HELP!! Bulova shock spring install

[LittleWatchShop]

Boy these things **BLEEP** me off.  I love incabloc...everything else sucks.

How do I get this spring mounted.  I have spent an hour so far...no success.

I found this from 2017.  I guess you just shove it in and the fingers will expand and slip in...right!

[Neverenoughwatches]

18 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Boy these things **BLEEP** me off.  I love incabloc...everything else sucks.

How do I get this spring mounted.  I have spent an hour so far...no success.

I found this from 2017.  I guess you just shove it in and the fingers will expand and slip in...right!

Hi lws. Looking at this and yours . The short legs clip into the back and the long legs spring out to lock in last yes ? The long legs dont look like they have enough spring in them to lock into place. Was this in place when you got the watch ?

2 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Hi lws. Looking at this and yours . The short legs clip into the back and the long legs spring out to lock in last yes ? The long legs dont look like they have enough spring in them to lock into place. Was this in place when you got the watch ?

Could we see a macro side shot of the setting. 

25 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Boy these things **BLEEP** me off.  I love incabloc...everything else sucks.

How do I get this spring mounted.  I have spent an hour so far...no success.

I found this from 2017.  I guess you just shove it in and the fingers will expand and slip in...right!

 

26 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

just shove it in

Is this a technical term or a I'm really p.i.s.s.e.d off term lol.

[LittleWatchShop]

7 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Hi lws. Looking at this and yours . The short legs clip into the back and the long legs spring out to lock in last yes ? The long legs dont look like they have enough spring in them to lock into place. Was this in place when you got the watch ?

Yes, the short legs in back and long legs in front...this I know along with the order of assembly.  The issue is getting the short legs to slip under the trapezoidal member which, incidentally, is undercut (not obvious from the bird's eye view.

It is just incredibly fidgety, but I finally got it by using tweezers in one hand and sharpened pegwood in the other.  Once in place, it is not stable (like an incabloc is), so I just slipped the jewel in carefully and locked the long legs.

I am still interested to hear any clever method for dealing with these.

[Neverenoughwatches]

37 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Yes, the short legs in back and long legs in front...this I know along with the order of assembly.  The issue is getting the short legs to slip under the trapezoidal member which, incidentally, is undercut (not obvious from the bird's eye view.

It is just incredibly fidgety, but I finally got it by using tweezers in one hand and sharpened pegwood in the other.  Once in place, it is not stable (like an incabloc is), so I just slipped the jewel in carefully and locked the long legs.

I am still interested to hear any clever method for dealing with these.

So does the back legs slide in and then lift upwards to attach ? i cant imagine that they spring outward being this short. Do we have a name for this design ? I understand  your frustration lol, i had a tiny diashock type spring with 3 prongs and 3 cut outs in the setting. All 3 had to go in at once and then turn. Problem being only having one pair of  hands . I lost it twice in the end I had to make a pusher out of a toothpick. It was a wonderful memorable evening .

45 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

 

I am still interested to hear any clever method for dealing with these.

Choose watches that dont have them

[HectorLooi]

Have a look at this video. 

[LittleWatchShop]

@HectorLooi...makes it look easy.  However, my problem was that the spring came off the hinge.  I was having a devil of a time getting it attached to the hinge.  Finally got it.  It was tedious.

[LittleWatchShop]

OK, this one is done.  For the upper jewel, I was UBER careful not to unhinge the spring.

Note...in the picture, the hairspring upper left is not part of this watch.

I was happily surprised to see my Dad's mark on this watch.  He worked on it four times between 1966 and 1978.

 

[HectorLooi]

Good job @LittleWatchShop. 

I just hate KIF springs. Whether it's Elastor, Trior, Duofix....

I just lost a tiny Trior spring last week. I placed it in a tray while I cleaned the jewels and then oiled them. When I wanted to replace the spring, it just wasn't there anymore! 

Luckily I found a spare from a scrap movement. 

[ifibrin]

21 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

 I love incabloc...

Incabloc shock springs can fly off too… except that when incabloc shock springs fly off, you may have to remove the entire shock block to replace the shock spring!

I’m not sure if placing a small piece of rodico at the hinged part of the KIF shock spring will help to prevent it from detaching (like with Incabloc), but I would try that. I’ve not worked on any movements with such “captive“-style KIF shock springs.

15 hours ago, HectorLooi said:

I just lost a tiny Trior spring last week. I placed it in a tray while I cleaned the jewels and then oiled them. When I wanted to replace the spring, it just wasn't there anymore! 

I prefer to put detachable shock springs into tiny plastic ziplock bags for safekeeping. They don’t really need cleaning anyway.

Edited June 22, 2022 by ifibrin

[Waggy]

@LittleWatchShopI just had a similar issue, I was removing the cap jewel and the long arm snapped even before it slid out of its slot. I have found another movement on eBay that has these springs as I couldn't find the part by itself. but a little anxious that I have to first remove the spring from the old watch and then install onto the watch I am working on. Any tips and tricks greatly appreciated!

[mikepilk]

2 hours ago, Waggy said:

@LittleWatchShopI just had a similar issue, I was removing the cap jewel and the long arm snapped even before it slid out of its slot. I have found another movement on eBay that has these springs as I couldn't find the part by itself. but a little anxious that I have to first remove the spring from the old watch and then install onto the watch I am working on. Any tips and tricks greatly appreciated!

Cousins seem to stock most of the KIF springs https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/kif-shock-springs

[GuyMontag]

10 hours ago, Waggy said:

@LittleWatchShopI just had a similar issue, I was removing the cap jewel and the long arm snapped even before it slid out of its slot. I have found another movement on eBay that has these springs as I couldn't find the part by itself. but a little anxious that I have to first remove the spring from the old watch and then install onto the watch I am working on. Any tips and tricks greatly appreciated!

I like to lay a thin sheet of plastic film over the spring and work through it. To get the spring off I would put a large oiler at the back of the spring and just twist it, I bet that would pop it off. Here is how I attached a loose spring on a Bulova. Once i changed the angle of the oiler so that it was pushing along the long axis of the oiler it snapped right in. The plastic film also helps to maneuver the spring into place.
 

 

[HectorLooi]

I would just use a pair of eyebrow tweezers and grip the spring across the tines and maneuver it in. It works for incabloc springs too.