Hairspring stud realignment

[JohnL]

Hi All,

I was having a bit of a problem with the coils on this hairspring sticking together after washing in some lighter fluid so I decided to give it another wash in lighter fluid with a very, very quick rinse in IPA. To reduce the risk of IPA dissolving the shellac after removing it from the IPA I had a hot air blower close at hand. The balance wheel and spring came out of the iPA and was immediately waved around in front of the air blower. 

It would seem that I held it too close, or maybe it was the IPA, but whatever substance was holding the stud softened and solidified again. The stud has rotated past ninety degrees and I am unsure how to proceed. Reversing the process with the air blower strikes me as risky: If it was hot enough to loosen the stud glue, it may also loosen the roller jewel. That, and how to keep the glue soft while rotating the stud. A soldering iron with a fine tip? The other question, aside from how to soften the glue safely, is how to maintain it's position and ensure it's correct while it sets?

Any advice or thoughts very much appreciated. 

[AndyGSi]

Where you holding it by the stud while you waved it around?

[JohnL]

Hi Andy,

No, by the balance wheel. I was holding the balance wheel vertically (in a tweezers) so the air could blow through the hairspring. Wasn't in front if it that long either. Less than a minute. Not heat related? There doesn't appear to be any twist at all in the hairspring, which is what I thought when I first saw the stud listing so badly. 

[AndyGSi]

If there is glue or shelac in the stud then the only way to reverse the process is with heat again but more controlled.

When you say air blower do you mean like a full sized paint stripper?

[JohnL]

No, one of those little fan heaters for heating a room. In hindsight I should have had it on without heat, but I thought heat would help get rid of the IPA quicker. It was probably within 4" of the front of it for ten to twenty seconds. 

[graemeW]

I saw a thing in my book where he twisted two copper wires together. The end was shaped into a loop and cut open so the size of the loop could be adjusted.

I believe the idea is to be able to snugly close the loop around the bit you want to heat, then warm up the twisted shaft of the tool. The heat travels down to the loop and heats whatever the loop is holding.

[JohnL]

That's a very interesting idea, though I'm not sure I'll be able to execute it: whether I have suitable wire, and whether I can fashion it as required, and fit around the hairspring stud.

I had been thinking about the possibility of putting the stud back into a balance cock and heating it up while in there, but your post makes me think that I might possibly use just a stud arm I'm not concerned with as an alternative. 

[JohnR725]

out of curiosity I not seeing what model brand number watch this came out of? The last time I saw something like this it was a Chinese watch which is why am asking.

then because whatever is holding it in is no longer functional ideally it should be cleaned out and then some form of glue would probably be the best epoxy might be nice. Then here is a link are talking about pinning a hairspring which you can't do unfortunately because her snow hole in your stud. But they do show the stud holding table. In other words of the hairspring is removed and the balance wheel you can hold the stud in the holder which holds it nice and straight and then whatever you glue attach or whatever it will then be perfectly in alignment with the hairspring as opposed to trying to do it freehand. Unless you put the stud back in the watch and do it there but just have to be careful with what you're doing

 

 

[JohnL]

2 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

out of curiosity I not seeing what model brand number watch this came out of?

Hi John,

Thank you for all that information. 

It's from a Slava 2427. If I continue with the repair the I need to get a similar movement for parts, there's quite a lot wrong with this watch, but the double barrel and some of the other aspects of it I haven't seen before, so it's grabbed my attention. Everything with this watch is just to learn. The intention was to get the train and balance keeping time, then decide whether to get a movement for parts. I could do that and get the balance from that, but then I don't learn much; other than don't dry IPA from a balance by holding it too close to a fan heater.

I don't have a holder like that, but it's certainly something to invest in if I play more with hairsprings in the future. It is definitely the way to proceed if I had one. In the meantime I'm going to attempt gross realignment with heating a wire noose as Graeme suggested earlier, then when it's in the ball park move to a balance cock and main plate and try to adjust more accurately. Even if it goes pear shaped, I'll probably learn something.