Reply With QuoteDremel?
I have a 1940s Gruen Curvex I am preparing to sell. I want to replace the expansion bracelet with a leather strap. I was finally successful in muscling one bar off, but the other one resists all my efforts using a springbar tool, and also a scissors (to slice through the bar). Other than taking it to a watchmaker, I'm at a loss. I need to be careful because the thin art deco lugs are likely fragile.
Any ideas?
Dremel?
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Wish I owned one.Originally Posted by Saint-Just
If the end link can be sacrificed then a decent pair of electricians side cutters will make light work of it.
Apply WD40 or similar to try to loosen it?
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As above, some sort of penetrating oil would be a good idea. Perhaps gently applied with a paintbrush or drop by drop from the tip of something thin like an oiler or paperclip to get it into the body of the springbar?
Apply wd40 to spring bar ends then thread some dental floss through and around the middle of the spring bar then twist and turn to loosen the spring bar either end then try to work the floss towards each end of the spring bar to remove. Fiddley but possible, good luck.
Thanks, gents. I'll try your ideas Sunday. Time now for bed...
Could you maybe suspend it over a shallow container, with some kind of penetrating liquid or oil? Should loosen it eventually, hopefully.
Always Tony. Plus it’s worked for me in the past. Hope you’re well.
any chance of removing the movement and dropping the case/bracelet end in an US tank with some releasol?
A proper releasing penetrant, not WD40.
Buy one.
Easier and cheaper to take it in to my watchmaker.
Carefully bend the bracelet lugs back just enough to get them over the springbar (oil will help lubricate that) then snip the bar off and crimp the bracelet back to something like its original shape.
Thanks to all. WD40 did the trick, after a bit of coaxing!
Well done!Thanks to all. WD40 did the trick, after a bit of coaxing!
Loosens everything does WD
J
Sorry to be pedantic, but WD40 isn’t really that good at shifting rusty corroded parts.. WD stands for water dispersal, which it’s very good at.
Penetrating oil is a far better lubricant for getting stuff undone..😎
No probs Enoch. Thanks for clarifying.
I find WD loosens the stuff I work on pretty well.
Jim
I would disagree and say that WD40 is actually very good at shifting rusty, corroded parts. It contains oils and other solvents that enable dispersion across a surface (hence displacing any water on the surface) but these also aid penetration in between surfaces. It's certainly not good as a long term lubricant though.
Glad the original problem was solved though
Years ago I bought a penetrating oil called Plusgas in a blue can, that was specifically sold as penetrating oil. I use GT85 thesedays, which is sold as a lubricant, penetrant and water displacer, Also contains PTFE so even if it evaporates it should leave a lubricant film.
A trick I`ve used in the past is to heat an item then drop it into a small glass jar or vial of penetrating oil, it smokes a bit but the theory is that the penetrating oil will get in where it's needed as the item cools, aided by differential expansion/contraction. Placing the jar in the ultrasonic bath helps too. Several cycles of this procedure followed by by (careful) application of force usually proves successful, I`ve taken water-damaged watch movements apart this way in the past.
V. little watch work getting done by me at the moment, working on the bigger stuff instead. MGB front suspension and rear brakes are in pieces on the garage floor so it's dirty hands and overalls time. Thankfully everything comes apart easily, the car was rebuilt in 2014 and I`ve had it apart since..........all good fun!
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 1st March 2023 at 20:35.
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