Best way to install balance complete

[ifibrin]

Is there some special way to install the balance complete, ensuring that the impulse jewel on the balance wheel roller lies within the pallet fork? I keep installing the balance wheel with the impulse jewel overbanked, which I discovered by accident, looking through the opening on the bottom of my main plate as my incabloc lower jewel setting is missing (see my other thread for how this happened!).

if the lower jewel setting was installed I would have no way of looking at the impulse jewel alignment. How is this normally done?

[Nucejoe]

 Instal balance& cock as you do, leave the cock screw loose by couple of turns so the cock can be raised like 2mm, grab the balance rim with tweezers, raise the balance wheel by 2mm so impulse jewel is lifted high enough to go over the fork, drop the impulse jewel inside the fork horn, slide the lower pivot into jewel hole,  tighten cock screw a bit, then slide the upper jewel into cock jewel, gently push down on cock with peg wood, lower the cock gently , oscilator should start running, make sure all is correct then drive the cock screw all the home,tighten. 

[ifibrin]

Thanks for the reply!

but how do you know where the impulse jewel is when you lift up the balance wheel and try to drop the impulse jewel into the pallet fork horn, since you can’t see it directly? Or is it via indirect observation, like if the balance wheel starts vibrating then it means success?

[LittleWatchShop]

1 hour ago, ifibrin said:

but how do you know

@Nucejoeis telling you straight.  I am still an amateur, but what I do is take note of the position of the pallet fork.  Then I turn the balance so that at is biased to engage the horn once it drops in.  That means rotating it by 30-40 degrees biased away from the horn--one way or the other.  Then when it drops in, I rotate the cock into position and about half of the time, the balance takes off.  When it does not, I do exactly with @Nucejoesays.

If after a nudge, the balance seems to hit a hard stop, then you know that you are on one side or the other of the horn.  You can tell...it is a hard stop.

Edited May 5, 2021 by LittleWatchShop

[Nucejoe]

2 hours ago, ifibrin said:

Thanks for the reply!

but how do you know where the impulse jewel is when you lift up the balance wheel and try to drop the impulse jewel into the pallet fork horn, since you can’t see it directly? Or is it via indirect observation, like if the balance wheel starts vibrating then it means success?

 Once you screw the balance cock assembly on mainplate you have nearly eliminated the risk of dropping the balance complete, then keep most attention on hairspring not to entangle with center wheel etc, next comes raising the balance high enough to pass the impulse jewel over the fork just so to get the lower pivot close to jewel hole so you can slide it in, drive cock screw down couple of turns just so to  slide the upper pivot into the jewel hole.

In case impulse jewel is not in the fork horn, you can turn the balance with tweezers until it hits the fork just to verify its not in the fork horn, you can then  loosen cock screw to raise the cock and pass the impulse jewel over the fork horn to drop it in the fork, its then sliding both pivots in jewel holes again.

The advantage of this approach is you concentrate on installing the balance cock assembly first, to reduce the risk of dropping, then concentrate on hairspring coil not to entangle with anything, balance and cock are all constrained. Even if hairspring and center wheel are not perfectly in place( entangled), you haven't moved the balance far enough to damage the coil. ALL MOVINGS ARE WITHIN A mm OR TWO AND PARTS ARE CONTSTRAINED. 

Good luck. 

[spectre6000]

I think you're overthinking it. Look at the fork. Whichever way it's pointed is where it's poised waiting for the impulse jewel to swing into the horns. Drop the balance and cock together on arbitrarily more in that direction, then rotate the cock home and place it where it goes. As long as the pivots make it into their jewel holes, it'll start swinging immediately. Watch one of Mark's videos for an example.