter in that is about 5.5mm so you can imagine the hairspring. Got it back in order luckily; I don't have very many springs that small.

[dadistic]

6 hours ago, nickelsilver said:

 the balance diameter in that is about 5.5mm so you can imagine the hairspring.

Yikes!