i keep trying to reattach a collet and hairspring but the collet keeps falling off after being staked...am i not hitting hard enough, i am using the smallest flat holed stake, like the instructions said to use..does the collet need to be tighten after being staked back on..can you use a cannon pinoin tightener to do that...i am kinda new to using a staking tool..but i am following the directions from the bulova s of watchmaking...also the process doesn't seem that hard to follow...the only problem i could think of is 1 not hitting hard enough to stake it on or 2 the collet may need to be tightened once on...if anyone can help or give me any advice i would be extremely grateful,which i say alot but i truly am...since doing this all myself i wouldn't be able to without the advice and wisdom of others who know what i don't.
Even with the correct staff, properly identified, the collet from the previous staff may not fit snugly. This is due in part to two things: Replacement staffs sometimes have slightly different dimensions, depending on the source, and the collet is very soft. You should not have to hit it hard at all, even finger pressure will work. The collet is a split ring in most cases, and may need to be closed slightly. As Geezer has said, you use the tapered punch, but be very careful. Balance work is extremely fine, and not a lot of force is required to do many of the repairs. It is very easy to alter the pinning point and throw the hairspring out of proper alignment. The balance should be poised, also, after replacing a staff, or you will have some serious positional errors that can't be corrected by manipulating the hairspring.
thanks for the help...well thats something they don't seem to tell you in the books...my next tool is going to be a posing tool..also the watchmaker who i bought the set from also forgot to mention that...anyway thanks for the info i will use it to the best of my ablitiy..so even if i am able to change a staff with the staking set..a collet from a different balance may not fit..well what do i do then recollet the spring? what can i use to close the collet? one of the punches on the staking tool? or will i have to buy the bergeron 150 dollar closing tool...
If the existing collet does not fit the staff, you will indeed need to replace the collet and repin the hairspring.The collet you are using either does not fit the diameter of the new staff or may have been cracked when you removed it initially, causing it to lose the tension that is required to secure it to the new staff. A proper new collet should have sufficient tension to flat punch it on to the staff as you were originally trying to do. If not, try using the internally tapered punch on your staking set as explained above with easy pressure.
i am alittle upset..see this why i should go to watch repair school.instead of finding this out after the fact...i guess now i should atleast try to tighten the collet with the staking tool, i read that this is hard to do, because you can mess up the hairspring, which is understandable,since breathing on the hairspring the wrong way can bend it in the wrong way...i don't even know where to get a new collet..some nos part then probably break the hairspring removing...i might as well try see if i can tighten the collet..i spent all this time on it for nothing..what if i use factory parts.this problem can still happen? so i guess tightening the collet is the only way if that doesn't work then your screwed...so i still can't even change a staff and have evevything work...
Take a deep breath. You have obviously just learned to restaff a balance, which is no small step. If I may suggest before you buy expensive tools that you may never need, purchase as many non-working cheap movements that you can comfortably afford. Brand or quality does not matter. Buy them with the intention that they may never even close to resembling a watch again, if they do, so much the better. Take them apart, clean and reassemble, and do it again. You will lose parts, bend parts and probably irreversibly destroy parts. Learn to handle the tools and the parts without despairing about the outcome. Learn your current limitations and then improve upon your skills. I would heartily suggest getting a copy of "The Watch Repairers Manual" by Fried, it is out of print but still available if you search for it. Learning watch repair takes time, patience and a bit of a Zen mindset whether you are self taught of go to school. Self taught takes longer and you make more mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are the better lesson.
thanks..i am trying, i have the bulova school of watchmaking, but from what i have been reading online it leaves alot of stuff out compared to the heny fried book.the bulova one tells you how..it seems the fried book gives alot more on trouble shooting and more techinque..which being self taught, is really what you need..
I would also recommend De Carle's book "Practical Watch Repairing". There is also a US military watch repair manual that can be found for free as a pdf (can't beat the price).
Pinning a hairspring to the collet is pretty demanding. Depending on the model of movement you are probably better off sourcing a new colleted hairspring or balance complete. Most people learn their hairspring work by starting with pocket watch movements - larger size makes things easier.
BTW. I generally just use my tweezers to set hairspring collets on the balance staff.
Good luck.