Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Here is my first attempt at cutting a staff from a balance wheel. I wanted a comparison between cutting the rivet and cutting the hub off.  Starting with the rivet was definitely harder than i expected, the rivet was thicker than i imagined and went quite deep into the rivet seating of the balance wheel, its easy to see how a staff hole gets deformed this staff rivet was thick. Thoughts are , difficult to work out where the rivet seating is and it's angle, i caught the balance wheel center right towards the end and the rivet seating is probably a slightly different angle. Cutting the hub away seems like a better option after this experience. 

20240618_115254.jpg

20240618_123211.jpg

20240618_124434.jpg

20240618_130755.jpg

20240618_130922.jpg

20240618_130930.jpg

20240618_131400.jpg

20240618_131913.jpg

  • Like 3
Posted

Very interesting @Neverenoughwatches and great pictures!!

Bummer for me, though, as I don't have a lathe. And it makes me put into question if I'll ever be able to replace balance staffs properly. Until now, I thought punching them out would be alright (even if many have argued against it already in this forum). 

 

  • Like 1
Posted
4 hours ago, Knebo said:

Very interesting @Neverenoughwatches and great pictures!!

Bummer for me, though, as I don't have a lathe. And it makes me put into question if I'll ever be able to replace balance staffs properly. Until now, I thought punching them out would be alright (even if many have argued against it already in this forum). 

 

None of the pros here will agree that knocking a staff out is a good idea however it is carried out. After cutting one out i can now see why, in this case this morning the staff rivet was thick and sunk in deep on the balance wheel, i seemed to be cutting it forever, i had to stop twice to re-sharpen the graver and wondered when the wheel would become free, maybe why i caught the wheel, i was beginning to get impatient, it took a lot longer than i thought it would do.

Posted
6 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Starting with the rivet was definitely harder than i expected, the rivet was thicker than i imagined and went quite deep into the rivet seating of the balance wheel, its easy to see how a staff hole gets deformed this staff rivet was thick. Thoughts are , difficult to work out where the rivet seating is and it's angle, i caught the balance wheel center right towards the end and the rivet seating is probably a slightly different angle.

Cutting the hub away seems like a better option after this experience. 

Q.E.D. 😎

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Queen Elisabeth Died? 

Nope i dont think our old Queeny has anything to do with my staff antics 🙂

11 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Wasn't there a British documentary program called QED ?

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Queen Elisabeth Died? 

Ah I see Frank Is saying the technique of cutting the staff hub has been proven to be valid .

1 hour ago, praezis said:

Q.E.D. 😎

Smarty pants 😄

Edited by Neverenoughwatches
Posted

I like the idea of cutting it out rather than punching it out. ( you know I just acquired a staking set for this purpose 🫣 )

I don't own or lathe and doubt I could ever justify one as a hobbyist.

Has anyone cut out a staff using something else?

Eg: A Dremel or similar tool.

Regards

CJ

Posted
31 minutes ago, Curare said:

I like the idea of cutting it out rather than punching it out. ( you know I just acquired a staking set for this purpose 🫣 )

I don't own or lathe and doubt I could ever justify one as a hobbyist.

Has anyone cut out a staff using something else?

Eg: A Dremel or similar tool.

Regards

CJ

Yep ive tried a Proxon micro drill, a kind of posh accurate dremel using a diamond disk and freehanding the staff  it was way harder than the lathe. I caught the balance wheel several times. That idea might be ok with some sort of feed. You need high magnification for doing this even with my big boy microscope at x40 i felt i wanted more.

You will be using your staking set for a lot more than punching staffs out.

25 minutes ago, AndyGSi said:

Be interested on an opinion from a lathe user as to how much you would need to spend to get something that with practice would do the job?

image.png.c48107be131a74b48882caeb564713f3.png

I thought about this a while ago Andy, with a diamond burr to grind off the hub. 

Screenshot_20240619-001157_eBay.jpg

  • Like 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Alex mentions the coils below the stud should remain the same as you move the regulator block along the terminal curve.  Mine do that. What he doesn’t discuss and is used in the other video is how the regulator block is used to adjust rate and positional error.  He also doesn’t mention how opening and closing the pins could and in my case does, alter amplitude  In Alex’s video once he sets the stud he never adjusts the regulator pins yet every new movement I get have the pins signing closed. 
    • The video I linked above does mention the spacing of the hairspring coils, and the importance of the regulator being able to move through its full range without distorting the hairspring - the terminal curve of the hairspring must be concentric with the regulator pins throughout the regulator’s range.  If you meticulously follow every step in this video, the regulator system should behave as intended, regardless of the brand of the movement.  Best Regards, Mark
    • Hi friends! My mother got a bunch of old watches from a horologist who was retiring, and he subsequently passed away. It's been in her studio for years, and she showed it to me today and I just fell in love with it. Sadly, I don't know a darn thing about it yet. It's quite old, or at least seems to be. It has two winding arbors, but the key is missing. The crystal appears to be some kind of yellowed plastic, which is odd- I think it was replaced at some point to possibly protect it or something. If I had to guess, it's from the mid-19th century, given that it has no keyless works and that it says "Anchor Escapement" in French. It looks to be about 18 ligne, and the case fob is positioned in the upper right corner. The face is missing the dial, the hands, and a couple of the wheels that drive the hands- I think. But the movement itself seems to be in excellent shape. The serial number on the movement matches the number on the case- it's stamped on the movement and on the case in two places. I haven't started any disassembly yet, but I'm wondering if anyone can give me some idea of what kind of movement it is, and where I might look to see what parts are missing from the face. i may even have a dial that would fit it. It's in good enough shape that I think I could get it running, assuming I could find the missing parts. Any insights are vastly appreciated and thank you! Addendum: The inside of the case has some *very* tiny scratched numbers and letters in it, but I am having an extremely hard time seeing what they are. Like "N 99" and "No192X", They were clearly done with some kind of sharp stylus and maybe they mean when it was serviced or by who? Addendum the second: At least one of the scratches seems to say "N1921X" or maybe "W1921X". Serviced in 1921? And the inside lid of the case has the letters R H with a star between them, and a very tiny mark that says "ARGENT" in a u-shape.
    • I’ve watched every video I can find on YouTube. Some of the info is contradictory and none mention  the effect on amplitude or spring coil spacing which I observed. I was hoping someone here is a Seiko expert and knows these inside out.   
    • This video explains how to set up and adjust the etachron regulator :   I hope that helps, Mark
×
×
  • Create New...