Cleaning older balance in watch cleaning machine

[SpringMangler]

Mentioned in another thread that I've just picked up an old National rotary cleaning machine.

I've noticed in some professional watchmaker videos that they put the complete balance back onto the main plate and put it through the cleaning cycle. Looking at the rotational speed and the cleaning fluid resistance, would this be okay for older watches that don't have shock systems and have old hairsprings? Or am I, as usual, over thinking this? It just seems that we treat the hairspring with kid gloves the rest of the time, then batter it in a cleaning machine.

 

 

[JohnR725]

6 hours ago, SpringMangler said:

older watches that don't have shock systems and have old hairsprings?

with modern watches they typically don't like to remove the balance wheels from the balance bridge especially of it has a etachron system of holding the balance wheel hairspring in place. So just easier to remove the balance jewels and clean the balance safely mounted to the main plate.

But with vintage you're cleaning fluid isn't going to touch the pivots or the jewels if they're all sealed up in other words the balance is in place. So it's better to entirely remove the balance wheel from the watch and put it in its own separate compartments in the baskets or in a separate smaller basket. You don't want anything bumping into the balance wheel and hairspring when you're cleaning

[SpringMangler]

Thanks John. Just so I'm clear, which gets harder the older I get, should I remove the balance from the balance cock before cleaning?

[JohnR725]

10 hours ago, SpringMangler said:

Just so I'm clear, which gets harder the older I get, should I remove the balance from the balance cock before cleaning?

probably before I make a commitment to be nice to have a picture of the watch preferably over the balance wheel. But whenever I clean anything that I can't take the jewels out like pocket watch I remove the balance wheel from the balance bridge and clean it in a separate compartment so the nothings going to hit it and there's no stress on the hairspring hopefully. Sometimes I'll drop the pallet fork in the same place most the time that works sometimes the pallet fork insists on getting stuck in the hairspring I think that happened one time but typically the the pallet fork small I could go in the same container. But there is always that weird tiny possibility that it might decide to lodge itself into the hairspring usually isn't a problem but I'm just giving you a cautionary the balance wheel does best if it's all by itself.

[SpringMangler]

Thanks John, much appreciated.