Folded Bracelet - Spring bars for stretch repair ?

[Perpetuum]

Hi,

For the first time, I want to repair stretch on a folded jubilee.

For the solid jubilees, you can use the AliX sets for great results, but for the folded one I need differently shaped spring bars.

They are not round at the ends - if I use the round ones, it doesn't look good and doesn't hold properly (see examples in the photos).

Does anyone know a source for suitable pins?

Maybe I'm just looking for the wrong search term.

Thanks for your help

 

[316lad]

I don't think there's any such animal. They are all round. They flatten as you tighten them down. The new ones you have there look to thin.

 

[Perpetuum]

I think the folded links are wraped around the springbars when it was produced 60 years ago.

The old and new springbars are both 1.2mm (the ends are somewhat rounded on the new ones, that's why it looks so extreme)

Maybe there are new spring bars for repair of the folded bracelets on the market.

Otherwise I have to spend a lot of time on the lathe and the mill

 

[316lad]

I think the folded links are wraped around the springbars when it was produced 60 years ago.

The old and new springbars are both 1.2mm (the ends are somewhat rounded on the new ones, that's why it looks so extreme)

Maybe there are new spring bars for repair of the folded bracelets on the market.

Otherwise I have to spend a lot of time on the lathe and the mill

There must be - you mean slightly over-size? Who's that chap in Hong-Kong - Michael Young - is it? he specialises in this stuff.

Time on the lathe and mill is always quality time - but that would be quite a tedious job. You'd have to pretend you're on a production line!

 

[316lad]

Hre we are. Might be worth asking him:

'The Rolex Bracelet Magician', A World Renowned Vintage Watch Restoration Legend Based in Hong Kong — Classic Watch Repair

Being frustrated at Rolex refusing to repair or restore watch cases, bracelets, dials, and hands, Michael Young, a mechanical engineer with immense watch collecting experience, decided to learn to do it himself. Mike's initial restorations caught many's attention and he never looked back since more

www.classicwatchrepair.com

 

[tripdog]

I think the folded links are wraped around the springbars when it was produced 60 years ago.

^^ This. The side links are folded under pressure around the connector bars. You can remove some 'stretch' ( everyone says stretch, but it's not stretch, it's wear as you can see) by pinching together each of the centre gold links.

You could try filling in the gaps around the round bars with solder, but everyting would need to be clean and bracelets are usually pretty dirty.

Or remove each one of the connector bars, rotate them 180° so that the worn/grooved side is on the outer facing edge, which would remove the 'stretch' from the bracelet.

 

[Perpetuum]

Yes, "stretch" has somehow become a term for this kind of wear

I've also considered turning the pins, but my inner perfectionist has something against that.

The next thought was to weld them on and turn them down on the lathe, but that probably takes longer than making new ones.

I somehow like the idea of making a die and pressing the ends of new pins (in correct size) into an "oval" shape. Especially since I still have a few folded bracelets with wear lying around, so the one-time effort would be worth it... I'll experiment a bit.

Thanks so far - I'm happy to hear any more ideas