Jump to content

Hard to spot wear/damage.

fjseal
 Share

Recommended Posts

fjseal WRT Addict

fjseal

Posted
Posted (edited)

Reassembling an FHF 96-4 movement, I was gratified (in the usual self-satisfied way!) when the balance went in and it started up. However, it would only run dial side up, and as soon as I turned the watch over, it stopped. It took a while to fathom it out, but I closely inspected the balance pivots and discovered the lower one was worn. This was the best photo of several that I took and it is not very easy to discern the wear on the pivot. It is the left-hand one in the picture. For me it is a reminder to carefully examine these type of components as I am disassembling the watch. Hope this is of interest to others. Luckily, I have a balance wheel from another movement, and that has cured the problem.

Worn pivot-left.JPG

Edited by fjseal
Last sentence added.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, fjseal said:

 This was the best photo of several that I took and it is not very easy to discern the wear on the pivot.

For more detailed pictures just place the eyeglass on camera or phone lens. Works very good.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
anilv Distinguished Member

anilv

Posted
Posted
On 12/8/2017 at 4:04 PM, oldhippy said:

It is good practise always closely examine every part. Try to remember this with every repair, it will soon come naturally.

 

To add on Oldhippy's excellet advice... you need to inspect each parts function as you dismantle the watch. ..

As an example...when removing the crown, check if the crown works as it should. Also set the hands to see if all is ok and that the cannon pinion has proper friction. If you skip this step you may find that when you refit the cannon pinion needs tightening or the watch doesn't set because the setting (keyless) mechanism is worn.

I have kicked myself a few times over stuff I should've caught earlier... usually its due to overconfidence. Sometimes it may be because you already think you have identified the problem but there may still be others. I have several watches in my stash from which I have robbed parts,  one Tissot 781 has sacrificed its barrel, balance and centre seconds pinion. The scavanged parts have been replaced by the faulty one because I felt it would be handy to have something to compare with if I need to rebuild this movement. The next guy to work on this (when I'm gone) will probably catch the barrel and balance but he may only notice the faulty seconds pinion only after the watch is fully assembled.

Anilv

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Gilles
      Help identifying GP calibre : Girard Perregaux 17 jewels

      By Gilles · Posted

      25.9mm Thank you, it looks like a match !
    • Neverenoughwatches
      Setting lever spring

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      I'm not with you there Rich .
    • Disgrace
      Seiko 6309 intermittent stopping of the seconds hand at the same positions

      By Disgrace · Posted

      Hello everybody, sorry for the late reply. Thank you all so much for your help and your tips. I got lucky and found a replacement wheel bridge for cheap which actually ended up being in decent condition. I decided not to do anything about the mainspring barrel pivot since I didn't have the right tools and the barrel didn't have much endshake anyhow. I am happy to report that the watch now runs great, I have regulated it to about +-10/s day which is fine by my standards. The timegrapher result looks decent as well, although beat error is around 0.6ms which could be better I suppose. Amplitude reaches over 230 quite consistently which I'm happy with also. My lighter fluid has also been replaced by balance spring cleaning solution and now the springs don't stick to themselves anymore - who would have thought. I'm super happy with this watch, it might not be worth a whole lot but it's awesome that I could restore it and it makes me wear it with pride. To me it's a genuinely good lucking watch, it'll be my daily driver for a while. Thanks again to everybody for their input! I couldn't have done the repair without your help.   Here are some images for those interested, the bracelet isn't original but I don't really mind:    
    • nevenbekriev
      Is this a 'hack' ?

      By nevenbekriev · Posted

      Balance-hairspring system is oscillator with big Q-factor. When all in the movement is OK, the rate (frequency) is verry close to the own resonant frequency of the balance-hairspring. But in some cases, the movement (with foult) will force the resonator to work on pritty different frequency, sometimes faster, and sometimes slower. When this happens, the amplitude is always weak. So, the first thing to ask is what is the amplitude. If it is more than 180 and the hairspring doesn't touch itself and anything else, then for sure it is 'short'. If the amplitude is weak, then the first thing to do is to understand why and rectify the problem. At this time no point to check timekeeping. But, if one doubts that the hairspring is not correct, then He needs to calcullate the rate of the movement, then to 'vibrate' the balance-hairspring out of the movement and to measure the free oscillations frequency (period) with timer in order to ensure that they comply with the rate. If we have pictures, then it will be easier to tell something about that wheel.
    • Klassiker
      Landeron 248 setting eccentric studs

      By Klassiker · Posted

      So much work has gone into this! Thanks again @Jon. I will go back and check my adjustments from last weekend. A few questions for you, if you don't mind. In the reset position, I can understand the problem if the gap between the hammer and the minute counter heart is too big (slide 77) but what is bad about both hammers being in contact with the cams (slide 76)? I read somewhere that Landeron recommended grease on the runner cam, but the minute counter heart should be dry. Is that so, and why? How many tads in a ligne?
×
×
  • Create New...