Balance truing:

[KarlvonKoln]

I got to wondering if this was a good idea.  I have good J.E. Kampe calipers for checking true-ness.  But I've always been nervous about correcting an out-of-true balance in the calipers.  DeCarle says it can be done in the kind of calipers I have, but I don't like to. I worry about the pivots.

So if I see a need for correction by turning the balance in the calipers, I will take it out and encapsulate the staff in a proper sized  stump and punch, before adjusting it. Back and forth - check it in the calipers, correct it in the staking set.  I've had good luck so far, though admittedly I have not had to true that many balances. Most are fine.

Does anyone else do this?  It was the safest way I could think of with what tools I have.

[adenfulton]

6 minutes ago, KarlvonKoln said:

I got to wondering if this was a good idea.  I have good J.E. Kampe calipers for checking true-ness.  But I've always been nervous about correcting an out-of-true balance in the calipers.  DeCarle says it can be done in the kind of calipers I have, but I don't like to. I worry about the pivots.

So if I see a need for correction by turning the balance in the calipers, I will take it out and encapsulate the staff in a proper sized  stump and punch, before adjusting it. Back and forth - check it in the calipers, correct it in the staking set.  I've had good luck so far, though admittedly I have not had to true that many balances. Most are fine.

Does anyone else do this?  It was the safest way I could think of with what tools I have.

where can you get one of these staking sets??

[Nucejoe]

The whole procedure sounds real safe. 

[watchweasol]

Staking sets such as these can be had on ebay at an assortment of prices depending in make and state of completeness, although many stakes and stumps can be bought singly.

[KarlvonKoln]

8 hours ago, adenfulton said:

where can you get one of these staking sets??

You can still buy them new.  A new Bergeon set is $1095 US at Ofrei Watch.  But mine is an old K&D Inverto.

15 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

Staking sets such as these can be had on ebay at an assortment of prices depending in make and state of completeness, although many stakes and stumps can be bought singly.

Ebay is where I got my Inverto set.  I love the Inverto because it's designed in such a way that one can insert a punch upside down, through the proper hole in the die plate, and use it for a stump.  Mine had a few punches missing, but I have since been picking up replacements to fill out the set.  I even have cylinder punches now (as I have worked on a few cylinder escapements over the past couple years, it seemed worth it to do so).
There a a couple Ebay vendors who sell just the punches.  So if you get a used set that  is missing a few, those vendors will sell the ones you need if they have them.

[KarlvonKoln]

4 hours ago, Nucejoe said:

The whole procedure sounds real safe. 

I've hoped so.  I once broke a pivot while trying to true a wheel, and had to purchase a new wheel at my expense (which was probably a better idea anyway, considering how warped the original was).  Ever since, any truing I do is in the staking set with the staff protected by a stake and a stump*.  It was all I could come up with, but it feels more steady and secure than in the calipers, and I can work at the wheel's deviation more slowly and carefully.  It just feels easier to be more precise like this.  I could see where some might find it cumbersome or inconvenient, but I find it more steady, and I can measure my progress against the die plate as a reference.

*Addendum: when truing a wheel, one must still use the other hand to apply slight pressure to the punch to hold the wheel steady, but the wheel can't go anywhere and the staff cannot be harmed, and the pivots are not in contact with anything.

Edited September 16, 2021 by KarlvonKoln

[JohnR725]

at the link below scroll down the section titled Joseph School of Watch Making. then download unit 2 truing a balance. This will explain how to do it I don't know how you do it is staking his set it doesn't look very promising to me really need truing calipers if you really want a true a balance wheel.

then I snipped out an image for you. The truing caliper is supposed to rest on the conical part of the pivot. This means the pivot isn't touching anything at all and can't break. It also means that the truing caliper has to be really tight on the conical part of the pivot so it doesn't move it all or you break the pivots. then it's really important to pick the right hole size especially we doing bigger pocket watch  staffs with bigger pivots.

 

https://mybulova.com/vintage-bulova-catalogs

 

[KarlvonKoln]

I examined my Kampe calipers, and the stumps always did look like the one in the picture.  So the stumps clamp down on the shoulders of the staff, keeping pressure off the pivots, eh?

I read through that section on truing.  I guess as long as the balance is fitted carefully and tightly into the caliper's stumps when I do the actual adjusting, I should be safe.  If I find myself doing a size 18 balance though, I am going to want to look at how well-seated the staff is; pivots on those are pretty big.  Reading more in depth does help to relieve apprehension a bit.  I tend to take great care with balances and am always a bit cautious when working with them.

Edited September 17, 2021 by KarlvonKoln

[JohnC]

I do this as well, and have wondered also about how proper it is. In general I think it's preferable to just doing it in the calipers, for the reason you state.