Waltham 6/0 watch mainspring barrel.

[Seth]

Good Morning I hope you are all keeping safe and well during this time.I have a Waltham 6/0 watch and I am trying to replace the old mainspring as I have sourced a replacement.Does anyone know how to refit the barrel cover which comprises of the toothed wheel and the arbour which connects with the mainspring is all one piece.There is a separate pinion that has a square on it that has to locate in the actual barrel and then through the arbour/ barrel cover.I have been trying to fit this together for hours without any success so I have turned to this forum for any help.Regards to all photos of barrel assy enclosed.Seth.

[JohnR725]

you seem to be missing the picture of the mainspring? Yes there's a reason I ask was it a original factory package yes it would've an package to million years ago or was it a modern replacement? If it's a modern replacement you going to have to modify something.

Then putting it together is just a pain. although not as bad as the jeweled version because then there's some extra bits and pieces that go in there.

So basically put the mainspring in. Then you push the cover on making sure it looks with the center of the mainspring. Then you put the arbor in and make sure that the square lines up with the whole on the other end. Then if you're lucky can get it back in the watch without a popping apart. Usually the square doesn't like the stay in place in the barrel. Or if the mainspring isn't centered the center coil then it will push the entire  top part off in one direction that can be a pain.

So first thing insert mainspring into the barrel.  I wonder if I should just assume you have an original mainspring that would save a lot of time wouldn't it? What you want to do is look at the end of the old mainspring. Notice how it shaped a lot of times ill be tapered in the hole itself. Aw so the very end may have a bend to it. That is so that it will  fit into the extruded hook part because of its just a square punched hole it's never going to stay in place. You'll find that out when you wind up the watch and it slips.

So mainspring goes in, then goes on arbor goes in and the whole thing goes in the watch. Then don't worry about the struggling part even those of us who've done these before they are a pain in the.

[Seth]

5 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

you seem to be missing the picture of the mainspring? Yes there's a reason I ask was it a original factory package yes it would've an package to million years ago or was it a modern replacement? If it's a modern replacement you going to have to modify something.

Then putting it together is just a pain. although not as bad as the jeweled version because then there's some extra bits and pieces that go in there.

So basically put the mainspring in. Then you push the cover on making sure it looks with the center of the mainspring. Then you put the arbor in and make sure that the square lines up with the whole on the other end. Then if you're lucky can get it back in the watch without a popping apart. Usually the square doesn't like the stay in place in the barrel. Or if the mainspring isn't centered the center coil then it will push the entire  top part off in one direction that can be a pain.

So first thing insert mainspring into the barrel.  I wonder if I should just assume you have an original mainspring that would save a lot of time wouldn't it? What you want to do is look at the end of the old mainspring. Notice how it shaped a lot of times ill be tapered in the hole itself. Aw so the very end may have a bend to it. That is so that it will  fit into the extruded hook part because of its just a square punched hole it's never going to stay in place. You'll find that out when you wind up the watch and it slips.

So mainspring goes in, then goes on arbor goes in and the whole thing goes in the watch. Then don't worry about the struggling part even those of us who've done these before they are a pain in the.

Hi there Many thanks for your reply the mainspring that I have received is from the USA and I enclose a photo of the package it came in.If you see my first photo the small silver piece at the top of the photo has to go into the middle of the spring center and then the cover with the toothed wheel and actual barrel hook assy is part of the barrel cover.So I have to try and get the small piece into the square hole of the actual barrel,then try and somehow get the cover with barrel hook over the small piece and also while doing this try to engage the hook with the mainspring without being able to see what I am doing as it's all inside the barrel so you see my problem?? Regards Seth.

[JohnR725]

the mainspring is a modern Swiss replacement. This means you have to modify the end. Somewhere around here I have pictures but were way past my bedtime at least for Seattle.

The mainspring goes into the barrel. The lid with the gear and the part that grabs the sooner the mainspring goes on next. Takes a little bit of twisting and fiddling to get the fit on to the center core the mainspring providing? That's providing that the center part of the mainspring is the proper size just because it says it's for this watch doesn't necessarily mean it really is.

once you have both pieces together then the center arbor piece goes in and you can rotate until it fits into the square hole.

Then the whole thing goes into the watch and if you're lucky it doesn't kinda pop apart like it likes to do. Yes I've done quite a few of these and no I really do not like doing these at all this is a really horrible design for mainspring barrel.

so here's a link where it shows you how to modify the square hole to fit the barrel. If it was an original factory mainspring which you can sometimes find on eBay which I actually prefer if I can. The end of the spring has that little bit of a bend which helps to force it on to the hook and as the taper. Which is really a pain to do when you have a smaller size spring like you have which is why on the smaller watches I will try to get the original ancient mainspring typically off of eBay and hope that it's not rusty are set after all this time.

https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/5319-installing-mainspring-with-catch-on-barrel-rim/

maybe a picture will help?

 

[Seth]

5 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

the mainspring is a modern Swiss replacement. This means you have to modify the end. Somewhere around here I have pictures but were way past my bedtime at least for Seattle.

The mainspring goes into the barrel. The lid with the gear and the part that grabs the sooner the mainspring goes on next. Takes a little bit of twisting and fiddling to get the fit on to the center core the mainspring providing? That's providing that the center part of the mainspring is the proper size just because it says it's for this watch doesn't necessarily mean it really is.

once you have both pieces together then the center arbor piece goes in and you can rotate until it fits into the square hole.

Then the whole thing goes into the watch and if you're lucky it doesn't kinda pop apart like it likes to do. Yes I've done quite a few of these and no I really do not like doing these at all this is a really horrible design for mainspring barrel.

so here's a link where it shows you how to modify the square hole to fit the barrel. If it was an original factory mainspring which you can sometimes find on eBay which I actually prefer if I can. The end of the spring has that little bit of a bend which helps to force it on to the hook and as the taper. Which is really a pain to do when you have a smaller size spring like you have which is why on the smaller watches I will try to get the original ancient mainspring typically off of eBay and hope that it's not rusty are set after all this time.

https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/5319-installing-mainspring-with-catch-on-barrel-rim/

maybe a picture will help?

 

Hi there John,Many many thanks for your reply,picture and help I can now see how it goes together and I now know why I have been struggling to put it together as I had the centre arbour upside down so it would definitely have never gone together.Once again  I cannot thank you enough for your time and help.Regards and best wishes,stay safe,Seth.