platax How to remove a balance staff using the Bergeon Platax tool No. 2677

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Bergeon Platax No. 2677 How to Guide.pdf

Bergeon Platax No. 2677.pdf

Background

In the old days, before shock protection, I’m sure replacing balance staffs was one of the most common tasks for a watch repairer. They probably replaced several staffs every day. There are many ways to remove a balance staff. One very convenient and quick method is to use a Platax tool. However, this method is considered a destructive method by some repairers, meaning you can only replace the balance staff so many times before the hole in the centre of the balance wheel will become too wide. You can read a more about it here. I guess I would think twice or trice before using use a Platax tool on a Philippe Dufour balance. Anyway, for my standard ETA, Sellita, Unitas, Vostok, etc. balances I have no reservations about using a Platax tool.

One dilemma with the Platax tool is that it has been discontinued by Bergeon (No. 2677). The offerings on eBay are few and far between, and as with everything else Bergeon, they are silly expensive. I would feel a bit embarrassed to let you know what I paid for my used copy which probably has seen hundreds if not thousands balance staffs in its life. Anyway, as with most everything else Bergeon, the quality of the tool is second to none, so I’m pretty sure I’d get my money back (if not more) should I decide to sell it in the future. That’s a major benefit with quality tools which makes it a lot easier to pull the trigger.

So, how often do I expect to use this tool? Well, as all my watches so far have been equipped with shock protection and as I expect most future watches that I’ll be working on will be as well, the answer is, not very often. As a matter of fact, I expect it to be so rare that I might forget how to use my Platax tool when I need it the next time. For this reason, I decided to document my findings and that is what you’ll find in the attached PDF document.

Do note that the document isn’t a tutorial, it is my personal notes, gathered from watching two YouTube videos (see below) and my own thinking and experimenting. For this reason, it is possible I got something backwards. If so, please let me know!