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Parts sourcing for FHF 180 movement

donutdan
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donutdan Member

donutdan

Posted
Posted

Hi Watchrepairtalk, I have some questions about part sourcing I was hoping someone here might be able to help with.

I'm working on an FHF 180 movement with a broken balance staff, broken regulator pins, and damaged cap jewels (both top and bottom). Some Googling says that this is similar to other FHF calibers like 150s, 160s, 180s and so on but I can't figure out what the functional difference is between these movements. 

Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to acquire a donor FHF 150 or similar (with no shock protection) and use parts from that or would it be smarter to source replacements individually? Also are there any sources someone could recommend to get bulk cap jewels like this? Thank you for the help!

PXL_20250427_013232670~2.jpg

Neverenoughwatches Distinguished Member

Neverenoughwatches

Posted
Posted

Why do you think this is Fontainemelon ? 

The balance staff you will need to source separately.  But first it's important to accurately identify what you have there. Research Ebauches Sa, see who was in group, to find the brand that made this movement. 

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JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, donutdan said:

FHF 180 movement

I am puzzled by something a snipped out something from your image and what exactly disassemble tell us?

image.png.cdff47d680cb078c079ac5fc858145fa.png

my confusion is the symbol for FHF looks like image I have below year symbol as a star and righted this instant are not finding what that means?

image.png.f6be95703c19c2cc3c4b083a4355ab2e.png

8 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

But first it's important to accurately identify what you have there.

I suppose we could use the fingerprint system to verify it really is what it claimed to be. Size itself is really interesting there's almost no watches in that particular size. Then were missing details in the photograph above like diameter of movements to verify it really is the size and are missing the setting components.

 

image.png.6b6d4d6322e502e76b8b971a02965942.png

8 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Ebauches Sa, see who was in group

went to the bestfit book looking at the symbols didn't see it. Look at the link below I did find it back to the bestfit book and yes it really is there

https://reference.grail-watch.com/documents/history-of-ebauches-sa/

image.png.025cf28779cff5ca9bd772fe4b2a04b8.png

then bestfit book says lists the size as 10 1/2.

image.png.e374cbf821c9e943458efc8e74349770.png

9 hours ago, donutdan said:

is there any reason I wouldn't be able to acquire a donor FHF 150 or similar (with no shock protection) and use parts from that or would it be smarter to source replacements individually?

one of the problems with vintage watches is finding parts yes a donor watch would be good.

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praezis Distinguished Member

praezis

Posted
Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

one of the problems with vintage watches is finding parts yes a donor watch would be good.

I suppose @donutdan is not forced to earn his living by repairing watches. 
I suppose he does it as a hobby and wants to gain experience, to get better in watchmaking and time is not the issue.

Then @donutdan should rather try to repair the damage instead of swap parts from a maybe intact other movement. Swapping parts is not watchmaking. And often swapped parts are not the expected solution of all problems.

All mentioned damages are repairable.

Frank

 

Edited by praezis
JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

Posted
Posted (edited)
41 minutes ago, praezis said:

All mentioned damages are repairable.

Yes every single watch in the universe can be repaired. But he was asking a question about getting a parts movement. So now you get the task of showing him how to repair the watch without getting a parts movement I'm sure it shouldn't be a problem at all for someone of your skill set

Edited by JohnR725
praezis Distinguished Member

praezis

Posted
Posted

Hi John,

I didn‘t adress you or your statement, just grabbed a fitting quote 🙂.

Maybe it‘s me, but always getting a bit nervous reading about „parts swapping“. How often did we read here that swapping back and forth didn’t help? Why not try to advance with someone‘s skill and do repair.

Frank

donutdan Member

donutdan

Posted
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Posted

Thank you @JohnR725 and @Nucejoe for the reference links, I'll make sure to check the ebauche symbols next time before asking. 

@praezis I get your point about swapping parts. I haven't done a balance staff replacement and really should learn if I want to get better at this.

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