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Back to the job in hand. I managed to find the cork I thought I may have had, lurking in a box under the stairs. It was the most part of an A4 sized sheet, so more than enough for my purposes - to sit the jars on whilst they are in the machine. Looking at the metal bases, I really can't be convinced if there ever was any cork or any other material for that matter there. But for me anyway, the idea of the glass jars sitting directly on the metal base just seems wrong and I would prefer some cork there as a cushion. It's about as tidy as it needs to be, given the shape of the metal webbing. I suppose I could have cut-out squares of cork, but then it would leave potential weak, unsupported areas of cork, which would likely need some form of strengthening. Anyway - this application suits me and helps the jars sit a bit more stable in their locations. Whilst I am in the vicinity, so to speak, I have also added an earth lead which will bond the chassis to the incoming mains lead, once fitted. This is visible in these photos. -
A little further research and then on with the show... A quick browse through patent databases, shows that one Saul Lanzetter applied for and was awarded a patent for this design of watch cleaning machine in October 1937. A brief narrative is reproduced here: Interestingly, the patent application is entitled "Improvements in apparatus for cleaning watch parts and other small parts of machinery." It may be reading too much onto this title to assume that there may have been a previous patent, pre-dating this one, as this one refers to "improvements". Also of interest, there were 2 patent applications from US companies in 1944 and 1945 which cite the Lanzetter patent, and three from Germany in 1956, 1960 and 1961 (only one of which was actually published), which also cite the Lanzetter patent as a reference. Incidentally - the two US patents refer to machines which look strikingly similar to the National Model VI-C above, and the National No 4. machine in the earlier advert, showing the four jars side by side ( this seems to be referred to as a lab machine, rather than a repair shop machine). Naturally, all patents or applications referred to above are now expired. For me anyway, I think this may clear up which watch cleaning machine may have come first (at least in this machine format anyway): The S. Lanzetter National Electric Watch Cleaning Machine, circa 1937.
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Impressive work. The barrel and mainspring look almost new, and the remaining pitting is no worse than some lesser movements left the factory with. I'm looking forward to the next installment. -
Has anyone ever used Longines free service to get an extract from their archives on their watch? https://www.longines.com/certificate-of-authenticity See the above link, if you just want the extract they will post it to you for free, obviously if you want a certificate of Authenticity you need to send them your watch and pay for that, but the extract is free. I'm going to ask for the extract on my 30LS Longines. -
I see it says "T Swiss - LIC ATO" The ATO patented movement is about as simple as these things get. At its most basic, it only uses one transistor. This may not make for the most stable oscillator, design but in this use case, they are actually relatively good, since they rely on a fairly conventional mechanical balance to control the oscillator frequency, rather than an R/C circuit, which would typically be less stable over the working temperature range. (schematic shamelessly stolen from https://www.bmumford.com/tmp/ATOschematic.gif ) This AC125 germanium transistor version is probably the most simplified schematic, but often in reality there are current limiting resistors and other little tweaks. Since they have no mechanical switched contacts, they don't suffer from burn through or oxidation failures of the contact.
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Yes I am sad. So far I have only serviced two mainsprings, but they ended to be worse than before.
I open the barrel of my Seiko 70xx watch, take the spring out carefully and then I use a piece of paper sinked on naphtha to clean the old oils. Then I use another piece of paper sinked on IPA to rinse the spring. And then a third piece of paper with some drops of 8200 to oil it.
I clean the barrel and arbor in the ultrasonic, also using naphtha and then IPA. Dry it properly and apply 4 drops of 8217 grease, in quarters.
Lastly I insert the spring into the barrel, manually, mount the arbor and close the barrel.
The problem is that althoug the watches run with these MS, they run only for a few hours after wearing them all day. The last watch I've serviced only runs for 4 or 5 hours, sometimes less than that, so I've replaced the barrel complete with an old one, not serviced, and now the problem is gone, so no doubt the fault is mine.
I guess the spring is slipping inside the barrel. Is 4 drops of 8217 too much? How do you oils mainsprings?
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