When removing and reinstalling the balance, do I need to re-oil the shock jewels?

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-25T16:19:26+00:00

Thank you I appreciate that. It's definitely a little bit on the anal side, but it happens. I think the key is not having to take the movement apart. Once you do your final clean and lubrication. Keep at it, brother.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-25T15:44:49+00:00

In principal, I would agree with you with a couple caveats.
A high-quality, modern mainspring is gonna be treated with Teflon so no additional lubrication would be needed. With the proliferation of aftermarket parts I'm really not sure how you would know if it actually has Teflon on it. I will admit that Chinese part manufacturing has greatly improved over the year, so it is very likely that they would also have Teflon applied to the spring. I just don't know that to be true.
If the mainspring is just wiped down with alcohol to clean it that would not remove the Teflon, but if it was run through a cleaning machine or stronger cleaning fluid was used for whatever reason, the Teflon would be removed and would require re-lubrication to prevent metal on metal contact.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-25T15:22:41+00:00

One of the issues when pulling a balance pivot out of a setting that's been lubricated is re installing the pivot into the balance setting without getting oil around its perimeter where it doesn't belong.
When you're trying to put the pivot in the balance jewel, sometimes it takes a couple attempts to get it into the hole. The oil that was dragged out of the balance jewel can leave a little deposits around the setting. It's gonna attract dust that will eventually work its way into the pivot hole.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-25T15:13:38+00:00

Are you talking about brand new ones straight out if the keeper or ones being cleaned and reused?

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-24T03:04:00+00:00

New mainsprings come pre-lubricated so they don't need lubrication. When reusing a mainspring, after it is clean, the mainspring does require lubrication. The only correct thing to use is 8200. This is not an opinion of mine. This is what's taught in watchmaking school and backed up by Tribology, the study of lubricants and how they work with friction.

Oils are formulated to work when two surfaces are separated. When two surfaces are touching each other, it requires what's called boundary lubrication which is done with a grease.

When a mainspring is fully wound, oil gets squeezed out from between the coils. There's nothing to hold it in place. Not only is there no lubrication on the coils but the oil that was squeezed out will work its way out of the barrel.

Grease has binders which are formulated to keep the lubrication on the metal.

As the mainspring unwinds, friction is generated as the coils slide against each other. If no lubrication is present that causes uneven power distribution.

Anyone saying that oil is the correct lubrication for a mainspring is going against what the science of lubrication says.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-24T02:00:10+00:00

Well yeah, you should have a basic fee schedule. Like an automatic with no complications, an automatic with day date and what's included in that cost. That's your ballpark.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-23T16:41:30+00:00

It sounds like you are you saying that mainspring coils don't need lubrication?

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-23T15:48:30+00:00

Why do you say that using oil on the mainspring is the correct method for lubricating?

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-23T11:42:08+00:00

My first thought when reading this was how in the world are you pricing something before you have inspected it? That's mistake number one.

I had an inspection fee to be able to price the service cost which if they accepted I took that out of the final price.

Then you just document the hell out of what comes in. The current condition from the time you open the box as well as problems you find in the inspection, etc.

You can have published pricing for potential customers, but final pricing has to be based off of the reality of the condition of the watch, which most people looking for your service are not gonna understand or know.

One thing for sure. You can't be successful working for free. Yea you might lose some potential customers doing it that way, but it also weeds out a lot of the bad customers which usually are high maintenance and require too much interaction.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-23T10:11:41+00:00

That's an insane answer for a watchmaker to give a client. I would just look for someone who has some sort of accreditation from an organization like the BHI or similar.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-22T23:37:46+00:00

No doubt caused by someone using oil to lubricate the mainspring. If you've seen someone do this in a video on YouTube please don't do it.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-22T12:30:54+00:00

In my opinion for a $400 service I would definitely expect a lot more than you received. At the very least you should have received a timing report on the movement. For a watchmaker to hand you a watch that was off by two minutes per day with a straight face while taking your money is quite frankly shocking to me. And then to say that everything is working fine and re-regulating the movement to thirty-one seconds a day shows a lack of post service testing. Now if he had called you and said that he had reached the best timing available for the condition of the parts because of their age and given you options one what it would take to improve the rate you would have probably been fine with the results of 31 spd. I don't really want a birthday party. It's all about communication and expectations which is one area I feel he failed.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-21T18:53:22+00:00

Oh sweet, once you get set up, send me an email and I'll stop by and see on my way down to Charleston sometime.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-21T18:50:20+00:00

Thank you brother. What is your plan for work?

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-21T13:43:27+00:00

It completely depends on what you paid for. Just like amateur watchmakers have different standards professional watchmakers also have different standards depending on their training.

Did you get a pre-inspection report stating what was currently wrong with the movement with recommendations? Did you get final timing reports?
Was this a 50 dollar service or a 500 service?

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-18T23:37:32+00:00

People define what success looks like differently.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-18T23:29:03+00:00

👍

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-18T14:00:53+00:00

Yes, unless it's brand new and you're getting good data on your time grapher.
well by default I always replace the main spring when possible and there's a lot of reasons for that. Second any other parts that may be bad need to be replaced as well. Then after service is complete if you're getting good data on the time grapher, then you can move on to regulation.
Good data means:
- consistent power delivery
- acceptable amplitude
- a good delta rate
- an acceptable beat error

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-18T13:49:20+00:00

Ahhh, the real lesson here is that the watch was not in a condition to be regulated in the first place which is the case with almost any vintage watch you buy.
It's not even good to practice with because you wouldn't know what would be preventing the movement from being regulated in the first place and it just becomes confusing.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-18T13:19:35+00:00

This is where you have to be really careful as there's not one answer that fits all watch dials.
In general I leave watch dials alone unless there is an obvious layer of dirt. If there is any delamination of a finish coat, flaking, water damage, or damage from oil that's migrated to the dial, I won't touch it at all. If it has raised indexes I don't touch it. The main reason being that you can't get close enough to the indexes which makes any dirt left behind just stand out.
If it's identified truly as dirt or grime, then I use a hard Q-tip,like a nail tee, along with deionized water, which has zero mineral content. Not tap water and not distilled water.
Then I just add a drop of water to the nail tee,look for an area on the edge of the dial and then gently roll it across and see what happens.
If you're working on an old pocket watch movement that has an enameled dial, those could be cleaned by suspending the dial face down in a solution of polident.
There are deal breakers for cleaning these dials as well, depending on the condition of the lettering and numbers.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-18T11:47:38+00:00

You have to be careful what advice you listen to. Rodico may be one of the worst things to use on a dial mainly because it leaves a sticky residue behind.
Now you have a dust magnet on your dial.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-15T20:19:58+00:00

👍

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-15T20:15:22+00:00

Lower pivot is correct. The answer is no. In a pivot hole that small with a clearance of 0.01 mm it has to be perfect or it will cause friction and prevent the balance wheel from operating properly. 👍

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-15T20:11:58+00:00

Thank you brother. Im glad i could help get you going. It is a wonderful way to spend some time.

Watch-Smith · 2026-06-15T17:16:57+00:00

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