Don't you hate it when you know you're removing a springy thing from a watch, but you don't want to bag it (too much trouble) so you just go ahead and push it off the pusher.

"PING"......and the circlip smaller than a pin head just vanishes.

You freeze like a rabbit in the headlights hoping to see or hear the landing but no luck. A scour of the bench top reveals nothing so you resign yourself to the loss, get a ziplock bag and remove the last three clips which although they spring like fleas on steroids, are captured inside the baggy.

But imagine the relief as you go to scratch an itch on your left temple and notice a blemish on your underarm, not a blemish in fact, but the missing circlip. "YaFKNhoo" is a mild expression used by many watch tinkerers on finding that part no longer destined for the never never.

 

How would you go about it if that part was lost forever ?

Can tell by the "yaFKNhoo" that your glad to find it but just wondering.

 

The ironic thing is that it's a vintage Rip Curl Tide Watch, probably worth about $5, so a replacement circlip would cost more than the watch maybe.

But I have three crates of old crap like that so a week or so of digging around might come up with something or I would start searching the parts houses. I'm sure there are other chrono pushers retained by these things.

 

I hate it when that happens...

Glad you sorted it out.

For future reference, I have a kit of all various sized C and E clips for when this happens, the kits are not expensive and well worth having in your spares.

Rob

 

This goes under the heading of "Well, duh!" but thanks for the baggie tip...

I'm just starting to explore watch servicing and haven't quite got there yet but nice to know a trick of the trade before hand.

My ping moments so far have been limited to springbars that leap tall buildings in a single bound. Man! Those things can fly!

 

I know the feeling.

I remember the sound of a brakeshoe retaining spring rattling through the woodpile at the side of the garage at 400mph..... *sigh*

Man did you get lucky.... quick run out to the shops and buy lottery tickets!

 

Can not resist... Trying hard... Have to restrain myself... No - I have to...

Coming from Sweden and brought up on MP - there is always a fitting MP quote. Do not mind the "bing" - it is "ping".

 

My bete noire is obsolete click springs - mind you, I am now an expert at adapting other similar springs to function. I can use a plug of Rodico to remove them but they insist on pinging when I re-fit them. Annoyingly, it only ever happens with ones for which you can't buy a new one.

 

Thought this was about the M1 Garand.

 

Wait a minute... is that???!!!....

no couldn't be...

 

What tweezers are you using? If you haven't considered them, try bronze or brass. Make sure they are well dressed and come together properly at the tip - no gap! Most parts flying away comes from either improper technique, or tweezers that are not in top shape.

The mistake many make is that when they have a small part they really want to not lose, they squeeze harder. This is counterproductive. Better to have the part "fall" out of my tweezers and land in front of me on the bench from not gripping hard enough, then to go sailing off into the sunset because I wanted to hold it tightly...

Cheers, Al

 

This reminds me of the time I was changing the Top lever spring on one of my Mirokus.
I had to remove a radiator off the wall to retrieve the new spring after it went flying.

 

Generally I use Dumostar #3 and #5 for the smaller parts.

You are right about the gap Al. I have just checked my #5 and they are a "bit" out of shape. I'll look into bronze ones.