Bridle not attached to the mainspring

[signcarver]

I'm working on a Seiko 7019A movement. While disassembling the mainspring barrel for cleaning, i noticed that the bridle is not connected to the mainspring.

I removed the mainspring and bridle and upon inspection there doesn't seem to be any way, other than friction that the bridle was attached. I'm assuming the bridle slides into the folded over portion at the end of the mainspring.

Is the bridle supposed to slip out of the end of the mainspring once the watch is wound?

[watchweasol]

Hi  It looks as if at some point the bridle broke away from the spring and the repair was to fold the end of the spring and slip the bridle into the fold. This would provide some friction to hold the spring but only as a temporary fix whilst awaiting the correct spring.  not a permanent fix/

[signcarver]

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

Hi  It looks as if at some point the bridle broke away from the spring and the repair was to fold the end of the spring and slip the bridle into the fold. This would provide some friction to hold the spring but only as a temporary fix whilst awaiting the correct spring.  not a permanent fix/

@watchweasolThank you! Would it be too crazy to try a teeny drop of watch epoxy once i push the bridle into the loop?

[watchweasol]

There is no reason why not but it’s not the correct way. The correct way is a new spring, the point at which the spring is folded will always be a weak point and may break again, requiring you to dismantle the watch and fit new. Best to do it now and save a little pain later.

[signcarver]

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

There is no reason why not but it’s not the correct way. The correct way is a new spring, the point at which the spring is folded will always be a weak point and may break again, requiring you to dismantle the watch and fit new. Best to do it now and save a little pain later.

Makes sense. New mainspring on order. Thank you again!

[JohnR725]

15 hours ago, signcarver said:

Thank you! Would it be too crazy to try a teeny drop of watch epoxy once i push the bridle into the loop?

I think you're going to find that there's a heck of a lot of force on a mainspring and the epoxy will fail. At one time one of early automatic watches the outer part actually was a separate part. Then the mainspring would attach to the outer part and this is where someone kinda tried to simulate. But it would be much more appropriate to find a new mainspring.

Just in case you don't have it I've attached the parts list

Seiko 7019A.pdf

[signcarver]

4 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

I think you're going to find that there's a heck of a lot of force on a mainspring and the epoxy will fail. At one time one of early automatic watches the outer part actually was a separate part. Then the mainspring would attach to the outer part and this is where someone kinda tried to simulate. But it would be much more appropriate to find a new mainspring.

Just in case you don't have it I've attached the parts list

Seiko 7019A.pdf 238.17 kB · 3 downloads

@JohnR725Thank you for the parts list. I have saved it with my other documentation on this watch. I use a program called Evernote where i document each movement i work on. Based on input from you and @watchweasol, i ordered a new mainspring.

[fellerts]

On 12/14/2022 at 10:04 AM, JohnR725 said:

At one time one of early automatic watches the outer part actually was a separate part. Then the mainspring would attach to the outer part and this is where someone kinda tried to simulate. But it would be much more appropriate to find a new mainspring.

Just in case you don't have it I've attached the parts list

Seiko 7019A.pdf 238.17 kB · 3 downloads

Hi John, I've been scratching my head about what I found inside the barrel of an ETA 2472 automatic today and your comment has shed some light on this. The spring came out of the watch in two parts: one "regular" non-automatic spring with a normal bridle and a 2nd short piece with a small hook that was engaged with the bridle. Do my photos look like what you're describing? I thought this was a hack-job because the mainspring was not slipping inside the barrel, but that might have been down to it being filthy and needing a good clean.

Side-note: How would one install such a spring?

Edited December 17, 2022 by fellerts

[signcarver]

@fellertsI look forward to @JohnR725's response. My small part of the mainspring looked like yours, but the regular part of the mainspring was just looped over (as John suggested earlier, a crude simulation of yours).

Thankfully we have people who willingly share their expertise!

[JohnR725]

2 hours ago, fellerts said:

Side-note: How would one install such a spring?

Somewhere in the discussion group in the past someone had a special set of the winders for the inside piece. That's because a lot of times it's much stiffer than the regular spring and getting it in is a pain. Then you still need your breaking grease on the outer barrel wall. Then once the inner pieces in that gives you something to hook the standard spring.

Going to my images I knew I had something but turns out I have two images. 

[fellerts]

Thank you for sharing, John, that was an interesting read. I've got an order in for a modern replacement spring though