Hi,

Can anybody offer any tips or tricks regarding removing rusted/corroded locked, frozen or stuck spring bars?

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I've encountered a couple over the last month or so. Those really old collarless / shoulder-less ones are the worst offenders! It seems that it's not uncommon for spring bars to corrode and lock on from a combination of decades of rust and wrist-cheese/oils and dirt.

In one instance the spring bar was so badly damaged (and too long and miss-sized) that my watchmaker had to drill out the remains of the spring bar sleeve from the hole (after he broke two pin punches trying to remove it!).

I've had some success freeing locked bars using CRC-556 (a WD40 alternative) or penetrating oil and soaking the stuck lugs and spring bars for 24-48 hours. I've still chewed through a number of forked spring bar tool tips before I've managed to remove them.

I'm a bit worried that I'm going to end up stuck with one of these beautifully scratch resistant but brittle carbide cases!

Any hints and tips would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Slade.