Best practice to safely handle balance assembly

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, mikepilk said:

Feeling very stupid at the moment 

Heed the above warning from @Kalanag .  With Incabloc I've never had problems holding the baIance+cock together.

But .... I just fitted a new balance staff to an AS 984 which does not have shock protection. The blue hairspring is VERY soft, so I gently held the balance and cock together with tweezers to re-fit. 

No gently enough, as I broke the top pivot. I think two pairs of tweezers is the way to go, one to hold the cock and the other underneath the balance for support.

It happens Mike, the enevitable happens sorry for your loss. I think Kalanag and me rest our case. I use tweezers to lift the cock and something else to make sure the staff and roller release from the movement. If the hs is looking weak and tired then a small plastic spatula under the staff to take the weight off. Two tweezers?  I'm thinking risky for beginners though that dont have really good control. Moving two hands keeping the same distance at the same time. . I guess you mean one pair to hold the cock the other pair handle to support .

Edited August 1, 2022 by Neverenoughwatches

[dadistic]

A little thing I just picked up somewhere because I have the same kinds of problems with the vintage watches. If the hairspring stud is attached with a screw, I'm going to separate the hairspring and balance cock before I remove them. Balance cocks can be really stuck, and this may help prevent accidents from flying parts when the cock lets go. 

I'm not sure how well this will work when re-assembling,  but I'm going to see, as I'm getting a bit tired of trying to repair hairsprings  

[mikepilk]

I've cleaned many watches without shock protection and never broken a pivot before. 

Maybe I was getting complacent ! 

The hairspring had been manipulated a lot and the terminal curve was all out of shape. I got it looking OK, but those blue springs only take so much before they break.

One way I could have done it, is put the cock+balance on the mainplate inverted, then flip it, so the spring doesn't have to dangle too far. I'll try that next time. 

At least balance staffs are cheap, and it's good practice as I don't fit many.

[Neverenoughwatches]

44 minutes ago, dadistic said:

A little thing I just picked up somewhere because I have the same kinds of problems with the vintage watches. If the hairspring stud is attached with a screw, I'm going to separate the hairspring and balance cock before I remove them. Balance cocks can be really stuck, and this may help prevent accidents from flying parts when the cock lets go. 

I'm not sure how well this will work when re-assembling,  but I'm going to see, as I'm getting a bit tired of trying to repair hairsprings  

Sounds a fair idea dad. I had similar thoughts but then changed my approach for removing the balance cock. Instead of tugging on the cock ( hahaha, very sorry these words just appear of their own accord lol ) i use a sharpened oiler to fit between the cock and mainplate. In fact not an oiler any more, i use acupuncture needles that i flatten and sharpen. Ease the sharpened implement in the gap and carefully twist working your way around the cock ( again the words just come out like this ). 

20 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

Maybe I was getting complacent ! 

I think we all do Mike,  usually when we've had a good run of repair. Your unfortunate accident just illustrates that all methods and approaches have their upsides and downsides. And that sometimes there is no right way and no wrong way that works or does not work the same in every case. For some reason this past two weeks i must have said a dozen times that all beginners need to find their own way and what works best for them and not somebody else.  I think this quote came from Kalle at Chronoglide,  but how true it is. 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Neverenoughwatches

[Kalanag]

On 7/30/2022 at 2:10 PM, Birbdad said:

…
I could be wrong but it felt like without something to support the weight of the wheel that flipping the balance cock over is gonna leave the wheel behind and mash the stretched out hairspring against the side before it flops back over on top and that wouldn't be ideal.

If you flip the cock with a controlled sidewards movement letting the wheel be supported by your bench the wheel will follow without too much stress for the hairspring. I‘ve seen this in videos too.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Kalanag

[Birbdad]

20 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

If you flip the cock with a controlled sidewards movement letting the wheel be supported by your bench the wheel will follow without too much stress for the hairspring. I‘ve seen this in videos too.

I like this. thank you.