key wound pocket watch second wheel removal

[luiazazrambo]

I made some progress with this again. Ordered jewels from Cousins, but had to re-order them again as they did not fit first. When i first converted a friction fit jewel into a rub in one I had extreme difficulties with the shell lack as it got rigid before I could do anything. No wonder, my method was a very bad one including lighting matches and bringing them close to the post under my microscope risking the mic lens. So this time I decided to use my soldering iron to heat up the post and the shell lack wonderfully melted down on it. So very easy to heat it up again and center the jewel if needed. Well saying that it was again not too easy for me as I also need to fine tune my lathe handling skills. Explanation with pictures:

The post the shell lack and the jewel under microscope:

The jewel centered, look for the post edge underneath the jewel, you would think the jewel is more or less in the center:

Unfortunately it was not the case as I dont know how to handle a lathe properly so the upper part of the post was not concentric with the lower part, a had to move the jewel off center a bit, relative to the upper part:

Look how bad it is:

End result, not too bad not too good, outer diameter is a nice fit in the jewel seat so it will do:

I have to make proper concentric posts possibly in different sizes if I keep doing this conversions. This time I enjoyed this, last time it was a struggle.

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

After soaking it in methylated spirit (denatured alcohol) to remove the shell lack:

 

[luiazazrambo]

Pics about the post, might help somebody.

[jdrichard]

Great work

[luiazazrambo]

The jewel is in its place now and even if the seating is damaged a bit it still holds the jewel in place solid:

Next job is to find or make a cap jewel, someone thrown in a jewel, but it was just sitting on top of the balance jewel flat, meaning that there was no gap between the cap jewel and balance jewel, meaning that lubrication was not there or it made no sense to lubricate it. I am still not 100% sure what was happening here.

[luiazazrambo]

I have to work on a cap jewel I found, diameter is a bit big and i have to create the beveled edge "as usual".  Not sure if it will work or not, i don't know how the original looked like.

 

[luiazazrambo]

Had to make a new post, its almost perfect (from centricity point of view), but it is due only to my luck not my lathe handling skills. Made using an unimat 3.

Edited December 12, 2021 by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

After a very good start I ruined the first one but the second one is actually in now!

Not "rubbed in" yet:

Rubbed in and holds:

It means that I actually could try to put this watch together now. Not today though, i am a bit sleepy and its never good to try to work on a watch tired.

[luiazazrambo]

Update:

The watch is put together however the performance is just acceptable not satisfactory, almost the same when the balance pivots were not polished and the jewels were not replaced and it is because the upper balance pivot has too much side shake. I would need to replace the tampon but I don't have one, cannot make one (watchmakers lathe en route but no knowledge with the lathe) and I don't know how to replace one yet. So mainspring replaced, new crystal glued in, lower cap jewel and balance jewel replaced, one jewel for third wheel replaced all cleaned and lubricated. The watch starts and does not stop. I don't have a minute hand and I cannot seem to find one for it. I tried to buy random pocket watch minute hands on eBay, but all of them were a bad fit and all of them were too big, now I have probably hundreds of them and none of them good, I could not even put a shorter or differently shaped one for temporarily. I need a 0.55mm diam 18mm long one. Additionally I managed to snap off the case screw head, so now I have an extra job to sort it out if I can. The maltese regulator cross was also missing when I took the watch apart:

Edited January 12, 2022 by luiazazrambo