Jump to content

The balance wheel stops !


Recommended Posts

Hi    The fitting of a shim is NOT a fix its a diagnostic aid in as much as to slightly increase the end shake of the balance when trying to determine the problem, and once proved on way or the other, then removed and look to rectifying the problem.   I have had watches where the end shake was adjusted by digging a divot in the plate there fore raising the the balance cock and increasing the endshake also had them with shims in to do the same both left as a permanent fix    Not reccomended.   

Okay !
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi    The fitting of a shim is NOT a fix its a diagnostic aid in as much as to slightly increase the end shake of the balance when trying to determine the problem, and once proved on way or the other, then removed and look to rectifying the problem.   I have had watches where the end shake was adjusted by digging a divot in the plate there fore raising the the balance cock and increasing the endshake also had them with shims in to do the same both left as a permanent fix    Not reccomended.   

Okay !
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, jdm said:

Absolutely. I was surprised to see that this kind of advice given promptly when the practice is generally frowned upon.

Thanks for all the help Jdm, that was just a temporary fix until OP finds the broken pivot. We need advise how to weld it back on.

  • Like 2
  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the problems with your watch is it has a balance jewel protection system. This means the likelihood of you breaking the pivot  through normal use is nearly impossible. But for reassembly  it's a problem in that you have to get the balance pivots through  a relatively tiny hole. the lower one  usually isn't a problem it's the upper one where it's easy to get it off to the side  it might even still spin to some degree but tightening  the bridge screw down  very bad if it's not where it's supposed to be.. I thought for the future  just remove the entire upper jewel assembly which are going to have to do to lubricated anyway. Then you can see that your pivot is where it's supposed to be  before you tighten the bridge screw down..

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the problems with your watch is it has a balance jewel protection system. This means the likelihood of you breaking the pivot  through normal use is nearly impossible. But for reassembly  it's a problem in that you have to get the balance pivots through  a relatively tiny hole. the lower one  usually isn't a problem it's the upper one where it's easy to get it off to the side  it might even still spin to some degree but tightening  the bridge screw down  very bad if it's not where it's supposed to be.. I thought for the future  just remove the entire upper jewel assembly which are going to have to do to lubricated anyway. Then you can see that your pivot is where it's supposed to be  before you tighten the bridge screw down..

Ok thank you very much, I haven't made it yet but i'm going to try this without making a mess (like loosing the thing on the jewel of the cock) :)
Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • OK, welcome in the world of alarm clocks... I guess the 4th wheel is dished because it is from another movement. If it was not dishet, then it would not mesh with the pinion of the escape wheel, am I right? The marks of wear on the 4th wheel pinion doesn't corespond to the 3th wheel table position, at list this is what i see on the picts. Calculating the rate is easy - there is a formula - BR = T2 x T3 x T4 x T5 x 2 /(P3 x P4 x P5) where T2 - T5 are the counts of the teeth of the wheels tables, and P3 - P5 are the counts of the pinion leaves. Vibrating the balance is easy - grasp for the hairspring where it should stay in the regulator with tweasers, let the balance hang on the hairspring while the downside staff tip rests on glass surface. Then make the balance oscillate and use timer to measure the time for let say 50 oscillations, or count the oscillations for let say 30 seconds. You must do the free oscillations test to check the balance staff tips and the cone cup bearings for wear. This kind of staffs wear and need resharpening to restore the normal function of the balance.
    • Glue a nut to the barrel lid, insert a bolt, pull, disolve the glue.  Maybe someone will have a better answer. 
    • The stress is the force (on the spring) x distance. The maximum stress is at the bottom, and decreases up the arm. That's why they always break at the bottom. I used a round file, then something like 2000 grit to finish. I gave the rest of the arm a quick polish - no need for a perfect finish. Just make sure there are no 'notches' left from cutting/filing. The notches act like the perforations in your toilet paper 🤣
    • It's probably a cardinal rule for watch repair to never get distracted while at the bench. Yesterday, after finishing a tricky mainspring winding/barrel insertion (I didn't have a winder and arbor that fit very well) I mentally shifted down a gear once that hurdle was passed. There were other things going on in the room as I put the barrel and cover into the barrel closer and pressed to get that satisfying snap. But when I took it out I realized I never placed the arbor.  When opening a barrel, we are relying on the arbor to transfer a concentrically-distributed force right where it is needed at the internal center of the lid. However, when that isn't present it's difficult to apply pressure or get leverage considering the recessed position of the lid, the small holes in the barrel and the presence of the mainspring coils. It was a beat-up practice movement so I didn't take a lot of time to think it over and I pushed it out using a short right-angle dental probe placed in from the bottom, but that did leave a bit of a scratch and crease in the thin lid. I had also thought about pulling it using a course-threaded screw with a minor thread diameter smaller than the lid hole and a major diameter larger, but that may have done some damage as well.  Thinking about how this might have been handled had it been a more valuable movement, is there a method using watchmaking or other tools that should extract the lid with the least damage? 
    • 🤔 what happens if lubrication is placed directly on top of epilame ? Making a small groove so the lubrication doesn't spread across the component but what if when lubing a little overspills and sits on the epilame .
×
×
  • Create New...