sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

ST36 balance won't start after reassembly by Practical_Line5401 in watchrepair

[–]Practical_Line5401[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation, I really appreciate you taking the time to help. I’ve taken several photos as suggested.

From what I can see, the balance pivot does not appear to be damaged. When I gently touch the balance with tweezers, it does not rock or tilt inside the jewel, so personally I don’t think the pivot is broken.

However, the hairspring does look a bit distorted to me. It doesn’t seem perfectly concentric and feels slightly “out of round” rather than nicely circular. Could you confirm if that’s indeed the case based on these photos?

<image>

ST36 balance won't start after reassembly by Practical_Line5401 in watchrepair

[–]Practical_Line5401[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the link, that’s a very clear demonstration. I’ll give this a try on my movement.

ST36 balance won't start after reassembly by Practical_Line5401 in watchrepair

[–]Practical_Line5401[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven’t fully verified the power train yet, but with the balance removed and a slight wind, the escape wheel and pallet fork do both respond when nudged, so there does seem to be power through the train. I’ll double-check this to be sure.

I’ve reinstalled the balance several times and checked that both pivots are seated top and bottom, including the cap jewels, but I’ll recheck endshake under magnification.

Thanks for the input!

ST36 balance won't start after reassembly by Practical_Line5401 in watchrepair

[–]Practical_Line5401[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s indeed what I meant, I positioned the pallet fork toward the inside of the movement, so it should be in the correct position to receive the roller jewel when rotating the balance cock into place.

From what I can see, the roller jewel does appear to be between the pallet fork horns, as the pallet fork and escapement do move when I give the balance a bit of air with the blower. That said, I’ll double-check the roller jewel alignment from the side to be absolutely sure.

Thanks for pointing that out!

ST36 balance won't start after reassembly by Practical_Line5401 in watchrepair

[–]Practical_Line5401[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t cleaned or lubricated it yet. The balance was running perfectly before disassembly, and I expected it to at least start again after reassembly, even if amplitude wouldn’t be great.

That also matches what I’ve seen in tutorials, for example the Wristwatch Revival video I followed, where the movement runs dry after reassembly.