I’m working on a vintage 7 jewel caravelle. I believe the only jewels are the 4 jewels for the balance staff, the 2 pallet stones, and the impulse jewel. The gear train pivots are this gold color, and on the other side it looks like it’s just metal. Should I use a different oil than the typical 1300 and 9010?
The mainspring holds some power after winding but it seems like the barrel arbor might be losing contact with the hook in the mainspring. After the mainspring snaps, the balance is still moving, so there’s still some power left. I’m able to wind it up again after it snaps, only to have it snap again after 10-15 winds.
The barrel arbor is new old stock, so I think it’s unlikely the hook is worn down. Could the inner loop of the mainspring be too loose? New mainsprings for this movement are $12, so I might just order one.
Any ideas of what this could be? This is a vintage bulova 2SO movement btw.
Playing around with a new microscope and I decided to check out a watch I built with an eta2824. Noticed right away that the pallet stone has gunk on it. Do you think it’s possible that it came this way from the factory or is this likely dust from my room during installation? It’s a genuine ETA.
The watch functions fine and this doesn’t really bother me, just curious if Swiss movements can come out of the factory looking like this or if I only have myself to blame.
This is my first time servicing the barrel and I really don’t want to lose the arbor, so looking for some advice. I ordered a pin vice to hold the arbor and will try this tomorrow.
Originally, I was able to get the center of the mainspring to stick to the center hole in the barrel, but now it always snaps back to the position in the picture. My plan is to hold the mainspring at the barrel hole with tweezers in one hand, and insert the barrel arbor with a pin vice in the other hand. Does that sound like a decent plan or is there a better way?
The screw was locked in tight and I probably pressed down a bit too hard to unscrew it. Then head snapped off, leaving the shaft stuck in the barrel arbor.
I found a NOS barrel arbor for the 2SO, but I’m having a harder time finding ratchet wheel screws. Does anyone happen to know if these screws are compatible across a range of movements, or where to source one? Thanks in advance.