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Reassembling gears

tucker810

By tucker810
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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tucker810 New Member

tucker810

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I just took apart my first working watch and I am having trouble with the three gears. Everything else is easy to reassemble but the three gears leading to the mainspring. How do you guys put them back together? I am new to this so any help would be greatly appreciated.

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mousekar Member

mousekar

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If I understand you correctly, I believe you’re talking about the gear train? It takes some practice, a lot of patience and persistence. It can be done! Some are easier than others I have found.
I am only a hobbyist, so someone who is more trained then I am, may be able to offer better advice.
The technique that gets me the best results, is to very gently apply a small amount of pressure (just enough to keep it in place) either with peg wood, or with my finger while I hold the movement, and use my tweezers to individually move the gears in place. When all the pivots are in, the plate will fall into place. DO NOT push down, or you may bend a pivot! DO NOT force anything. These are delicate pieces of fine mechanics. Tolerances are very exact.
I’ve picked this up from watching a substantial amount of videos. So just watch videos of movements being assembled by people who know what they’re doing (there are a number by hobbyists, and while interesting are not as refined) and you’ll pick up a lot of proper techniques.
Hope that helps!
Cheers


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mousekar Member

mousekar

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Edit: I meant to say “bridge”. Place the gears in the pivots correctly, place the “bridge” on top VERY gently and apply a small amount of gentle pressure with peg wood or finger on the bridge to keep it in place while you use your tweezers to adjust the gears to get the top pivots in the “bridge” (not plate).
I’ve also seen and done, putting the bridge in place and then putting in the bridge screws but NOT tightening them down (very important). You have to allow some play in the bridge so you can adjust the gears to get the pivots in. Either way, I would check out some videos first, see a pro like Mark Lovick do it a few times and then give it another go. If you get frustrated, walk away because you may try to force something at that point, and that’s when things go flying or break.
Good luck. You can do this! Hope this helps.


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tucker810 New Member

tucker810

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9 hours ago, mousekar said:

If I understand you correctly, I believe you’re talking about the gear train? It takes some practice, a lot of patience and persistence. It can be done! Some are easier than others I have found.
I am only a hobbyist, so someone who is more trained then I am, may be able to offer better advice.
The technique that gets me the best results, is to very gently apply a small amount of pressure (just enough to keep it in place) either with peg wood, or with my finger while I hold the movement, and use my tweezers to individually move the gears in place. When all the pivots are in, the plate will fall into place. DO NOT push down, or you may bend a pivot! DO NOT force anything. These are delicate pieces of fine mechanics. Tolerances are very exact.
I’ve picked this up from watching a substantial amount of videos. So just watch videos of movements being assembled by people who know what they’re doing (there are a number by hobbyists, and while interesting are not as refined) and you’ll pick up a lot of proper techniques.
Hope that helps!
Cheers


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This is really helpful! Thanks, can you recommend any good videos?

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