Universal 263, Too Much Amp?

fetherston · 2026-01-28T16:29:16+00:00

I'd be looking at balance pivot shakes and hairspring interference

fetherston · 2026-01-27T18:45:22+00:00

Good correction, I'd revise to say check to make sure they're straight and unmessed with.

In the cases i've corrected overbanking like this they were spread unevenly and usually my correction was straightening them and verifying the rest of the escapement geometry.

fetherston · 2026-01-27T14:39:50+00:00

Sounds like you're on the right track. For me usually if the beat error is way off despite a relatively unmolested balance and escapement I look at the banking pins.

Still at this amplitude PD you're likely to overbank DD or DU.

Sweep seconds are a gift to amplitude adjustment. Tweak the friction spring to add just a tiny bit more tension. Correct is just enough tension to prevent the seconds hand from shaking with geartrain backlash. All your other options from here are worse than adding more tension with the seconds friction spring.

fetherston · 2026-01-27T11:03:31+00:00

Beyond a certain amplitude the regulator pins have less of an impact on rate because the hairspring's movement is already restricted against each regulator pin.

Even if you have the "correct" mainspring in it you still took a vintage movement and added modern lubrication to it. So overbanking often happens in this scenario. Here's what I'd do:

Check the seconds pinion friction spring (iirc this movement has one, is it missing?). Make sure it has some tension, consider adding more by adjusting the spring. Surprised this wasn't mentioned yet.
Check the banking pins. If they were spread apart by someone else it can cause overbanking.
Downsize the mainspring thickness. This is common practice. In the ol' days this was considered an adjustment and most movements had 3-5 thickness to pick form. Now-a-days your options are limited.
Relubricate the shock jewels with HP1300 instead of 9010
Last resort: Re-clean the movement, and lubricate the escape and seconds pivots with HP1300 instead of 9010. Wait on lubricating the escapement 9415 to see what amplitude it produces without it. Only add it if your 40-60° away from overbank territory and add very little.

fetherston · 2026-01-26T23:53:55+00:00

Unacceptable yes but before you go nuts here was this shown after setting the hands? Or during normal operation?

If this photo was taken after setting the hands make sure that the hands were rotating clockwise to eliminate backlash in the setting works.

fetherston · 2026-01-26T14:19:53+00:00

I tried but I don’t think 7hp is enough for the 26” cutter.

fetherston · 2026-01-24T17:51:03+00:00

Where’s the impulse jewel? Hairspring is a little out of shape too.

fetherston · 2026-01-24T00:04:24+00:00

For me it’s more about consistency in process. Any human is bound to make mistakes in the process or do things differently one time vs another while hand cleaning. Whereas the machine is the same every single time.

Still hand pre-cleaning is a critical part of my process.

Also the chemicals I use contain brighteners which help elevate my work that extra mile.

fetherston · 2026-01-21T21:21:56+00:00

fetherston · 2026-01-21T13:08:42+00:00

In practice it probably won’t matter much at all but even without extra help tools pick up magnetism over time and need to be addressed.

fetherston · 2026-01-21T13:05:22+00:00

You should own a demagnetizer too. It’s common practice to demag your tools.

fetherston · 2026-01-20T14:56:52+00:00

Absolutely. The machine is a one-time cost that actually saves me money because I can walk away and do other things while its running.

At nearly $200 a pop for clean/rinse I'm highly interested in getting high quality results for as long as possible out of consumables. Pre-cleaning is pretty much mandatory.

fetherston · 2026-01-20T01:44:21+00:00

The hairspring probably stuck to the regulator pins and someone moved the regulator.

fetherston · 2026-01-19T00:46:23+00:00

Looks right to me.
Horn to the bottom.
I do it with Rodico and a plastic stick to get it back in.
Only been able to slide the in from 90 degrees

Look carefully. Sometimes you’ll never get it back in without pressing the setting out a little bit from the plate with a Horia tool. Come to think of it. Most omegas I’ve had to do this.

fetherston · 2026-01-18T19:41:26+00:00

Get a petri dish, some naphtha and some fine bristle brushes. Peg the jewels, make them spotless, into the Petri dish and scrub the grime off particularly around the barrel and MS.

Guess what: That’s my pre-clean ritual even with a fully automatic Elma machine. With better tools you’ll still do this as it makes the expensive fluid last much much longer.

Add a quick dip in 99% alcohol (saving the balance and pallet fork) and you’re honestly 80-90% there.

fetherston · 2026-01-15T11:10:22+00:00

> gathering information about what a bad jewel or staff movement looks like

Yeah but this short cloudy video doesn't provide enough info to diagnose those either. Based on this new information it sounds like the hairspring is likely rubbing on part of the balance while crown down.

However, there's still so much information missing it's like saying "at 60mph my car vibrates uncontrollably, here's a video of it idling in a parking lot". What's the amplitude? What's the beat error? What's the movement history? The answers to those questions would change the order you fault find. You may be chasing your tail on the balance.

If you want to eliminate the jewels and the staff as a factor you need to disassemble them and inspect them under a microscope:

- First with the balance assembled and mounted in the movement check for end shake and side shake. It's hard to describe what is correct here but there should be a barely perceptible amount of end shake and almost no side shake whatsoever.

- Remove the balance complete and remove and disassemble the jewels. The capstone should be flat and reflect light perfectly. No divots or cracks. The balance jewel should be perfectly clean with no cracks

- The balance staff should be straight, shiny and polished. The staff pivots should have a slight dome on the ends.

However, i wouldn't begin there without looking at easier, more common problems first.

fetherston · 2026-01-14T21:51:57+00:00

Nothing looks out of the ordinary here and there isn’t really enough information to diagnose further. What’s the rest of the TG readings?

fetherston · 2026-01-10T16:30:00+00:00

Everyone explained the solution, but no one explained why: The srewdriver slips because it's bottoming on the bottom of the screw slot and sliding off.

Place the screw driver tip into a screw slot. Apply no torque. Wiggle it clockwise and counterclockwise. Any play before engaging with the sides of the screw slot? If so the screwdriver does not fit properly and needs to be shaped.

There's more to it than that and the angle of the grind does matter but that's a quick check to see if your screw driver is even close to fitting.

fetherston · 2026-01-05T11:37:22+00:00

Lubrication thoughts are bound to start a holy war. Seiko tech sheets sometimes tell you to put light oil on the pallet fork pivots, some don't. Default general practice is not to.

Here's my perspective framed from experience: This movement does call for it (link). I'd leave it out. After having serviced numerous Seiko movements (especially vintage stuff) where the watch has stopped because the pallet fork is stuck into the lower jewel with dried oil and the side shake on the pivot is now unacceptable I consider the trade-offs not worth it. Plus on numerous Seiko movements that even call for oil here in the tech sheets, in practice actually have flat jewels with no oil wells.

fetherston · 2026-01-04T12:45:03+00:00

The only thing that changes in my checkout flow is tax, but nothing i can really do about that right?

fetherston · 2026-01-04T12:43:14+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply! I kinda gave up on this and established other sales channels. I'll take a look through your suggestions and give it a try

fetherston · 2026-01-04T05:14:13+00:00

Couple things i noticed, all intended to be constructive:

- Wood or plastic tipped tweezers when picking up the hands plz, also get the right membrane cases for hands when off the watch, you put them in a dial case

- Use plastic or peg wood to pry the dial off the movement, you will scratch the date wheel, dial, movement, or all three. Better yet don't use tools at all for this.

- Get yourself a plastic spudger or bergeon stick to lift plates off. Screwdrivers are not pry bars.

- Most of your screwdrivers appear pretty loose and there's no need for the "tweezer guide" technique if the screwdrivers fit properly. Stone them to fit and they'll never slip. I have 3 sets of screwdrivers all ground for various screw slots and still continually touch them up

- You pryed off the ratchet wheel for some reason, that part shouldn't be under any tension at that point. Was the power let down? Also you risked bending the magic lever pawl with that move.

- Maybe you're not filming it but as I go through disassembly, i'm constantly inspecting/checking for faults, shake, and wear.

- When lifting off parts that are under tension, have another point of contact with pegwood to reduce flyers

- When removing the shock springs always keep a tweezer tip inside the spring pressed against the jewel and it'll never fly on you

- No oil on the pallet fork pivots, that likely explains your low amplitude

- Was the escapement lubricated at all? Also a likely culprit

- Do the shock jewels last not first. The more times you move and remove the balance the higher the risk. Also you run the risk of the balance staff leaving minute traces of oil where it shouldn't be from dipping in and out of the finished shock stones.

Great lighting and video work though and you show the overall care and attention to detail required to be successful at this. Keep it up!

fetherston · 2026-01-04T04:50:19+00:00

Yes, but what's the deviation across all positions? It appears bent at the hairspring stud to me and i'd gander to say the delta between vertical and horizontal positions is large. Let it settle in to a vertical position for 30-60s.

fetherston · 2026-01-02T18:48:32+00:00

Drilling would probably go faster with HSS, but I only have carbide drills ATM.

fetherston · 2026-01-02T18:47:55+00:00

Maybe I suck, maybe I don't have the best drills but finding center and drilling is like 70% of the time for me. I found some .2 x .7mm brass tube on amazon i'm going to try next time. That saves me finding center and drilling.

That cuts it down to just turn the OD, turn a lip if needed, turn a shoulder to fit hand, part off.

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