Pocket Watch Project

[arutha]

Update – I tried making a little tool to get this roller off, the thickness of the material to cut the v into was decided by the clearence between the hairspring and the roller table. The old rodico is there just to stop the pivot snapping off as it came flying out and hit the steel base of my tool.

It didnt come flying out of anywhere, it just bent the piece of steel I cut the “V” into. It is on there tight, thats for sure!

I am not sure what to do now, cant use thicker steel as it won’t fit between the hairspring and roller and cant make the length of steel shorter as the balance wheel will hit the side of the stand. I think I might have to look at some type of hand tool?
Paul.

[willofiam]

Hey Paul, great thread, I am enjoying it very much. you almost have me working on the one you sent me

for the tool you made, what if you supported the steel on both ends and cut the notch in from the side, maybe that will make it strong enough. William

[arutha]

I can’t do that William, it would be far to easy!
Why on earth could I have not thought of that? 😯

[david pierce]

Paul,
A couple of other ideas you might try. One would be to make the tool from a piece of tool steel such as a discarded circular steel thin saw blade (not carbide tipped), knife blade, wood chisel etc. Another idea might be to heat the roller first with a soldering iron or small flame to help expand it around the shaft. As a last resort you may have to purchase a Bergeon style roller remover or a Rex roller remover. Both are sturdy tools.
david

[Bob Tascione]

Ooops
Hey Paul,
You might go with a wider piece of plate and secure it to the base with two screws spaced an inch or so apart. This would give you room to slot the top section of the base for balance wheel clearance and shorten that support. Also Davids suggestion of going with a higher carbon tool steel would help a lot if you’re using a low carbon soft steel now.
You could also go with a stronger, thicker piece of steel and mill the end of it to fit between the hairspring and roller. This would give the tool much more strength.

Bob

[bernie weishapl]

Bob would this be the same tool that you are showing?? Guy says it is a roller remover. Other guy says roller remover or cannon pinion remover. Pic’s of both that look the same. Just curious.

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Bernie,
That looks more like a cannon puller to me but might be for both roller and cannon…not sure. The curved jaws help to grab and pull the cannon pinion. The one I show in the earlier post in this thread has adjustable ‘straight’ jaws for longer reach to support the roller table. The jaws move in or out on a track by rotating the knurled nut above them.
Sorry, probably wasn’t much help Bernie.
Adios for now,
Bob

[david pierce]

Paul,
The amount of force required to bend that V-Tool can’t possibly be doing the staff any good. The force you used should have removed the roller table under any circumstances close to normal. Roller tables in general should be pressed, never hammered, onto a tapered shaft. It is also possible that this roller table was glued into place by a previous technician. If that is the case it will have to be heated to destroy the glue (possibly Loctite). The heat will also help expand the roller table around the staff. The tool you already made should provide a heat shield to protect the balance wheel and hair spring. You could also slide some aluminum foil between the components to provide extra protection from the heat. A short length of small brass tubing can be placed over the end of the staff to shield it from the heat.
david

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks Bob. I thought from pictures I saw in De Carle’s book that it might be just a cannon pinion puller which I already have so will pass on these.

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