my 6s elgin pocket watch

[adenfulton]

Ok so i have fixed the broken mainspring in the watch i could not find a replacement so i heated the end of it up and bent it so now the watch will run for a little bit because the mainspring is weak but now it will run 

[KarlvonKoln]

I could maybe try tracking down a vendor who would have a replacement.  That spring could be weak enough to seriously impact the performance of the watch by now.  It is likely I would be supplying a website so, not knowing where you reside, there could be a level of tax and shipping depending on from whom you would be ordering.
Could I ask for the serial number on that watch? You can leave the last two numbers as zeros if you do not desire to divulge the exact serial number.  That will give me enough to look it up and begin some research.  It is likely I will also need the exact depth of the barrel, minus the thickness of the cover - AND the width of the spring (which will tell me if it had been replaced before).  I will need the length of the spring and the thickness too.  And if you could also supply pictures of the ends so I can see the anchor points, that is also a big help.  Given there are several different ways to anchor a spring, even though this is an American watch I may still need to see it.  
If I find a replacement, I will share the site with you.  I can certainly recommend a few others as well, but I don't know where you've already looked.  Otto Frei (https://www.ofrei.com/) sells mainsprings.  I also had an Ebay vendor I trusted who sold some new-old-stock, but I haven't seen him doing business lately.  Dave's Watch Parts (https://www.daveswatchparts.com/) is a source for a lot of antique tools and used parts and parts-movements.  Those are just off the top of my head; if I dig through my bookmark files, I can generally find several other places that just might have a good spring for that particular watch.

Edited October 1, 2021 by KarlvonKoln

[adenfulton]

3 hours ago, KarlvonKoln said:

I could maybe try tracking down a vendor who would have a replacement.  That spring could be weak enough to seriously impact the performance of the watch by now.  It is likely I would be supplying a website so, not knowing where you reside, there could be a level of tax and shipping depending on from whom you would be ordering.
Could I ask for the serial number on that watch? You can leave the last two numbers as zeros if you do not desire to divulge the exact serial number.  That will give me enough to look it up and begin some research.  It is likely I will also need the exact depth of the barrel, minus the thickness of the cover - AND the width of the spring (which will tell me if it had been replaced before).  I will need the length of the spring and the thickness too.  And if you could also supply pictures of the ends so I can see the anchor points, that is also a big help.  Given there are several different ways to anchor a spring, even though this is an American watch I may still need to see it.  
If I find a replacement, I will share the site with you.  I can certainly recommend a few others as well, but I don't know where you've already looked.  Otto Frei (https://www.ofrei.com/) sells mainsprings.  I also had an Ebay vendor I trusted who sold some new-old-stock, but I haven't seen him doing business lately.  Dave's Watch Parts (https://www.daveswatchparts.com/) is a source for a lot of antique tools and used parts and parts-movements.  Those are just off the top of my head; if I dig through my bookmark files, I can generally find several other places that just might have a good spring for that particular watch.

im in gillette wy and is it the case serial or movement 

[KarlvonKoln]

Movement serial.  I'll be looking up the movement itself by serial number at sites which cross-reference the parts numbers, in hopes of gaining the part number for the mainspring. 

If that doesn't work, I will need to search by its measurements. 

What does "wy" stand for?  I am in Indiana.

[LittleWatchShop]

25 minutes ago, KarlvonKoln said:

What does "wy" stand for?  I am in Indiana.

Wyoming

[KarlvonKoln]

Oh...right.  

[adenfulton]

2 minutes ago, KarlvonKoln said:

Oh...right.  

ya i am in gillette wyoming 

[adenfulton]

o here is the movement serial number 6904384

[KarlvonKoln]

Here's a link with your movement's specifications.  On the left side of the page on this site is the "parts" option.  Click on that, and you can get the parts numbers for most commonly needed parts:
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/6904384
 

Cas-Ker sells only one kind of Elgin size 6s mainspring.  You'll need to measure yours very carefully to see if this one will be right for your watch.  The length, width, and strength (thickness) are listed for what they sell here:
https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/elgin-mainspring-6-size-MS-JA112.html

It should be correct because the following page says your mainspring part number is 824, and that is what Cas-Ker is selling.
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/6904384/parts/Springs

If it turns out that your barrel is damaged from the broken spring, its part number is 291.  There are many uncased (sometimes running) parts-movements available on Ebay alone.  Here is a list of all the other grades of Elgins which also use a #291 barrel:  45, 71, 101, 119, 120, 121, 122, 133, 134, 168, 175, 176, 206, 216, 272, 286, 295.  Choosing a movement off Ebay is a skill unto itself, but if you pick one of those grades listed, you should get a #291 barrel.  You will likely need to install your own arbor and the new spring, or course.  If you must visit Ebay, choose as carefully as you can.

Hope I've been of enough help.  Good luck to you!

 

 

[adenfulton]

24 minutes ago, KarlvonKoln said:

Here's a link with your movement's specifications.  On the left side of the page on this site is the "parts" option.  Click on that, and you can get the parts numbers for most commonly needed parts:
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/6904384
 

Cas-Ker sells only one kind of Elgin size 6s mainspring.  You'll need to measure yours very carefully to see if this one will be right for your watch.  The length, width, and strength (thickness) are listed for what they sell here:
https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/elgin-mainspring-6-size-MS-JA112.html

It should be correct because the following page says your mainspring part number is 824, and that is what Cas-Ker is selling.
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/6904384/parts/Springs

If it turns out that your barrel is damaged from the broken spring, its part number is 291.  There are many uncased (sometimes running) parts-movements available on Ebay alone.  Here is a list of all the other grades of Elgins which also use a #291 barrel:  45, 71, 101, 119, 120, 121, 122, 133, 134, 168, 175, 176, 206, 216, 272, 286, 295.  Choosing a movement off Ebay is a skill unto itself, but if you pick one of those grades listed, you should get a #291 barrel.  You will likely need to install your own arbor and the new spring, or course.  If you must visit Ebay, choose as carefully as you can.

Hope I've been of enough help.  Good luck to you!

 

 

wow thank you i do have a account on pocket watch data base so thank you vary much  i will  look at the parts thing 

[HectorLooi]

We got to do something about your blurry photos. You know, we've have a lot of elderly guys here in the forum and when we see something that is blurry, we always ask ourselves is it the photo or my eyes?

Are you using your phone camera or a digital camera?

[adenfulton]

1 hour ago, HectorLooi said:

We got to do something about your blurry photos. You know, we've have a lot of elderly guys here in the forum and when we see something that is blurry, we always ask ourselves is it the photo or my eyes?

Are you using your phone camera or a digital camera?

sorry about that it is my phone its not a vary good one and i upload the photos to my computer 

[adenfulton]

7 hours ago, KarlvonKoln said:

Here's a link with your movement's specifications.  On the left side of the page on this site is the "parts" option.  Click on that, and you can get the parts numbers for most commonly needed parts:
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/6904384
 

Cas-Ker sells only one kind of Elgin size 6s mainspring.  You'll need to measure yours very carefully to see if this one will be right for your watch.  The length, width, and strength (thickness) are listed for what they sell here:
https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/elgin-mainspring-6-size-MS-JA112.html

It should be correct because the following page says your mainspring part number is 824, and that is what Cas-Ker is selling.
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/6904384/parts/Springs

If it turns out that your barrel is damaged from the broken spring, its part number is 291.  There are many uncased (sometimes running) parts-movements available on Ebay alone.  Here is a list of all the other grades of Elgins which also use a #291 barrel:  45, 71, 101, 119, 120, 121, 122, 133, 134, 168, 175, 176, 206, 216, 272, 286, 295.  Choosing a movement off Ebay is a skill unto itself, but if you pick one of those grades listed, you should get a #291 barrel.  You will likely need to install your own arbor and the new spring, or course.  If you must visit Ebay, choose as carefully as you can.

Hope I've been of enough help.  Good luck to you!

 

 

hey it is the mainspring not the barrel that is broken 

[KarlvonKoln]

8 hours ago, adenfulton said:

hey it is the mainspring not the barrel that is broken 

Oh good!  Sometimes it's both.  I've had that kind of luck before where the hook broke off, and then the spring retracted with such force that it broke also.  I opened the barrel to find a mess.  Usually one only needs the mainspring, but you never know.
The pocket watch database is wonderfully handy resource, isn't it?  The more one pokes around there, the more information one finds.  It's largely geared toward American watches, but in that category you can find the more useful data: specifications, part numbers, cross-references, measurements sometimes, history, all sorts of things.

[HectorLooi]

22 hours ago, adenfulton said:

sorry about that it is my phone its not a vary good one and i upload the photos to my computer 

Most phone cameras are actually quite good. Yours might be suffering from "longsightedness". It can be corrected with a convex lens stuck to the front of your phone's camera. You can use a small magnifying glass or even a lens from reading glasses.

For really close up shots, you can get a macro attachment for phone cameras. Something like...

SG$ 21.83 36%OFF | LED Lamps Ring Light Macro Flash Light For Mobile Phone Camera Live Show Video Photography Supplementary Lighting Ring Lights https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKMKpm2

This has a ring light as well, to give shadowfree lighting.