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Main Spring Replacement, What Do I Need?

No8yogi

By No8yogi
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted

That's annoying. :(

 

The only thing you can do is gently squeeze it, most likely without the arbor in place. But it is very risky - the spring is very brittle but can bend a small amount. Baby steps - be very very careful and don't apply pressure where the hole (for the hook) is because that is the weakest part.

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Geo Distinguished Member

Geo

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I had the same problem a few months back. I very gently eased it into a tighter curve using round nosed pliers. As Mark says, make sure that you do not bend it where the hole for the hook is. Ideally it should be slightly tighter than the circumference of the arbour to make sure that it grips it when fitted. It worked for me, but be very careful.

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No8yogi WRT Addict

No8yogi

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Going to bed!!

Got the mainspring sorted train running nicely

It just won't tick! Hairspring looks good balance turns smoothly

The it happened the winder frikin broke off!!!!?!!!!

Snapped clean in half I can't be bothered to go find it suffice to say I am gutted

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Geo Distinguished Member

Geo

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That's a real bummer about the stem, I hope you can track down another.

Regarding the watch not ticking, if the spring is still wound try this first.

Remove the the balance and ensure that the escapement lever flicks sharply from side to side when touched very delicately with a dry oiler. If it does then you probably put the balance wheel in the wrong position regarding the escapement lever. Looking down on the escapement lever, if the lever is resting to the right, make sure that the roller jewel on the balance is rotated further to the right than the end of the lever so that it will catch the end of the lever when it rotates to the left. If you do this the balance should start up as you locate the cock on the main plate. The reverse of this is true if the balance lever is initially resting to the left.

If the escapement lever does not flick sharply from side to side with the balance wheel removed, the problem could be that you oiled the escapement jewels. They should be free from oil. Failing this you will have to completely strip the watch and check every component in detail followed by staged assembly testing each set of mating components as you go.

Bast of luck............and don't give up!

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

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As Geo said - don't give up. It can be discouraging when this happens.

My advise is to always take a step back when things are not going right. If you start feeling frustrated when a repair is going wrong then stop! Come back to it after you have cleared your head. Go for a drive or watch some telly

When you come back to the job you should be calm and ready to tackle it again.

In short, it is very difficult to fault find when you are in a frustrated state.

Having said all that, we all make mistakes from time to time. So just take a breath and then go back to it with fresh eyes.

Good luck mate :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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