Timex 1970 Marlin #25 - Pulled Hairspring

[JerseyMo]

This evening I have begun to repair a 1970 Marlin Calendar and found the hairspring had been pulled.  A few years ago I would have avoided such a repair but

with time what once seemed impossible now has become easier.  So let me walk through the repair for you.

1. Here we see the hairspring has been pulled. Note the access window at 5 o'clock.  This window is to allow you to push out the brass wedge pin.

2. NOS hairspring \ balance assembly.

3. Wedge Pin

4. Remove the wedge pin and cap screw

5. See damage

6. 10 x view of the famous V conic end caps.  This is what made Timex stand out against other low end makers.

7. NOS parts ready to go to work

8. Note the bend at the tip.  As you rotate the balance this bend will first slip into the regulator.  Than it fits exactly into the bridge and held in place with wedge pin.

Just use fine tipped tweezers to help guide along the way.  What I like to do is keep the cap screw a bit tight so the spring stays in place.

9.Wedge back in and just give it a push to get it to seat. 

10 just a bit of room to allow me to shift the pallet fork back in place.  than just slowly screw down the cap.

11.  All done see the .MOV file at end

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOV08159.AVI

Edited June 4, 2018 by JerseyMo

[JerseyMo]

The next step was to service the movement - clean case - buff crystal - and here is the finished watch.

[oldhippy]

Well done. Its good to keep spares. You forgot to say to oil the balance cups. Did you clean the movement in a watch cleaning machine? Nice clear photos as well. You can have one of these.

[JerseyMo]

Thank You.  A few adjustments to the workflow.

1) service movement prior to installing the new balance.

ammonia bath - 6 minutes in utra sonic - rinse in cold water - blow dry - 

lighter fluid bat - 6 minutes in ultra sonic - blow dry

2) re-fit balance = oil end caps

3) oil pivots

4) install winding parts after cleaning - 

5) continue the re-build

A few tips I've learned over the years:

- When letting down the mainspring, observer the winding gear for free and easy motion.  If it looks sluggish, remove it and inspect for dried grease, oil, wear. clean and replace as needed.

- test the time setting motion before installing the dial.  The hour and minute pinons can get tight and dry over the years.  If so, you should 

separate them and clean in fluid. than follow with very light lube and test again.

-  ditto for the winding lever and gears

- grease the stem tube and end of the stem. you will notice a much improved winding motion. This is especailly true when fitting a new stem crown.

- before installing the dial, be sure to bend the tabs back to a straight line.  It should look like and L, this way the tab

can be fully bent down to keep the dial correctly seated to the movement.

- inspect the case back seal - clean with cotton swab dipped in ammonia. "DO NOT" dip the case back into cleaner if there is an ink stamp inside.  This stamp indicates a two position production value and the last two digits are the year made.  Not terrible if you should loose the ink but just something to keep in mind that it has been there for maybe 50 - 60 years and use just wiped it out!

Well that about does it for now... 

 

BTW - the watch is running spot on time some 12 + hours latter.

 

[jdm]

12 minutes ago, JerseyMo said:

BTW - the watch is running spot on time some 12 + hours latter.

Sounds great. Do you happen to have any timegrapher picture?

[JerseyMo]

I do not have a timegrapher only test is to match against the clock radio on the work bench.  The testing will also include a daily wearing to see how it holds up.  Like many collectors I will accept a degree of + - on accuracy.

[jdm]

3 hours ago, JerseyMo said:

I do not have a timegrapher only test is to match against the clock radio on the work bench.

You can also use a mobile or PC app, there are many threads about that. It's really an indispensable tool because it shows you not just the rate but more fundamental health parameters like amplitude and pattern regularity.

[JerseyMo]

okay, I'll take a look

[ecodec]

Well done, Good job. 10 out of 10. From Mike the jobber fixer.

[MilTimeCan]

On 6/3/2018 at 9:08 PM, JerseyMo said:

This evening I have begun to repair a 1970 Marlin Calendar and found the hairspring had been pulled.  A few years ago I would have avoided such a repair but

with time what once seemed impossible now has become easier.  So let me walk through the repair for you.

1. Here we see the hairspring has been pulled. Note the access window at 5 o'clock.  This window is to allow you to push out the brass wedge pin.

2. NOS hairspring \ balance assembly.

3. Wedge Pin

4. Remove the wedge pin and cap screw

5. See damage

6. 10 x view of the famous V conic end caps.  This is what made Timex stand out against other low end makers.

7. NOS parts ready to go to work

8. Note the bend at the tip.  As you rotate the balance this bend will first slip into the regulator.  Than it fits exactly into the bridge and held in place with wedge pin.

Just use fine tipped tweezers to help guide along the way.  What I like to do is keep the cap screw a bit tight so the spring stays in place.

9.Wedge back in and just give it a push to get it to seat. 

10 just a bit of room to allow me to shift the pallet fork back in place.  than just slowly screw down the cap.

11.  All done see the .MOV file at end

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOV08159.AVI

well done !