Hairspring Blues

[DouglasSkinner]

Ok, so now I'm very discouraged.  Figured the lounge was  the best place to vent.  Hope you'll indulge me.

 

So, I'm working on this watch.  I take the hairspring off  the balance wheel to correct the terminal coil.  I get things looking pretty good--as good as I can get, anyway--and I"m feeling right on!  So next I tries to put the hairspring back on the balance wheel and I have some kind of hand spasm or something and I screws up the inner coil near the collet.  No problem, says I, I'll just work inward until I get it straightened out.  Only, it gets worse, see.  As I fix one think I screws up somethin' else, see.  There seems no way out.  I even think that, like, maybe it ain't possible to fix somethin' like that.  And who knows, maybe it ain't?  Has anyone mastered such a thing or is the a point at which even an experienced watchmaker dumps it in the can and gets a fresh hairspring.  So I give up, figuring once you blow an inner coil your...like...done for--unless you're really good with this stuff, which I ain't.  It won't do me any good to get a fresh hairspring 'cause I ain't got no tools for vibrating one an' I'm not sure I could do it anyway without someone lookin' over my shoulder.  And I don't know how to figure out how to get a replacement.  The books I got is not to detailed on how to figure our what kind of a hairspring you need for your watch.  Besides it's a vintage movement an replacements may not be available.

 

Fortunately this was a practice watch so no real harm is done, except to my pride.  Seems like I'm gong downhill recently.  It seemed like I was getting my "tweezer skills" down and becoming more confident handling those small parts and whatnot.  Now, for the past few days, I seem to be getting worse.  I feel like a man walking a tightrope who suddenly becomes aware that he's on a tightrope.

 

Maybe I'm gettin' ahead of myself an' shouldn't be spending too much time on hairsprings.  Except I really enjoy getting something ticking and most often I encounter a screwed up hairspring or a bad balance staff.  If I could fix those, I'd be in hog heaven, or watchmaker's heaven!

 

Anyway, I'm done.  Will start fresh tomorrow.  Thanks for listening!

[Affnan]

At times I feel the same. Just cool off and start again.. later.

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[cdjswiss]

It sounds familiar. Try this solution from Lawson:

 

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/1272-a-hairspring-puzzle/

 

Good luck - sometimes a little of this is needed.

[WillFly]

Any improvement in art and skill is a case of two steps forward, one step back, with various plateaus at to be scaled as you progress. It's exactly the same playing a musical instrument - and I've been playing several for over 50 years! I've been playing a tune for years - and then I fumble, for no reason, at a particular spot, and it takes a while to sort it out again.

 

As Affnan says, relax, take five, and start again.

[clockwatcher]

Since I have no experience with hairsprings (or anything else) I can't offer any practical hints but something I can suggest is just to leave it for a while and come back to it fresh.

I don't know how long you had spent on the spring when the frustration set in but maybe giving yourself and your eyes and muscles a rest could make a difference.

You could also take a photo and put it up for Lawson and the gang to have a look at. An assessment of the problem from a fresh viewpoint might help.

Good luck with it anyway as, unless you break it, there's always hope for the spring. (I'm thrashing about mentally here, trying to find a slick segue to 'Hope springs eternal' but it ain't coming.) :-)

[mwilkes]

+1 WillFly.

 

I knew a music teacher who described 4 stages of learning

 

Unconscious Incompetence (you don't know you're crap)

Conscious Incompetence (you know you're crap) <--me

Conscious Competence (you know you're good but you need to work at it!)

Unconscious Competence (Nirvana!)

 

Hairsprings are, it must be said, evil, evil things. I feel your pain.

[DouglasSkinner]

cdjswiss: Yes, that's exactly what happened to me.  I looked at your link.  On the correction of the x-axis I note starting at the 4 o'clock position indicated by the author.  But I'm not entirely sure what he means by "Gentle stroking inwards from this point and watch for the uniformity to regain after each stroke."  On which side of the spring do I perform the strokes?  Inside or outside?  (Silly to ask, I know.)

 

I kind of kicked myself for making such a stupid error!  So thanks for letting me know I'm not alone on this one; and boy am I'm gonna be more careful next time!  I've experimented with picking up my hairspring by the stud instead of the collet.  Is that a good way?

Edited June 11, 2015 by DouglasSkinner

[Mark]

Don't be discouraged Douglas. In the past I have screwed up many hairsprings when I was learning.

 

I am like a dog with a bone and so one time I spent over 16 hours over three days working on a particular hairspring and still did not get the thing fixed. 

 

But you are doing the right thing - practice is what it takes. Lots of practice. 

 

Keep at it :)

 

 

 

 I've experimented with picking up my hairspring by the stud instead of the collet.  Is that a good way?

 

Do whatever you feel is most comfortable - there is no rule. But I personally pickup using the stud. One thing I will say though is to always use fine tweezers with perfect tips, size 4 or 5.  

[clockboy]

I once described dealing with hairsprings is like working on an unexploded bomb. One false move or twitch and disaster looms. However with a lot of practise & mishaps I am now not to bad . It's amazing how with just a little pressure it makes a difference. Little and often rather than one big move works for me.

[Gotwatch]

I once described dealing with hairsprings is like working on an unexploded bomb. One false move or twitch and disaster looms. However with a lot of practise & mishaps I am now not to bad . It's amazing how with just a little pressure it makes a difference. Little and often rather than one big move works for me.

That''s good advice, CB. I have ruined more than I have fixed so don't loose hope or encouragement in pursuing this hair pulling hobby, pun intended :)

[DouglasSkinner]

_{Unexploded bomb is a good analogy!  Reminds me of a British TV series I once saw called Danger UXB.  I put the spring aside for future work.  I do have fine tweezers (Dumont).  Will keep "fiddling" but I do have to move to other things.  Putting my watch in beat is another challenge.  Thanks!}

[Michael]

I have had the same problem a couple of times with the hairspring bend right in at the collet. Not managed to successfully fix one of these yet. It would be enjoyable to see how some of the more expert watch repairers tackle this problem.

[Vich]

Sounds like Michaels Post is a cry from the heart for our Mark to deal with :cool:

 

As regards Douglas's problem which we have all suffered from with monotonous regularity.  I for one do realise the potential for fly away parts heading for the black hole of misery, but still habitually start tinkering with the naive assumption that it is not going to happen - then it does.

 

We should probably have a forum T shirt with something on the front like "Good Horologists are careful with their little parts" I was tempted to put a "W" in front of the "H" but deemed that crass and unnacceptable (when I stopped smiling).

 

Cheers,

 

Vic