Timelord Posted July 28, 2020 Report Share Posted July 28, 2020 I have successfully removed a hairspring from a Tissot balance assembly with a great deal of playing around. I am attaching a new hair spring to the bridge from information which I happened to get here from an older post Thanks.🙂 BTW it is a 2824-2 Tissot balance assembly which is the one that has no screw to release the stud from the bridge. I had to somehow make a tool ( a screw driver with an indent like a fork) to twist it off. I have managed to feed the new hair spring into the regulator pins but I am having a hard time pushing in the stud into the two fingers of the bridge. I backed off before I cause damage to the new hair spring. It is a nuisance that they do not sell them genuine already assembled. Anyone ever done this without using some "proper" tool for this. I guess there is a "proper tool" as I cannot see any other way to press fit this stud in? Sorry as my questions keep getting weird! Thanks again guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted July 28, 2020 Report Share Posted July 28, 2020 "Anyone ever done this without using some "proper" tool for this. I guess there is a "proper tool" as I cannot see any other way to press fit this stud in?" I place the stud against a solid surface and push the bridge 'fork' down over the stud using a small diameter flat top stump mounted in a staking tool to get it started. It is fairly easy to rig something up...maybe a small post of some sort so it will clear the balance. Be careful to keep away from the tip where the HS is cemented to the stud. No guarantees with this method because I have a lot more 'hairbrained credits' than 'hairspring credits'. Getting the stud fully seated and keeping the HS lined up is also part of the hassle but most of the problem is usually getting the stud started in the fork without having to push on it with a screwdriver (sounds like something out of a porn flick). Once seated the HS can be lined up from the top side but get it as close as possible to start with. You can stick the outer edge of the balance wheel to the leg of the bridge with Rodico to keep it from flopping around. Hairsprings are a curse on the universe imho. Bergeon probably makes a $500 tool that works most of the time. It probably looks like "a screwdriver with an indent like a fork." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timelord Posted July 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 On 7/29/2020 at 4:58 AM, automatico said: (sounds like something out of a porn flick). I wished!! The instructions I have read seem more like that of an Alfred Hitchcock horror movie! Why aren’t these damn things sold as a complete assembly like those Asian clones sends me in a tailspin! I have also learnt that some professional watchmakers refuse to replace the balances and then who would buy these separate parts if they are such a pain. The chances of damaging them is quite high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 "I have also learnt that some professional watchmakers refuse to replace the balances and then who would buy these separate parts if they are such a pain. The chances of damaging them is quite high." I guess guys working on them for a living do not want to take a chance on damaging a HS so they refuse to r/r the balance. I don't blame them. ETA/swatch decided to go to glued and clipped balance spring studs for one reason...it's cheaper and does not have any effect on accuracy. They do not care what happens after it is put in a watch because it is someone else's headache. RWC started laser welding the HS with the cal 3035. If you look down and your 3035 has stopped for 'no reason at all', it might be a detached HS. The fix is a balance complete but I have read that some claim to be able to cement the HS back on. I do not know if this would work or not. I still have a 'just in case' spare 3035 balance/HS left from when I was trading 3035 powered watches but all of mine ran long enough to get rid of them...except for a few broken balance staffs and HS hung on the balance rooster (co-ck is censored). Rlx 15xx movements are like A model Fords, everything is mechanically attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timelord Posted August 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 On 7/31/2020 at 1:48 AM, automatico said: Rlx 15xx movements are like A model Fords, everything is mechanically attached. I agree except that I am not a fan of their horrible diashock spring jewel above the escape wheel! In my opinion they are worse than the novodiac flower prong spring over the balance end stone! Not much point having a lyre spring on their balance and not avoid a different horror! if I were to be perfectly honest, the 15xx movements do nothing for me apart that Rolex uses them as their yardstick and keep the market inflated, so I would never lose my money on them I pulled apart an omega caliber chronometer 551 and it was such a joy to work on! I do not recall any complexities apart that the rotor post and rotor gib could have been avoided! Maybe I am wrong, but I like it miles better than the Rolex 15xx caliber which I fail to see why it is rated as a world better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted August 1, 2020 Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 "I agree except that I am not a fan of their horrible diashock spring jewel above the escape wheel!" I am not a fan of them either. It's not used for a shock spring on the rlx 15xx but as a removable cap jewel retainer to hold the escape wheel jewel in place while allowing the cap jewel to be r/r for c/o. My main gripe with rlx 15xx is where they cheap skated and did not put a bushing or jewel in the main plate where the MS arbor turns. I remember seeing a picture from a post by 'misiekped' showing a rlx 15xx (GMT?) with a MS arbor bushing in the main plate. Always wondered if it came that way or was a repair. Had not seen one in a 15xx movement before...or since. "If I were to be perfectly honest, the 15xx movements do nothing for me apart that Rolex uses them as their yardstick and keep the market inflated, so I would never lose my money on them." I like watches with 15xx movements because I grew up with them but since the huge price inflation of anything rolex and NPFY, I have turned to ETA movements for projects along with the occasional Seagull ST16 or ST6. My cartel '5513' with a ST16 is +6 seconds in one week, I hand wind it every morning...the autowind parts have been removed. Better time keeper than my rlx 15xx MBK '5512' was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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