Mainspring winders

[bobm12]

50 minutes ago, toptime810 said:

anyone know of a reason not to?

errr, I also do it by hand although I do have a set of winders! I simply don't do volume or anything that my fingers can not tackle...so far. But to answer the question, there is rust for example, when we do the manual spring thing without cots or gloves...and there are the potential bits of gloves or cots embedded in the spring/barrel thing when we use them....so, I hope this is a good partial answer...

14 minutes ago, Oyster said:

do you have any trick ?

Just don't try to do it all in a big movement and/or rush it and/or bend it in one move. Patience and practice...and a little feel for the spring is the trick. All that said, there is always the odd spring that will give you a headache.

Cheers,

Bob

[toptime810]

Just take your time and not to much pressure while coiling it back in the barrel.

[Oyster]

Thanks for your both genuine answers. The problem with me is I always winding it in wrong direction and the spring lose it tension, and sometimes the end  snap, I skip this part most of the time by installing a new mainspring (in the package) but sometimes I should save the cost.

[bobm12]

Take a picture of the open barrel so you won't wind it the wrong way...I usually do.

[Don]

On 4/26/2016 at 8:35 PM, toptime810 said:

I guess I have been lucky but I have always used my fingers it works like a charm every time. Does anyone know of a reason not to? Please tell me

The main reason you shouldn't is that it's easy to damage the spring. I've had good luck with hand winding, once I got the hang of it, but I've messed up a couple of springs. Then again, I've messed up a couple using a mainspring winder too. Guess I'm just clumsy.

Here's a screen grab, from Fried as well as a pic of a mainspring I pulled out of a barrel the other day. I'm not responsible for this one - it came that way.

[HorologicalHobby]

So I found a mainspring winder set from a redditor in denmark. Got it for an amazing deal. Has 10/15 winders, only the large ones are missing, and those are the easiest to hand wind.

It's a right hand wind set, so if I need to do a left handed mainspring, I drill a hole in a piece of brass the same size as the winder, wind it, put it in the hole like it's a barrel, flip the brass over, and press it in from the other side!

So happy I found a set!

 

 

[HorologicalHobby]

Edit: This is 12/17, not 10/15 on the set.

[frenchie]

congrats!!!

[oldhippy]

Well done its always nice to add good tools.

[jdrichard]

How much

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[HorologicalHobby]

Thanks! I payed around $350 for it. Having a plate with holes matching the inner diameter of the winders 3d printed. That way I can wind a left handed spring in these, put it in the plate, flip the plate, and press it into the watch with the correct orientation.

[Don]

Nice set and a good deal. I just saw a complete 2795 set go for $676 on eBay. They hold their value better than a lot of cars.

[TimFitz]

Can anyone tell me the size mainspring winder I need for #12, #16, #18 pocket watch? I have a set for wristwatches but I need pocket watch size.

Thanks

[bobm12]

I don't use winders and always do them by hand, so my take on this may be way off....

In any case, I believe the size of the movement only may give you an approximation of what size winders you may need. It is the actual barrel measurements employed by the design of the movement that will dictate the size of your winder. What I want to say is, different movements of the same size/ligne may require different winder sizes accordingly.

[TimFitz]

1 hour ago, bobm12 said:

I don't use winders and always do them by hand, so my take on this may be way off....

In any case, I believe the size of the movement only may give you an approximation of what size winders you may need. It is the actual barrel measurements employed by the design of the movement that will dictate the size of your winder. What I want to say is, different movements of the same size/ligne may require different winder sizes accordingly.

I have been winding my mainsprings by hand , I bought a set of winders last year but there to small for pocket watches, which is mostly what I work on. The P/W movements are easier for me to work on because of their size. 

I just wanted to know what size I would need for the pocket watches if I saw them available.

Thanks

[Marc]

Hi Tim,

I think the Bergeon winder sizes go up from 12mm (#8) to 19mm (#15) in 1mm steps.

The ones I can be sure about are #8 (12mm), #11 (15mm), #13 (17mm), and #15 (19mm) as I have measured my own #11 and #13, and I have found the #8 and #15 sizes on Cousins web site. The others I have inferred as they seem to fit a logical sequence.

#00 to #7 are a little less obvious. They can be found on Cousins site if you need them but as you are enquiring about pocket watches I assume you're mainly interested in the larger sizes.

The sizes refer to the outside diameter of the winder drum so to work out the correct size winder for a given barrel you need to measure the inside diameter of the barrel and select the largest winder that will fit inside it. This will then ensure that when you insert the wound spring it is fully inside the barrel when it releases from the winder.

Individual winder barrels do crop up from time to time on eBay and other online sellers so it's well worth keeping an eye out for them.

Hope this is of some help.

[TimFitz]

2 hours ago, Marc said:

Hi Tim,

I think the Bergeon winder sizes go up from 12mm (#8) to 19mm (#15) in 1mm steps.

The ones I can be sure about are #8 (12mm), #11 (15mm), #13 (17mm), and #15 (19mm) as I have measured my own #11 and #13, and I have found the #8 and #15 sizes on Cousins web site. The others I have inferred as they seem to fit a logical sequence.

#00 to #7 are a little less obvious. They can be found on Cousins site if you need them but as you are enquiring about pocket watches I assume you're mainly interested in the larger sizes.

The sizes refer to the outside diameter of the winder drum so to work out the correct size winder for a given barrel you need to measure the inside diameter of the barrel and select the largest winder that will fit inside it. This will then ensure that when you insert the wound spring it is fully inside the barrel when it releases from the winder.

Individual winder barrels do crop up from time to time on eBay and other online sellers so it's well worth keeping an eye out for them.

Hope this is of some help.

Thanks that is what I needed

 

[Stian]

Dear gurus,

I have a watch with a T-end Mainspring and it doesn't seem happy to go into the Bergeron winder. Does any of you have experience with this?

Stian

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[Marc]

Yes.

If you look at my recent walk through on the Slava 2428 (Those crazy Russians) you'll notice that the main springs there are T-end.

It's fiddly but does work. You have to very carefully lift the winder arbor and ease the end in with a pair of stout tweezers. The other thing to remember is to align the T with the hole in the barrel as well as you can when you install it. If you can't get it in the hole as you install then it needs to go just to the right of the hole for a clockwise spring or to the left for an anticlockwise spring. That way you can use a brass pusher to nudge the T into place before you put the lid on.  If you do it the other way then you cause spring to expand against the barrel wall as you try to adjust its position and it won't move.

[Stian]

Yes.

If you look at my recent walk through on the Slava 2428 (Those crazy Russians) you'll notice that the main springs there are T-end.

It's fiddly but does work. You have to very carefully lift the winder arbor and ease the end in with a pair of stout tweezers. The other thing to remember is to align the T with the hole in the barrel as well as you can when you install it. If you can't get it in the hole as you install then it needs to go just to the right of the hole for a clockwise spring or to the left for an anticlockwise spring. That way you can use a brass pusher to nudge the T into place before you put the lid on.  If you do it the other way then you cause spring to expand against the barrel wall as you try to adjust its position and it won't move.

Great, thanks!

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[R1C4]

Hello everyone, I am looking to purchase a mainspring winder.

What sort of things should I look out for when searching for one?

I am going to be working on watches primarily (as a hobby). Is it possible to purchase one that will cover all watches or are there different sizes for different watches? Does anyone have any recommendations as to what they have purchased?

Thanks In Advance

[oldhippy]

Have a look here. Bergeon are expensive and they like you to part with as much money as possible that is why they have so many different types. After saying that they are one of the best and they will last you a lifetime. Most watch tool suppliers will have winders so I suggest you look around. Sometimes ebay will have them but most have parts missing or damaged. I know guys on here use them and so does Mark. I expect others will chip in and help you out. I think Mark has a Bergeon set but I don't know which.

https://www.cousinsuk.com/category/mainspring-tools

[vinn3]

did you know a main spring can be installed  without a winder?   welcome to the forum  vinn

[R1C4]

Thank-you oldhippy, Would I be correct in thinking that you need one for each movement or is there a one size fits all option about? realistically i would be using it about 3 times a year.

 

Vinn3 - I did not know that you could install one without a winder, i have never seen this performed. Have you used this method yourself?

 

[oldhippy]

You need different ones that's for sure. As Vinn3 says you don't have to have them. Myself I never used them with watch mainsprings but always did with clocks.