An amazing repair (not by me).

[rfrazier]

In another thread (Quartz vs Mechanical), I showed the following picture of an old balance. It is from a pocket watch movement that had been housed in a wrist watch case. It was to show a long, thin, balance staff in a movement without shock protection in support of the idea that mechanical watch movements can be sensitive to being smacked against things. Here is the picture.



I have cleaned an overhauled the movement, but the balance wheel wasn't true. This was in part because the staff ends, and especially the longer one, needed straightening. So, I straightened the end. But, the balance wheel still wasn't true. So, I decided to true it. When doing so, it is best to take off the hairspring, which is usually no big deal. The hairspring is on a collet which is friction fit to the staff. So, I took it off. Here is the balance wheel being checked for truth.



So, after fiddling with it, I got it relatively true (not perfect, but a great improvement.) And so it was time to put the hairspring back on. Here's the hairspring.



When I put it back on, is was loose. I tried tightening the collet, but to no avail. So, I took a closer look at the bottom of the hairspring collet. To my amazement I found glue. The hairspring collet had actually been glued to the balance arm. I couldn't keep myself from laughing. It has got to be the second most amazing repair I've seen. (The most amazing is the replacement of a cap jewel with solder.) Here's a picture of the bottom of the hairspring's collet.



So what to do? I don't even know the calibre of this movement. It is possible to make a replacement balance staff for it, but would probably take me a (large) number of efforts. And the watch isn't worth it. Re-gluing certainly is tempting. But too shameful. I suspect that I'll try to make a bushing for the collet. If that doesn't work, it will have to be a new staff.

Best wishes,
Bob

[stifflersmom]

Great pictures Bob of a real DIY repair that a ham fist like myself would be proud of! Good luck with finding a more elegant solution.

[rfrazier]

Great pictures Bob of a real DIY repair that a ham fist like myself would be proud of! Good luck with finding a more elegant solution.

I got the glue out/off. And I have the right sized stake. So, I'm hoping that I can just close it a bit using the stake (and that whoever did this to it couldn't be bothered to use the right tools).

Best wishes,
Bob