mainspring left or right

[gary17]

Hey i am trying to fit a mainspring into a as 1686. But either my hands are to big or the spring is to small, The barrel is 9.2mm and the mainspring is 1.60 x 9.0 x 0.10 x 290mm. And my hands are deteriatying so i am going to buy a mainspring winder every now and again when i can afford to. My question is what way does the mainspring in the pics below turn  does this need a right turning mainspring wind.er or a left. My guess is left as i thibk it would turn anti clockwise. Not brave enough to trust meself. So rather than buy the wrong one thought it was worth a ask.

cheers

gary

Edited October 14, 2021 by gary17

[VWatchie]

Unfortunately the diameter of inner coil is way too wide, so a winder won't help. I suggest that you press in a replacement. Sadly, even the Generale Ressorts spring is listed as obsolete at CousinsUK.com.

Mainspring winders are tricky, to make them work well the barrel must have the right diameter and depth (it can't be too shallow), and the arbor must fit the inner coil of the the spring at hand. Even if you have plenty of winders it's no guarantee that any of them will do the job.

Practice winding by hand, there's no way around it unless you have an unlimited amount of money and can custom order winders.

Good luck!

Edited October 14, 2021 by VWatchie

[gary17]

hey watchie

I have the correct spring from a donor watch.  I dont have an endless amount of money but with watches i sell i can afford to buy a bergeon mainspring winder every now and again,

I just need to know if the one in the picture needs a right handed winder or left??

[HectorLooi]

Even if you have a wrong direction winder  you can still make it work. One trick that watchmakers use is to press the mainspring into a metal washer with a hole that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the barrel, like how a new mainspring is when it comes.

But the AS 1686 being a manual wind movement, the way the end of the spring attaches to the barrel wall determines whether this trick would work or not. If the barrel wall has a hook and the spring has a hole, it might not work. If the barrel and cover has a slot and the spring has a 'T' end, it might not work.

It is still controversial but sometimes winding by hand is the only method that works.

[aac58]

I understand you, after ruining several springs I have just ordered a winder for small barrels I usually work with, still on the way home. I hope it will make the task easier.

For the spring shown in the photo you need a right handed winder.

Edited October 15, 2021 by aac58

[spectre6000]

The way I figure out which way to wind a spring (I'm still doing them by hand) is I figure out which way the barrel/arbor goes in, look at the hook, and that tells me which way it wants to wind. 

Edited October 15, 2021 by spectre6000

[gary17]

Hey

So if the hook turns anti clockwise it's right handed winder and if hook turns clockwise it's a left handed winder?

Cheers

Gary

[aac58]

If the winder hook turns clockwise it's a right handed winder, which is appropiate for MS that are installed counterclockwise.

[Jack75]

2 hours ago, gary17 said:

Hey

So if the hook turns anti clockwise it's right handed winder and if hook turns clockwise it's a left handed winder?

Cheers

Gary

This is correct if you are looking at the hook in the barrel with the barrel lid removed. But the opposite if you look at the barrel arbour hook from the ratchet wheel end.

[aac58]

If we're talking about winders (not about barrels), if I'm not mistaken the hook on a right handed winder turns clockwise and mounts the spring clockwise into the winder. When the spring is transferred from the winder to the barrel it will be flipped, so it gets mounted counterclockwise in the barrel as the spring in the photo.

Many barrels have the lid on the dial side and require a right handed winder, but some have the lid on the ratchet wheel side so they need a left handed winder.

Edited October 15, 2021 by aac58

[VWatchie]

On 10/14/2021 at 11:14 PM, gary17 said:

I just need to know if the one in the picture needs a right handed winder or left??

Well, others already answered your question. However, you also need to know that the mainspring winder arbor has the correct diameter for your spring. The width of the inner coil can vary a lot between springs that otherwise are similar. Again, mainspring winders are probably some of the trickiest tools to get right, and buying one is unfortunately no guarantee for success. I have collected tree sets of mainspring winders so far, and they are a help but seldom perfect.

[VWatchie]

Here's a very informative post about hand winding mainsprings by @nickelsilver (a pro watchmaker) that I hope you'll find useful.

Edited October 17, 2021 by VWatchie