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VR3185 VR3135 - How to correct performance during service

eddy77

Horology Curious
22/7/22
6
21
3
Hi,
I just completed a VR3185 service for another forum member and thought it would be interesting to describe what adjustment I have made to improve its performance. Here the list of what I needed to do:

- General cleaning and oiling: Movement was dirty with dust, skin cells and metal particles. All corrected during service. Addittionally, checked condition and hand polished contact surfaces in multiple parts. Also checked chamfers and corners as I found attached swarf and thin metal parts leftover from punching the parts from sheet metal.
- Barrel harbour bearing adjustment and polishing: barrel harbour bearing tolerance was too tight: corrected with smoothing broach and polishing compound.
- Jewels adjustment: Geartrain with insufficient end shakes, corrected with horia. Multiple locations.
- Pallet fork jewels: jewels were out of plane ( as much as 20deg in exit jewel), corrected with pallets warmer, adjustment tool and new shellac application.
- Hairspring out of center and out of plane: Terminal curve shape adjustment. Adjustment of hairspring at the stud for flatness.
- Balance end shake adjustment: Balance shake and bridge flatness corrected with horia over the bridge posts. Iteration process assisted by micrometer.

Here I add some timegrafer pictures, before and after - you can see that the lower amplitude and poorer stability of the VR3135 is just due to unresolved QC issues: