Jump to content

Seiko mainspring barrel not opening....

diamondslayer
 Share

Recommended Posts

Lawson Super WRT Addict

Lawson

Posted
Posted

Also a word of caution diamondslayer.  The grease they use in many Seiko barrels is horrible black stuff the makes a nasty mess of anything it touches.  Open those Seiko barrels is my least favorite job :(

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted
Generally, Seiko barrels are not meant to be opened. You can still open them insisting a little..

You do need to open them ;)

They have a slightly different cap than a standard barrel. Much the same as a valjoux 7750 barrel. The cap has a rim which extends right down to the barrel teeth tricky to open without damaging the barrel teeth. I find an extremely sharp razor blade is perfect for opening the cap.

On these seikos the mainspring has to come out as they are usually in an awful mess.

Also - note the orientation the mainspring is wound in. It will be the reverse of most Swiss watch barrels.

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted
Just now, Mark said:

You do need to open them ;)

They have a slightly different cap than a standard barrel. Much the same as a valjoux 7750 barrel. The cap has a rim which extends right down to the barrel teeth tricky to open without damaging the barrel teeth. I find an extremely sharp razor blade is perfect for opening the cap.

On these seikos the mainspring has to come out as they are usually in an awful mess.

Also - note the orientation the mainspring is wound in. It will be the reverse of most Swiss watch barrels.

Thanks Mark. To be honest the only 7S26 barrel that I've opened wasn't difficult at all, and no mess was found inside. I did replace the mainspring, but that didn't seem to make much difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
Posted

Mark I don't know if you are aware back in  70's and 80's Seiko advised repairs if the the watch was 5 to 10 years old you should replace the whole barrel and not to open it to clean. Up to 5 years there is no need to do anything apart from cleaning the arbor. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

Mark I don't know if you are aware back in  70's and 80's Seiko advised repairs if the the watch was 5 to 10 years old you should replace the whole barrel and not to open it to clean. Up to 5 years there is no need to do anything apart from cleaning the arbor. 

Not aware of this - but for two decades I have always opened them up and done what I do with every watch :)

Actually - I have made a video of my method, write or wrong, and will upload it now so you guys can see how mucky they get, and this one was not too bad, Ive seen worse.

I shot a whole video for the 7S26 but have not finished editing it yet.

 

Edit... @oldhippy, I can see why Seiko would recommend this actually as the mainsprings can be damaged very very easily on these.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
Posted

We all have our different ways Mark. I think that is one reason why seiko barrels are different and can be hard to open. I look forward to the video, for me its nice seeing other watchmakers working and how the go about their work.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

Mark I don't know if you are aware back in  70's and 80's Seiko advised repairs if the the watch was 5 to 10 years old you should replace the whole barrel and not to open it to clean. Up to 5 years there is no need to do anything apart from cleaning the arbor. 

Still the case today. Only barrel complete has a part number (if one can obtain the actual part). Which doesn't mean tha one can't open it anyway and replace MS with a generic part for a small saving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lawson Super WRT Addict

Lawson

Posted
Posted

One thing to mention about not only the 7s26, but many of the older Seiko movements, is that the lower arbor hole is often badly worn and needs to jeweled.  This is because they ran the arbor straight steel to steel, without a bushing.  Without regular servicing intervals these tend to wear badly and put the barrel on a slight tilt, causing the movement to have a lower amplitude.  In severe cases the barrel has tilted so much it's worn the plating off the top of the barrel as it rubs on the bridge, and the brass is exposed.

This fault is seen so frequently where I work, that even if the barrel is fine we jewel the hole as part of the service: as preventative maintenance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lawson Super WRT Addict

Lawson

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Mark said:

Actually - I have made a video of my method, write or wrong, and will upload it now so you guys can see how mucky they get, and this one was not too bad, Ive seen worse.

I shot a whole video for the 7S26 but have not finished editing it yet.

NO FAIR MARK!!  You got a clean one. ^_^

Why do I always get the barrels that look like they've been filled with Track-Roller Grease! :pulling-hair-out:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted
NO FAIR MARK!!  You got a clean one. [emoji5]

Why do I always get the barrels that look like they've been filled with Track-Roller Grease! :pulling-hair-out:

Lol. Believe me - I've had them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lawson Super WRT Addict

Lawson

Posted
Posted

We get them from our parts department  :P

Seriously, I'm not sure of the cost mate.  We charge it out as "Auto Calendar Service" which is a flat rate of AU$495.00 for any standard 3 hand automatic movement with a date complication.

Sorry I can't be any more specific ... but you simply measure the arbor diameter (ID)  and the broach you used to re-round the hole (OD) ... add a couple of thou to the OD for a press fit, and also check the ID for correct side-shake to get the correct jewel.  Some plates require more broaching then others ... so the size you use can vary slightly for each movement.

I'm sure Mark will make a step-by-step video on jeweling worn bushings one day and it will be all clear.  It's not a difficult job with the correct tools.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
bobm12 Distinguished Member

bobm12

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Lawson said:

I'm sure Mark will make a step-by-step video on jeweling worn bushings one day and it will be all clear.  It's not a difficult job with the correct tools.

I'm looking forward to this very much!

Cheers,

Bob

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Klassiker
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Klassiker · Posted

      No idea Rich, but for your own sake please avoid inhaling the fumes.
    • Neverenoughwatches
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      I would try the vapour treatment very simple just a simmering pot of the stuff and jewels bluetacked ( not whitetacked this time, you still haven't said if I'm forgiven yet 🙂 ) to the underside of the lid. You're now gonna tell me that stearic acid can be highly explosive above 90° C 🤣
    • HectorLooi
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By HectorLooi · Posted

      I guess it also depends on the precision and quality of the watch. He works on vintage watches mainly and surface treatments on 50 - 60 year old watches probably isn't going to make much difference. I read about nano coatings for car finishes. The article claims that nano coatings can reduced the coefficient of drag by 5%. Is that number significant? I don't know. Maybe if you were trying to break the land speed record. But applying that on a 50 year old clunker isn't going to make it go any faster, accelerate better or save on petrol. 🤣
    • Neverenoughwatches
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      😅 yep certainly overdid it , i wasn't sure if i had enough heat so i went out and left it cooking. You can see the thick frosting, bit like my cherry buns.
    • HectorLooi
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By HectorLooi · Posted

      5 hours! You have slow cooked it! It must be really tender by now. @nickelsilver posted about his Greiner machine a while back. It had a heated chamber of stearic acid to epilame jewels and it only took 60 seconds. I've tried stearic acid dissolved in ethanol with a flake of shellac. I'm not really convinced by my test results. I conducted a side by side test by coating a mirror with a stripe of stearic acid and putting several drops of 9010 on the treated surface and untreated surface and observed it for several days. The 9010 spread out about the same for both the treated and untreated surfaces. I spoke with my mentor recently regarding epilame and lubricating pallet jewels. He has stopped doing both because he finds no significant improvements to the end result.
×
×
  • Create New...