Timex Camper Restoration

[JerseyMo]

Here we have a mechanical wind Timex Camper that has a broken mainspring.  Over the next few days I will post pictures of its progress.

So here we go -

 

 

[yankeedog]

I see you like to work around the balance staff. 

[TexasDon]

That's an amazingly small parts count. Keep it simple works quite well it seems.

[RyMoeller]

Cool.  A collectible piece too.  And I love the sound those pin pallets make when they're running properly.

Looking forward to following the progress here.

[JerseyMo]

4 hours ago, yankeedog said:

I see you like to work around the balance staff. 

this allows the pallet fork to have something to rest on.  

[JerseyMo]

Night two - cleaning parts.

Ultra sonic cleaning in some ammonia for 6 minutes than let sit for few more.  Dry all and inspect.  They all look good.

Since the main spring was broken, I took one from a donor.  To test it I held it in place and with a pair of pliers I turned the arbor to see if it would hold and it did.

 

[JerseyMo]

Night two -  reassembly. oil the pivots, drop in the barrel and set lever.  

*tip - to help hold the set lever in place I smear a little grease on the plate.

 

 

[JerseyMo]

Night two -  reassembly continued inserting the winding plates.

*tip - I use some grease to hold the plates in place.  this will also help to making winding nice and smooth.

 

 

[JerseyMo]

Night two -  reassembly continued drop in the train

*tip -  you see the balance is used to hold the pallet fork in position.

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by JerseyMo

[JerseyMo]

Night two -  reassembly continued drop in the train and add the back plate.

with just a few gentle taps the back plates falls into place.  Next is to flip it over and insert the pillar screws and the rest of the parts..

and give it a wind.

 

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by JerseyMo

[JerseyMo]

well won't you know it the donor barrel was bad and the mainspring slipped. 

To be  continued!

[AlamedaMike]

Thanks Mo!!

Just to help out, adding a fully assembled pic before adding the movement plate.

[AndyHull]

This all looks very familiar.

I was surprised to find that getting all of the pinions to pop back in place was considerably easier than I expected. I did resort to a couple of small blobs of rodico to hold some things in place while I fiddled about, but all in all it was not much more tricky than putting an alarm clock back together.

I must admit that I had the autowinder on one of mine off and back on several times before I was happy with its performance, and it took a moment or two to figure out what the little copper washer was all about,  but other than that, they are actually pretty co-operative when it comes to servicing.

No flying clicksprings or exploding barrels.

Who says you cant service a Timex?

[JerseyMo]

16 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

Who says you cant service a Timex?

only those who did not try or want to try.

[yankeedog]

You are one highly motivated and truly dedicated guy.

[JerseyMo]

it has really been bugging me to get this movement back to running.  so tonight I compared the original barrel that was in there to the one that the main spring will slip.  to no surprise, I could see the dimple that hold the tail of spring in place was well wound.  Where as on the original, the dimple showed little to no wear.  

So now I have to figure out how to wind in a replacement spring since I don't have winding tools.  Well maybe now I have the reason to finally buy some. Oh well.....

[yankeedog]

Sure you do. They are called fingers.

[JerseyMo]

3 hours ago, yankeedog said:

Sure you do. They are called fingers.

yes, I did figure out how to do this without a winder.  Was actually quite easy but the damn thing still won't run!

[yankeedog]

I am not all that familiar with Timex gizzards...there is a balance and a pallet..will it spin with them removed?  Try spinning it submerged in mineral spirits..could be a bit of dirt hanging it up somewhere.

Edited March 10, 2019 by yankeedog
Content

[JerseyMo]

6 minutes ago, yankeedog said:

I am not all that familiar with Timex gizzards...there is a balance and a pallet..will it spin with them removed?  Try spinning it submerged in mineral spirits..could be a bit of dirt hanging it up somewhere.

all of the parts were cleaned twice and it does run a bit than stop.  my thought is wear to the train.  I'll have to inspect each part closer.

I would just swap in another movement but, these Campers have a unique movement.

For now this one will take a  back seat as I prep others for EBay sales.

[AndyHull]

Wear to the train, worn pivots, worn pivot bearings, or dirt in the bore of the bearings. All the usual suspects. 
If it runs at all, how does it look on the time grapher?
 

[JerseyMo]

2 hours ago, AndyHull said:

how does it look on the time grapher?
 

I have found this era of off shore manufactured Timex to have the lowest serviceability.  This can only be contributed to the lowering of the materials used.  If you compare for example the recovery of a mid 1960's model 24 to an early 1980's model 106.  The early #24 return back to service more consistency.   So when I begin to work on any Timex from the late 1970's and newer I do so knowing the success rate will be less.  Now the odd thing is when it comes to these Campers the success rate goes up.  Which is the reason I look for them.  

That aside, I have a hunch what the issue is and will give it a try next.  

[yankeedog]

Runs and stops? friction where it is not supposed to be ,or something eccentric.Only thing I can think to do at this point is to take it back apart and reassemble in stages .If you put it back together,one cog at a time downstream from the mainspring you should be able to find the rub.

[yankeedog]

Looking at your photos, I see no glaring obvious defect.It seems to me that your greatest chance for errant friction would be where the center wheel shaft goes through the main plate.

[vinn3]

On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 3:21 PM, JerseyMo said:

only those who did not try or want to try.

   there were lots of Timex of that style in the U S military - 1968 - some made with 17 jewels and radioactive dials. see my photo gallery.   vin