Lubricating Timex V-conic Bearings

[DDT]

Hello all,

    I'm relatively new to watch repair/restoration, and have a question regarding Timex Vconic bearings.  I have seen several folks recommend that one not remove the balance when doing a basic clean a lubrication of  Timex mechanicals, but simply remove the screw-in bearing after cleaning in naphtha/drying, oiling it and replacing.  My question is, what about the other vconic bearing?  Is there any easy way to oil this without removing the balance?

 

Thanks in advance! 

[nevenbekriev]

I guess You can use bent oiler, but be careful with the hairspring. But, do You know that the main thing to do when restoring such movement is to sharpen the balance pivot tips (cones)? This is what actually wears in this movements and without the sharpening, the watch will never work as it should.

[mbwatch]

17 hours ago, DDT said:

Is there any easy way to oil this without removing the balance?

A bent oiler as Nev says works fine - I actually do it often with a straight oiler. I do tend to remove the balance but if you are just learning, you may avoid it on your first few Timex service attempts because reinserting the hairspring through the regulator and pinning it does require tweezer dexterity that you might not have developed yet. 

When the end shake screw bearing is removed, the entire balance can be lifted up with tweezers, providing plenty of space to get an oiler in there to fill the V-conic cup half way.

Are you following a Timex service manual? This is the most common M24 but the site has most others as well. https://heritage1854.com/m24

[Neverenoughwatches]

I do both things that have been mentioned, though my first time sharpening the tips. I tried the bent oiler to scoop oil in the bottom cup but its easier to loosen the top cup which allows a bit more room. I would practice removing and refitting the balance..I find it a pain and often lose it to the inside of the movement....there is a real knack to it. Remove the top cup completely, unpin the hairspring and slide it out of the regulator...that bit is fun as the lever wants to fight you backwards and forwards...it becomes a tug of war . Remove as much power as you possibly can to make the lever weak. Push the regulator fully towards the stud to give you a little more room to get the balance out. Once out I pull the collet off and practice fitting and removing the balance without the hairspring,  in movement over and over until I get a handle on how the positioning has to be. You might need to part the plates as well for some extra space, I loosen up a couple of screws and insert paper to keep the plates separated.

[DDT]

Thanks to all for the input.  @mbwatch: yes, I am following the service manuals.  Even though I'm just beginning to learn about watch repair, I find myself working on a lot of Timex movements, contrary to much of the good advice out there.  Mainly due to contrariness on my part , along with ready availability of movements.  The more I work on these things, the more respect I gain for the engineering required to produce devices that, despite economy of production and inexpensive materials,  are functional, durable, and maintainable.

[mbwatch]

4 minutes ago, DDT said:

find myself working on a lot of Timex movements, contrary to much of the good advice out there

There is unfortunately a ton a bad advice  about Timexes and a lots of people who will line up to tell you either they can't be fixed or you are wasting your time and money doing it, by people who have never opened one. You won't hear that on WRT and there are a handful of Timex collectors and restorers around (including one very highly experienced, very knowledgeable, who eventually will find this post too)

6 minutes ago, DDT said:

The more I work on these things, the more respect I gain for the engineering required to produce devices that, despite economy of production and inexpensive materials,  are functional, durable, and maintainable.

This is what draws me to them, also watch manufacturing in countries outside of Alpine Europe.

[DDT]

Just now, mbwatch said:

There is unfortunately a ton a bad advice  about Timexes and a lots of people who will line up to tell you either they can't be fixed or you are wasting your time and money doing it, by people who have never opened one. You won't hear that on WRT and there are a handful of Timex collectors and restorers around (including one very highly experienced, very knowledgeable, who eventually will find this post too)

This is what draws me to them, also watch manufacturing in countries outside of Alpine Europe.

Yes, I have found the info on this forum to have a ton of great resources and to be a really amazing community, which is why I finally moved from just lurking to joining and posting.  (I believe I know who the "highly experienced/knowledgeable" person is, and I've been waiting for them them to chime in as well ).

IMHO, time spent working on these vintage Timexes is well spent - and not everything has to be about $$.  They are a real piece of Americana (dating back to pre-Civil War years!), and the hit of nostalgia I get when I get one running and restored cosmetically is immense.