Jump to content

EB Bettlach 8021N running VERY slow


Herbie

Recommended Posts

I need some help please as I'm very much a newbie at this. A friend passed me an ebay special he picked up. It's on Ollech & Wajs Selectron Computer pilot watch with an EB 8021N 17 Jewels. After complete teardown, clean and rebuild it is running over 1s/minute slow. Amplitude was very low (120-140) so I replaced the mainspring since it's an old watch and it's all I could think of. This brought the amplitude up a bit (~180-190). The barrel arbor also got replaced as the pivot on the dial side had completely sheared off. Is there something about pin-pallet's that the basic (Weishi No. 1000) timegrapher can't handle? It has a very odd display with multiple lines running across. I just don't have enough experience to know where I might be going wrong.

Thanks in advance.

Herb

I've attached a pic of the timegrapher display and a link to the an album of the teardown.

Google Photo Album

20190131_184738.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Herbi     Have you checked the H/s  coils or the regulator pins and the spring beating on the pins correctly. As for the timegrapher print as I use a Horotec device,  I can not comment other than the pin pallet due to its construction is more likely to be more noisey than a jewel lever but when in beat produce a tidy trace. Is the timegrapher set for correct lift angle and Bps. Just a thought. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Herbi     Have you checked the H/s  coils or the regulator pins and the spring beating on the pins correctly. As for the timegrapher print as I use a Horotec device,  I can not comment other than the pin pallet due to its construction is more likely to be more noisey than a jewel lever but when in beat produce a tidy trace. Is the timegrapher set for correct lift angle and Bps. Just a thought. 

Lift angle and Beats/hour are correct. 43* and 18000. 

Could you explain in more detail what you mean by "spring beating on the pins correctly"?

I've attached a better picture of the timegrapher trace. No other movement I've timed has shown 3 separate lines on the graph but this is the first pin movement I've handled...

Cheers.20190131_215903.thumb.jpg.5c98b04c01f07581c3f9526ce4cbb8a3.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I presume you removed this bit of thread or whatever it is, and it is not currently wrapped around something important.

Thread.png.bbb36df8d8f6a77256b930f1833cf482.png

I suspect the three lines on the graph are simply because the thing is running so slowly that you can fit three lines in to that time frame.

Edited by AndyHull
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, AndyHull said:

Is it slow in every position, or just in one or two. Might you have over oiled something in the balance/fork area?

How well did you clean the balance and fork jewels?

Does it speed up if you loosen the screw on the balance by 1/4 to /12 turn?

 

1 hour ago, AndyHull said:

I presume you removed this bit of thread or whatever it is, and it is not currently wrapped around something important.

Thread.png.bbb36df8d8f6a77256b930f1833cf482.png

I suspect the three lines on the graph are simply because the thing is running so slowly that you can fit three lines in to that time frame.

Hi Andy, 

Thanks for your response.

Yes, it is slow in every position as far as I can tell. To get any idea what the rate error was I had to put the dial and hands on and time it with a stopwatch. That's how I know it's losing 1s/minute (over 1400s/day). The timegrapher won't display the rate error (maybe it can't?).

I put one drop of 9010 on the end stones of the balance jewels before reinstalling, as seen on one of Mark's servicing videos. I did not oil the pallet pivot jewels. I oiled the escape wheel teeth in 3 places as per a Mark's recommendation in another post about pin-pallet lubrication on this forum.

I ran the entire thing through an ultrasonic cleaner with watch cleaning fluid and then watch rinse. I'm pretty sure the fork jewels (I'm assuming you mean pallet fork pivot jewels?) are very clean. I further rinsed the hairspring (complete balance assembly)and the balance jewels in degreaser as well. 

Loosening the balance screw does not seem to help. At least it doesn't change the amplitude. Hard to tell about rate since it's not being displayed.

Yes, that thread is gone. :) Those images are from the teardown before cleaning

Regarding the three lines. I get what you are saying and that seems to make sense.

Cheers,

Herb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you notice if the balance jewels had a right way and a wrong way up (i.e. is it possible they are upside down, or not seated correctly), did you put the balance jewels back in the same sides you got them from?

I would be tempted to let down the mainspring, remove the balance and the fork bridge and fork, check them for dirt or grit and re-fit them to see if it starts to behave itself. *Something* seems a little tight, or there is friction somewhere there shouldn't be.  If that doesn't pick up the problem, let down the spring again, remove the fork, refit just the balance  and see how freely the balance swings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andy,

Balance jewels were done individually and put back in same sides. I could not see any variation in the end stones that suggested they had a specific orientation.

I've disassembled and reassembled the entire movement about 3 times now and had the balance assembly and fork out for inspection a few more than that and I can't see anything that stands out. balance and fork have a small amount of play (end shake?) but not extreme. I'll check the balance without the fork as you suggest and report back.

Cheers,

Herb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Herbie  what is meant by beating between the pins is where the B/spring runs through the regulator index pins is it touching the inner and outer pin when running as this can effect timing if it hangs on one pin or the other.  Withe balance and fork removed and a bit of power applied is train free running.  on a good movment it should run down ok with a little  reverse at the end 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Herbie  what is meant by beating between the pins is where the B/spring runs through the regulator index pins is it touching the inner and outer pin when running as this can effect timing if it hangs on one pin or the other.  Withe balance and fork removed and a bit of power applied is train free running.  on a good movment it should run down ok with a little  reverse at the end 

Ah, now I get it. With this being a pin pallet movement I was unclear, too many pins to think about.

Wheel train runs free quite well. I'm very new to this so maybe my judgement of quite well is poorly calibrated. I may post a short clip if that is possible to get some other opinions.

Thanks for the input.

Regards,

Herb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Release barrel power, rotate BW manually, to see the fork move. Free BW should come to rest where impulse jewel  is inside the fork horn so Slight move of BW back or forth should move the frok.  

Bent pivot is a also poosibility.

 

Edited by Nucejoe
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Herbie  what is meant by beating between the pins is where the B/spring runs through the regulator index pins is it touching the inner and outer pin when running as this can effect timing if it hangs on one pin or the other.  Withe balance and fork removed and a bit of power applied is train free running.  on a good movment it should run down ok with a little  reverse at the end 

Here is a link to imgur album showing the results of some of the suggested troubleshooting. Of all the things I've checked I think the train is not running as free as watchweasol suggests it should.

https://imgur.com/a/KBAtPnY

Any further ideas what to try?

Cheers,

Herb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Herbie said:

 I think the train is not running as free as watchweasol suggests it should.

Herb

I saw the video and yes it does looks a bit tight,.There's something dragging power from the drivetrain. Have you checked  the pivotes on that center wheel?

 

J

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi  As the video shows the escape wheel stops dead meaning there is a draw on the train, I personally would strip the watch and clean it then fit the train wheels and associated bridge (no Oil) then with a fine artists brush sweep the train wheels I they revolve smoothly with a little over run they are ok, Now check mainspring  remove from barrel and clean barrel and spring and re fit just lightly lube barrel walls an spring then re fit to movement  if it now runs smooth with over run  put fork and balance back in and try again  and check amplitude 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/4/2019 at 7:49 PM, watchweasol said:

Hi  As the video shows the escape wheel stops dead meaning there is a draw on the train, I personally would strip the watch and clean it then fit the train wheels and associated bridge (no Oil) then with a fine artists brush sweep the train wheels I they revolve smoothly with a little over run they are ok, Now check mainspring  remove from barrel and clean barrel and spring and re fit just lightly lube barrel walls an spring then re fit to movement  if it now runs smooth with over run  put fork and balance back in and try again  and check amplitude 

Hi,

I had already stripped and cleaned the movement. So I tested each train wheel individually with a fine brush as you suggest. The center wheel seemed to be the problem child and I discovered a bit of lubricant or possible contaminant on the center wheel bridge jewel (I had previously reassembled the entire movement with lubrication). After removing this with rodico the center wheel spun much more freely.

That leads me to a question about lubrication. I have not been able to find a oiling guide for this movement so was using my limited judgement based on various videos about where to oil. Should I be oiling the locations in the following images?

https://imgur.com/a/caYWSKQ

I did originally with D5, but I'm having second thoughts now.

 

In other news I replaced the balance assembly (complete) and I'm actually getting a timing rate error to display. After the above wheel checks and a dry assembly I'm getting amplitude of 250+ and seconds/day errors between -300 and +30.

The original hairspring was riding the inside regulator pin while at rest. Unfortunately my inexperience bit me hard and I flinched and mooshed the hairspring. Lesson of the day learned the hard way. MOVE HANDS/TOOLS AWAY FROM WORK BEFORE SHIFTING BUM ON SEAT. I mooshed the hairspring with the side of my tweezers against the balance cock and turned it into a ball of tagliatelle. Luckily another full movement was available on buy it now for £8 and it had a good balance/hairspring.

Plan now is to clean replacement balance assembly, then reassemble fully with proper lubrication and see where we are at.

Cheers for all the suggestions. It's been very helpful.

Herb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.. and now for an encore, "un-moosh" the tagliatelli ;)

Actually it is usually possible to do this, even when you think the thing is beyond redemption,  and it is an interesting art in itself.

Now that you have one "pre-mooshed" as it were, it would be a good piece to hone your very valuable "un-mooshing" skills on.

You have nothing to loose (except perhaps some of your spare time, and a small sliver of your sanity of course). :P

Have a search through this forum, and elsewhere on line for some tips, if you do feel tempted to try.

Post a picture of the pasta, and we may be able to offer some pasta un-knitting advice .

Edited by AndyHull
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

.. and now for an encore, "un-moosh" the tagliatelli ;)

Actually it is usually possible to do this, even when you think the thing is beyond redemption,  and it is an interesting art in itself.

Now that you have one "pre-mooshed" as it were, it would be a good piece to hone your very valuable "un-mooshing" skills on.

You have nothing to loose (except perhaps some of your spare time, and a small sliver of your sanity of course). :P

Have a search through this forum, and elsewhere on line for some tips, if you do feel tempted to try.

Post a picture of the pasta, and we may be able to offer some pasta un-knitting advice .

I actually already had a short go at un-mooshing it. I got the main tangle out but I still have a few coils crossing past each other. I'll post some pics tonight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Similar Content

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Post some pictures , some good close ones of the parts you've described. 
    • Ive never used epilame H only information i have read and mentally stored about it mostly from Nicklesilver here and elsewhere ( the fork horns thing ), maybe the residue powder that is removed has some grinding effect ? So probably a good idea to limit its application areas to only the absolute necessary. Yes as far as i know epilame rubs off relatively easy, the technique of running the watch to make a groove through it first in the pallet stones where the lubrication is then placed. This i understand creates the barrier for the lube to sit up to. If i can find a good balance of pros and cons of its use then thats one process i can avoid by using a thixotropic lube on the stones. The epilame i would say allows for a more fluid lubrication to be used that would increase amplitude on low beat movements. The stearic acid powder is extremely cheap, the problem is the fuming process to coat parts, is not selective , the whole part has to treated in this method. If epilame residue can cause wear then thats not good, if I remember the conclusion was not proved entirely just a general assumption between watchmakers. The thread is out there somewhere, the same discussion is also old on a facebook group. Ive never used epilame H only information i have read and mentally stored about it mostly from Nicklesilver here and elsewhere ( the fork horns thing ), maybe the residue powder that is removed has some grinding effect ? So probably a good idea to limit its application areas to only the absolute necessary. Yes as far as i know epilame rubs off relatively easy, the technique of running the watch to make a groove through it first in the pallet stones where the lubrication is then placed. This i understand creates the barrier for the lube to sit up to. If i can find a good balance of pros and cons of its use then thats one process i can avoid by using a thixotropic lube on the stones. The epilame i would say allows for a more fluid lubrication to be used that would increase amplitude on low beat movements. The stearic acid powder is extremely cheap, the problem is the fuming process to coat parts, is not selective , the whole part has to treated in this method. If epilame residue can cause wear then thats not good, if I remember the conclusion was not proved entirely just a general assumption between watchmakers. The thread is out there somewhere, the same discussion is also old on a facebook group. If its a potential problem for amateurs to use then i would prefer not to take the risk .
    • Following on from my question about identifying screws in the AS2063 movement that basically fell out of the case in bits, I’m pleased to report that I’ve got it all back together, and the movement is running pretty well.    But… There’s something wrong with the keyless works and hand setting. It’s fine in winding and quickset date position - these work - but in hand setting position winding the crown turns the whole gear train.  I don’t really understand how it’s meant to work. It doesn’t have a traditional friction fit cannon pinion.  The second wheel is unusual with a pair of smaller pinions on it, which seem to interact with the barrel and the motion works.    Could this be the problem? I must admit I just cleaned it and popped it in place when reassembling the gear train. I’ve lubricated the pivots but didn’t do anything to the extra bits on the second wheel.    Does this make sense and is anyone able to figure out what I’m doing wrong? Thanks in advance, as always.    ETA - the parts list calls it the Great Wheel, not second wheel. 
    • You're thinking metal to jewel in general I guess. Maybe it would be a good idea to peg the pallet staff jewel hole on the main plate after the epilame treatment. I think that could work as it is my impression that the epilame doesn't sit very hard, but I could be wrong about that so feel free to educate me. I didn't remember that 9501 was thixotropic (thanks for the link). That would mean it's even runnier during impact (lower viscosity) so perhaps it's time I get some fresh grease as mine seems a bit too runny. What I have seen is a whitish surface after washing but it goes away if I scrub the surface with a brush in a degreaser (Horosolv). I don't think it embeds itself in the metal but sticks very hard to the metal. I don't worry too much about the cleaning solution. I just want perfectly clean parts and my solution can be replaced for little money (ELMA RED 1:9). Anyway, I quite often need "to strip back and rebuild" and scrubbing parts by hand isn't exactly the most stimulating part of a service. Just got confirmation that Moebius 9501 has a lower viscosity (68 cSt at 20° C) than 9504 (305 cSt at 20°). The viscosity of Molykote DX is 285-315 cSt at -25° to +125° C. I was surprised to see that the viscosity of Moebius 9010 (thin oil!) is higher (150 cSt at 20°) than my 9501 grease!
    • I’ve had a couple movements where it is clear the previous watchmaker was diligent with lubrication but the old epilam had turned to a fine white powder covering the pallet fork and keyless parts, which can’t be good for parts. I’m spare with epi since I don’t know how long it takes to degrade to that state…
×
×
  • Create New...