Help Tudor Cal. 59/FHF 30 balance problem

[ChristianP]

Hi everyone! I have recently serviced a vintage Tudor with Cal.59, but unfortunately it has a problem with the Hair Spring (deformed), would anyone be able to show me where I can find a complete balance wheel or does someone have one to sell?
I'm going crazy finding parts for cal.59 and there's nothing around, I have also seen that it is similar to the FHF 30.

Thanks to those who will help me!

[Nucejoe]

I presume its a Chronograde oscilator 

Finding a colletted hairspring of the same springness is not difficult, but it needs to be vibrated with your balance.

Though it would have the same springness you are unlikely to find a high grade spring like the one that originally came in your watch. or a balance complete for that matter. 

In case you can not build you a complete balance, you are back to ebay and the gang for a used donor movement or if lucky a NOS balance complete. 

I presume its a screw balance?  

Go to www.balancestaffs.com, find fhf 30 in 10 1/2 and 11 lingue, all staffs listed along with fhf30 fits in your watch, therefore same caliber balances fit in your watch, it might then be a question of slowing down or speeding up the oscilator to what your watch is suppose to beat, I am not sure if the roller table has to be transfered 

Given a spring of correct grade a master watchmaker can build you a chronograde oscilator like what I think your watch originally had.

Keep us posted and good luck

 

[WatchMaker]

Hi @ChristianP

Whilst the FHF 30 doesn't belong to a movement family as we see with other movements I do note the comment on ranfft:

Then going to BalanceStaffs.com, as @Nucejoesuggests, similarly shows that the 30 belongs in a group sharing the same staff:

Does this imply that FHF made movements with different calibre numbers that were essentially the same thing?! If this were the case then very probable that a common balance wheel was used.

What I'm getting to is that consider looking around parts from these other FHF movements rather than just laser focus on the FHF 30. Here's a balance wheel from an FHF 65 for instance: https://www.ebay.com/itm/202915767344

Just an idea...!

[jdm]

16 minutes ago, WatchMaker said:

Does this imply that FHF made movements with different calibre numbers that were essentially the same thing?! If this were the case then very probable that a common balance wheel was used.

Of course. Back then, and now also, good suppliers like Bestfit list "parts commonality". Some makers even published their own document for that purpose  only.

[JohnR725]

1 hour ago, jdm said:

Bestfit list

The only problem bestfit is it doesn't have everything. The physical book doesn't have this watch and the website doesn't have it either. So we can't figure out what it really  cross-references to.

On 2/26/2022 at 4:38 AM, ChristianP said:

vintage Tudor with Cal.59,

Then I don't suppose we could get a picture of the movement?

[Nucejoe]

1 hour ago, WatchMaker said:

Does this imply that FHF made movements with different calibre numbers that were essentially the same thing?! If this were the case then very probable that a common balance wheel was used.

Staffs are the same but not neccessarily balance wheels, nor the roller table/ impulse jewel, you also have the coil diameter and  regulating device to take into account when building you a balance complete, you might could use a balance wheel of slightly smaller diameter but not much lighter( inertia) 

OP might simply need to vibrate a hairspring from any caliber you listed above as long as the coil diameter and CGS No  is close enough to that of fhf30, which I think majority of them will be. 

We are not talking a well poised balance, not at this point anyway, as it requires special tools and skill. Out of personal frustration with this task, I tend to regard anyone who can poise a balance and get a passing grade from lets say  Master Nickelsilver a skilled repairman. The oscilator in OP's watch was expectedly a Chronograde so is the movement, which require plenty of adjustment in the escapement in adition to good grade hairspring.

[jdm]

19 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

The only problem bestfit is it doesn't have everything.

Of course there is no single source for everything. Mine was merely general advice which may be useful for a next time.

[JohnR725]

9 hours ago, WatchMaker said:

Does this imply that FHF made movements with different calibre numbers that were essentially the same thing?!

The problem is that the OEM watch companies made movements. Other companies who sell the movements put their name on them how much they change isn't usually spelled out in a technical sheet. So in other words somebody's not to say we took that movement but we changed this this and this they usually just don't tell us. So this means that the watch could be exactly identical to the original work could have modifications a lot of modifications.

The other day I saw 6497 watch that's a pocket watch but it had a sweep second hand. It was at work next the timing machine it was being adjusted for timekeeping purposes. But it had nice transparent back so I could look in and see the movement which look like a 6497 modified for the sweep parts. So conceivably everything else would interchange with a 6497 but I doubt this company had a spec sheet spelling all of the handout. Seeing as how they put their own number on the watch you really just don't know.

It always becomes wishful thinking on balance wheels when one is damaged that you can purchase some other balance wheel for something else and magically it's going to fit exactly where that's probably just wishful thinking unfortunately.