Old pocket watch balance jewel cleaning

[EsaL]

How do you clean old style balance jewels, where the cap stone is screwed from underside, so you need to disconnect the hairspring to get to it?

[matabog]

yes

[syfre]

Clean the balance with the hairspring attached, set on the main plate if you use a cleaning machine. Then, once the movement is reassembled and runs,  disassemble the balance and the cup jewels, clean the cup jewels, oils, and reassemble; do samething for the lower balance jewels. This is the way i do it.

[EsaL]

That wasn't so difficult, just some extra work. Thanks, Syfre!

[mwilkes]

With old-style cap jewels, I find the main thing to watch out for, and the main reason i've caused damage to older watches as I've learned, is slipping while loosening the hairspring stud screw and stabbing the hairspring in the heart...

 

...on the plus side, you get to re-shape the hairspring then, and that's character-building.

[matabog]

yeap... character building ... I'm the man!!!

[jdrichard]

With old-style cap jewels, I find the main thing to watch out for, and the main reason i've caused damage to older watches as I've learned, is slipping while loosening the hairspring stud screw and stabbing the hairspring in the heart...

 

...on the plus side, you get to re-shape the hairspring then, and that's character-building.

Good advice and lesson learned.

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