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New (to me) tools, not sure what they are!


Vacherin

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The first thing is like a pin vice in the centre, with marking around the edge, and came with a couple of pointy things in the box.

The second machine with the motor has a dial gauge for measuring the runout of small gears, and two levers for applying pressure to the gears, presumably to true them, and a loupe to monitor things. I am wondering why you need the electric motor with the dog drive to rotate the wheel though? 

Once I know what they are called I can presumably google/search for info.

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For the first tool the box looks like there's a label on the side is that a company name for instance? To me it has a vague look of something to do with balance wheels/hairsprings but beyond that. So if there was a company name who made the tool that would be helpful.

Of the other tool almost looks like something from a factory perhaps. It's far too fancy for a watchmaker normally unless the watchmaker made it.

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For the first tool, which is about 1.25 to 1.5" wide, the label on the box side simply says: "3 Broches, Frs. 96.50". That is French I assume, and the price, of 96.5 Swiss Francs. There is no other writing on the box. I can't see a make on the tool its self. Perhaps that metal rod, which is one of 2, was one of 3 broaches that fit in the centre, although they do look too big and I didn't try to fit them as they looked too thick. 

Looking at the second tool, it looks home made, the seller didn't know what it was. All I could think was that it is for truing wheels or gears? First you spin a gear wheel rapidly using the motor, and then apply pressure while it rotates, first from one side, then the other. Finally you check runout with the dial gauge. There are two arms which look like they are designed to push from either side.

I got a 3rd tool, from the same place as the first, which is an Olympus microscope with a heated element attached that you heat balance wheels with to "glue on the springs". It is made by Hormec. It is an older version of this, with interchangeable movement holders. 

https://hormec.com/horlogerie-3/balance-wheel-gluing/

I was hoping to adapt it and use it as a bench microscope. I had no idea that anything was bonded/glued onto balance wheels. Perhaps they mean shrink fit or something. This came from the same source as the first item, a watch production facility that closed in the 90s.

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On 3/4/2018 at 10:21 AM, Vacherin said:

hich is an Olympus microscope with a heated element attached that you heat balance wheels with to "glue on the springs". It is made by Hormec. It is an older version of this, with interchangeable movement holders. 

https://hormec.com/horlogerie-3/balance-wheel-gluing/

I was hoping to adapt it and use it as a bench microscope. I had no idea that anything was bonded/glued onto balance wheels. Perhaps they mean shrink fit or something.

Definitely isn't to glue anything to the balance wheel. As described in french on the datasheet is to glue the end stud (piton) to the hairsping (spiral), that is, Etachron hairsprings. It's funny that in Switzerland, a true multilingual country, sometime they couldn't get the correct english translation.

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3 hours ago, jdm said:

Definitely isn't to glue anything to the balance wheel. As described in french on the datasheet is to glue the end stud (piton) to the hairsping (spiral). That is the way Etachron hairsprings are made. It's funny that in Switzerland, a true multilingual country, sometime they couldn't get the correct english translation.

That answers the question about the Microscope, thanks. Language wise it is like that sometimes in Switzerland. Crafts People here can be highly technical in their speciality, and not speak English at all. Then you meet a 14 year old that speaks 5 languages.

My French is terrible. I was thinking of reading the Daniels Watchmaking book in French, and then compare it to the English version when I get stuck. I need to force myself with something like that.

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