Jump to content

Help With A Loose Vintage Minute Hand.

chrisbuxton27
 Share

Recommended Posts

chrisbuxton27 Watch Enthusiast

chrisbuxton27

Posted
Posted

Can anyone advise me on how to reduce the hole size of a vintage minute hand. The hand is flatl and through age and wear is loose on the minute wheel arbor. I have a comprehensive staking set but don't know which to use.. Thanks

bobm12 Distinguished Member

bobm12

Posted
Posted

I've just received my staking set (this morning, still in the box, waiting for me at home) and I would like to know how to do that too!!! Thank you in advance.

chrisbuxton27 Watch Enthusiast

chrisbuxton27

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Never had a problem with the hour and seconds hands, I just use the same technique as for tightening a cannon pinion. Just drop it down a broach good side up and give the shaft a little squeeze with blunt nail clippers.

bobm12 Distinguished Member

bobm12

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the tip, may I ask what broaches you find more useful. I'm about to order some but I'm not sure where to start.

clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

Posted
Posted

A controlled nip is required. For this reason I put them in a lathe collet and GENTLY tighten. It is really,really easy to go to far. You can use a broach but I recommend you put the broach in a vice so you have total control. 

chrisbuxton27 Watch Enthusiast

chrisbuxton27

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Clockboy the type of minute hand I mean has no stem just a flat hand with a hole to push onto the minute wheel. So there is nothing to place in the lathe collet. I'm thinking a stake of some shape to to close the gap slightly but not sure which would do it. Maybe a stake used for setting jewel stones would do it but that's something I've not tried either.

clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

Posted
Posted

Ok sorry did not read the post correctly. However I recommend to get hold of the Cousins catalogue and browse it.

There are lots of hands available , different styles etc.  You will need to know length,width hole size etc. Too small is Ok because you can broach the hole out to fit but to big I really don,t know a way around it. Using a staking set punch might be to much for a delicate hand. The cleaver boys (not me) would make another arbour with a fatter shaft or thin the minute arbour and put a sleeve on. But you need a watchmakers lathe and lots of skill which I do not possess.

Geo Distinguished Member

Geo

Posted
Posted

Clockboy the type of minute hand I mean has no stem just a flat hand with a hole to push onto the minute wheel.

A very gentle tap with a round nose stake should do the trick.

  • Like 2
Charlie WRT Addict

Charlie

Posted
Posted

On a proper staking set you will find several hole reducing punches. The five blued punches with round polished ends are the ones I use to re-size hands. Smaller seconds hands as found on sub-seconds dials with tiny tubes I do with my set of pin vises. There are also other ways to accomplish this task, but I find these punches work well for me. I will post a photo shortly.

  • Like 1
Charlie WRT Addict

Charlie

Posted
Posted

Geo got it right, a light tap on the mandrel with the handle removed from the jeweling tool, using one of the above punches or similar will do it.

  • Like 2
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • MikaR
      Help with repairing a quartz clock

      By MikaR · Posted

      Thanks for the replies! Here's a photo of the front of the clock and a GIF animation of the movement (exposed by removing the black cap in the centre of the clock). You can see the behaviour of the gears. It's a fairly valuable clock from the 80s (Braun ABW 35). I'm not sure if replacing the movement would diminish the value, so I'd prefer to keep the original parts if it's easy to fix. But since the movement itself is pretty generic, I guess, maybe replacing it wouldn't make any difference with regard to the value of the clock? Or would it? I suppose the value is mostly in the design.
    • VWatchie
      What's your thoughts on this Rolex Sea-Dweller, ref. 16600, calibre 3135 project?

      By VWatchie · Posted

      Well, my fundamental stance is that I want to go in and out without leaving any trace other than a shining, perfectly running movement. So, no scratchings on the inside of the case back lid, no marred screws, no debris, no fingerprints, and so on. That is, my goal is to make it impossible for the FBI to track me down. As a professional, I suppose you might want to keep track of returning watches, but as @JohnR725 mentioned, we can keep detailed computer records without marking the watch at all. That may not be true for every watch, but luxury and COSC-certified movements do have unique numbers. John also says it’s best to leave no sign you were ever there, and I couldn't agree more. Now, suppose the Sea-Dweller I'm working on is one day scrapped, and you want to sell the case-back separately (perhaps the case was destroyed in a plane crash). Then the scribbles on the inside no longer reflect the current movement inside the case. Also, the engraving will likely halve the market value of the case back. It had been "sleeping" for about a week and a half. Yes, the "debris/old lubricant" theory is my hypothesis as well! It will be interesting to see what I find once I have time to start disassembling the movement.
    • MikeEll
      Help with repairing a quartz clock

      By MikeEll · Posted

      I've repaired a few of these, having some success with stripping and cleaning the mechanism.  They are so cheap though, its hardly worth the effort in many cases.
    • watchweasol
      Oldhippy

      By watchweasol · Posted

      Get well soon Old Hippy, torn muscles.,  not good
    • SwissSeiko
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By SwissSeiko · Posted

      Id love to see how he has the output shaft mounted to this setup, as I have the same rotary stage and stepper in my build.
×
×
  • Create New...