Jauch Pallet

[RogerH]

Hi, hope you all had a great Christmas! As we head into 2022 I've started work on a Jauch grandfather clock movement type is a PL107. These are relatively new clocks from around 1980 and nothing special but it's a good test piece to learn on. I've even built a long case test rig so a worthwhile exercise. 

The movement had no issues, just needed a good clean however,  the pallet has no friction and spins around quite easily.  Does anyone have any knowledge of these? Should they be so lose? And can it be stripped and made a bit more steady? 

I appreciate its New Year's eve but you can't keep a clock man down!

[watchweasol]

Hi  On a lot of old clocks the pallet is friction fitted to the arbour to facilitate the beat adjustment in stead of bending the crutch/leader.    Looks  tidy clock athough the plates will be thinner and the quality of the brass not as good as the old ones but non the less a tidy clock...      How slack is the anchor, from the look of it there is probably some friction material inside the brass bush that is likley worn.  H Jauch are no longer made and the pivots are plated and once worn cause problems which lead to many movemrnts being replaced by Hermle movements.  web site  blackforestimports.com  for more information

[RogerH]

Thanks Watchweasol,sadly it looks like someone has oiled it! So it's quite free. You can set the beat but it goes out again after a while. It sounds like I may be buggered!

[oldhippy]

It’s this side that has worked lose (red arrow) The other side looks to be friction tight (green arrow) if it is you can use Loctite on red arrow side, this will prevent it from moving.  

 

[RogerH]

Thanks OH, I'll give it ago....maybe next year! 

[RogerH]

Just to conclude, I did glue the highlighted part and although not perfect, there is now enough friction the keep the pallet in the correct position. I'll give it a good test on my rig before putting it into the case and then go from there. I would be interested to know peoples views on these sort of movements. The clock was given to me by my mentor as he would not give it the time of day - it's basically not worth spending any time on it. A quick google and you can find complete movements for around £50 so worst case you can just replace the whole lot. for me, it was more of a training exercise and gaining experience so it's all good stuff but what is everyone else's opinion on the modern day cheaper units. would you bother repairing or, if you were to take it on would you just replace the whole movement and be done?

[watchweasol]

Hi  The glue will work ok but its not a permanent fix as either replacing the pallet assembly or sorting out why the friction is not adequate.   Whether the clock is worth £5  or £50 its still worth fixing. A full time clock/watch repairer has to factor in extra costs rent light etc so there is a cutoff point as regards making any money on a job. Therefore below that point its not econoically viable. But to the amateur/hobbyist with no overheads  priceless for practise/collection purposes.

[Michael1962]

As far as the friction issue goes, (and now I am harking back to my trade but the product is still available), is Beltgrip a possibility?I presume that the friction material inside the bush would be cork or felt. Could be completely wrong on that though. Beltgrip is really good at stopping slipping V-belts on a car.

Another option is to put one side of the bush on a solid face like a vice and then tap the other side with a hammer to close the bush down a bit . Sort of make it an oval. Bit crude, but might work.

Another method that could be used is a centre punch at four places around the bush. 12, 3, 6 & 9. Centre punching would cause a bump on the other side of the bush and tighten the friction face of the bush to the friction material. Any metal that 'grows' around where you centre punch could be filed back so you would just have four neat little indentations.

[RogerH]

Thanks Watchweasol. It's what I was thinking but it's nice to hear an experts view. I'm an ex TV / Video repair man and the process is pretty much the same when it comes to whether a repair is viable or not. You have to make a judgement call and base it on what the customer expects to pay.

The pallet is curious, it seems to have a spring in as per the picture which pushes against the pallet and the other collect which sits just the other side of the pallet. Maybe with heat you could separate the parts, clean is up and give the spring a bit more tension but I would be concerned it may cause more damage. Is there any other way of repairing this type of assy?- do other makers use the same technique or is this designed with cost in mind?

[oldhippy]

If you used Loctite which I recommended that will hold it permanently.

Get as much experience as you can, if that means working on the cheaper movements do so. When you have served an apprenticeship which is 7 years’ experience this includes 2 years as an improver then you can decide and pick and choose what you would like to work on. I chose to work on the better class movements such as Longcase clocks French and bracket clocks because where I lived there was an abundance of these around. Another thing I found because I has such a vast amount of work I was able to name a price at times and wishing they would say no, but it backed fired many times. When it comes to advertising the best form is word of mouth because if your work is good it will come to you.

Another thing you will probably come up against with customers is this clock or watch is sentimental so regarding the price can you please fix it. Sometimes it is not possible. You will have to learn to say no.    

[RogerH]

Thank OH, and yes, I've used Locktite and so far it's holding ok.

[jdm]

1 hour ago, RogerH said:

yes, I've used Locktite and so far it's holding ok.

We say Loctite and probably we mean generic Cyanoacrylate / superglue, but in fact Loctite makes so many adhesives for mechanical use. https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us/en/search.html?filterType=Products&facetedSearch.productcategory=Instant Adhesives

Then choosing the "best one" is a first world problem I suppose.

[RogerH]

I guess it depends if you mean a super glue or a thread locker - is there much difference in this instance? there's no actual thread merely two metal surfaces, one brass, one steel.

[oldhippy]

Loctite threadlocker Red is the one.