Jump to content

How do you source a new balance staff


Recommended Posts

You have to first identify the calibre number of the movement in this case im pretty sure its a Lecoultre cal.201 then search for a balance staff for that movement, all the usual places like part suppliers or ebay.

Obsolete clock and watch has them at 25.00 a piece these movement went into aircraft clocks so parts will be scarce and costly 

I recently needed a staff for a military pocket watch calibre 467 £20.00 each I then needed one for a calibre 415 a much rarer movement £8.95 for 12.

So first off you need to establish the calibre.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, wls1971 said:

You have to first identify the calibre number of the movement in this case im pretty sure its a Lecoultre cal.201 then search for a balance staff for that movement, all the usual places like part suppliers or ebay.

Obsolete clock and watch has them at 25.00 a piece these movement went into aircraft clocks so parts will be scarce and costly 

I recently needed a staff for a military pocket watch calibre 467 £20.00 each I then needed one for a calibre 415 a much rarer movement £8.95 for 12.

So first off you need to establish the calibre.

Thankyou, I quite often get old watches with no makers name or cal numbers so how do u go about searching for a Calibre number if u don’t even know who has made it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, quantieme said:

Thankyou, I quite often get old watches with no makers name or cal numbers so how do u go about searching for a Calibre number if u don’t even know who has made it.

This subject has been discussed at length in various posts on this site if you have the ligne size you can obtain reference books such as Bestfit, Paulsons, flume, Catalogue official and match the setting parts of the watch to diagrams supplied in these books that will allow you to find the maker and calibre because lucky for us these parts are unique to each maker and allow identification, if you dont want to buy these reference books then you can always ask on this site but you would need a picture of the front and back of the movement in order for someone to help.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, quantieme said:

Thankyou, I quite often get old watches with no makers name or cal numbers so how do u go about searching for a Calibre number if u don’t even know who has made it.

Search "ranfft database". Has many, but certainly not all.

BTW, that JLC is beautiful, wish you the best in getting it to run again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/23/2018 at 7:15 PM, wls1971 said:

This subject has been discussed at length in various posts on this site if you have the ligne size you can obtain reference books such as Bestfit, Paulsons, flume, Catalogue official and match the setting parts of the watch to diagrams supplied in these books that will allow you to find the maker and calibre because lucky for us these parts are unique to each maker and allow identification, if you dont want to buy these reference books then you can always ask on this site but you would need a picture of the front and back of the movement in order for someone to help.

ok thankyou i have the bestfit books i will give it a go

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I have read some suggestions that it can cause wear , particularly on the fork horns of a fully treated pallet fork. I've had half a kilo of steriac acid powder on a shelf for almost a year now, might have a little play today with a heater and a jar.  I think its because it gets into their cleaning solutions Mike. Theirs or anyone else's that services the watch next time, or if they need to strip back and rebuild. Could preclean but thats all time for a pro.
    • As I'm only cleaning watches in small numbers at home, I pre-clean any significant deposits of old grease and oil before using the cleaning solutions. I scrape off deposits with pegwood and Rodico, and if really dirty, wash parts in naphtha with a brush.  So I'm happy using DX, but can understand why it's avoided by the pros.
    • I think attaching a nut to the lid to pull it off is the least destructive, any damage damage on the outside is going to an easier fix than any created when trying to push it out from the inside. Scratching up the inside of the lid , mainspring or arbor bearing will be risk. Just my opinion.
    • yes the things we read in the universe I did see some where it was either difficult to clean off or it contaminated the cleaning fluid there was some issue with cleaning. I was trying to remember something about grease where as opposed to a substance of a specific consistency they were suggesting it had a base oil with something to thicken it. That conceivably could indicate that the two could separate and that would be an issue. But there is something else going on here that I had remembered so I have a link below and the description of the 9501 notice the word that I highlighted? Notice that word appears quite a bit on this particular page like 9415 has that property all so they 8200 mainspring grease and that definitely has to be mixed up when you go to use it because it definitely separates. just in case you didn't remember that nifty word there is a Wikipedia entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thixotropy   https://www.moebius-lubricants.ch/en/products/greases I wonder if what you're seeing is the boron nitride left behind after cleaning. In other words it's the high-pressure part of the grease and it's probably embedding itself into the metal which is why it doesn't clean off and shouldn't be a problem?
    • Yes and no. I use Moebius 9501 synthetic grease and it is significantly runnier than the Moebius 9504 synthetic grease (and I assume Molykote DX) that I previously used. I haven't seen 9504 spread and it is in my opinion the best grease money can buy. However, my current method of cleaning doesn't remove it from the parts, so that's why I have decided to use the 9501 instead. I believe I read somewhere that Molykote DX too is difficult to clean off. Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure my 9501 grease which expired in June 2022 is runnier now than it was when it was new, but whether new or old it always needs to be stirred before use. So, that's why I treat the parts of the keyless works, cannon pinion, etc. with epilame. That was very thoughtful of you and something that had completely passed me by. Not sure what the epilame will do when it wears off in a non-oiled hole. Anyone?
×
×
  • Create New...