Regulator Adjustment...hints?

[tomprobkins]

I am just starting out in my hobby of Watch Repair. I am curious if I could solicit any suggestions when it comes to adjusting the regulator on a watch. 

 

Not meaning timing the watch. I have my own approach to that. What I am specifically referring to is knowing how much to adjust the regulator. For instance is there an industry standard for how much time the tick marks on the regulator represent? Is there a trick like adjusting it over seeing the change and then dividing? And, is there a tool that is used (other than a piece of peg-wood)? Currently I am just doing it trial and error style. Adjust, observe, repeat....etc...etc.

 

Thanks

Rob

 

[jdm]

I don't think there can be a standard because each regulator is different. Sophisticated ones have micro regulation screws, others have nothing. When you have the movement in beat the needed motion is extremely small.

 

I think what matter most is that you use the tool that gives less chances to slip and hit the hairspring, and makes you more comfortable.  I do regulation with the watch or movement dial down on the timegrapher. To be honest I think that regulating without a timegrapher or equivalent application basically means wasting time.

[tomprobkins]

Thanks for the reply. I thought there was no standard but I wasn't sure if there was a rule of thumb...you know..."One tick equals about x Seconds". I have thought about modifying my digital caliper to give a more accurate means of adjusting the regulator (my current tool of choice is the plastic end of a thumb tack), I was just wondering if such a tool already existed. I am in the process of getting a Timegrapher, but in the mean time I figured they regulated watches before electricity, so there must be a way. 

[Vich]

Hello Tom,

I just wondered if you have watched Marks videos on regulating watches, it may be helpful

Cheers,

Vic

[JohnR725]

Before I give you an answer on regulating a watch before timing machine a note regarding standards in horology. Watchmakers are interesting they adapted whatever they had so there aren’t a lot of standards at least up until now perhaps. So for instance look at measurements they grabbed whatever they had available. So we end up with a interesting mix of definitions for measurement. Like mainsprings measured in metric, inches and Dennison. Even then they didn’t just adopt one of those systems for the mainspring typically the length was in inches the width and strength in one of the other systems.

So I have a couple of books that reference adjusting a watch without a timing machine. One of them comments about the rumor you can adjust the watch in less than 24 hours but his experience was several days to weeks. He was adjusting to three positions.

Then my all-time favorite the watchmaker has a 17 jewel high-grade American pocket watch is adjusting it to basically very precise timekeeping. So goes through multiple pages describing the condition of the watch exactly what he did at various times telling us what the timekeeping was and how things are improving. So he starts February 4, 1896 and finishes April 17, 1896.  

So timing machine speeds up things considerably but you still need to run the watch for 24 hours and see what it really does. Timing machine tells you what the watch was doing at a exact instant the time. It doesn’t tell you what it’s going to do over 24 hours. Then if you’re really doing a good job first on the timing machine then run the watch 24 hours later back of the timing machine tto make sure it still doing what it’s supposed to be doing. Even this doesn’t exactly cut it because if it’s a wristwatch it should go on a wrist. Sometimes watches will keep beautiful time sitting on a safe bench, on somebody’s arm it will do something considerably different.

So some companies did have standards and they did publish them. So I’ve attached a Hamilton publication it does explain roughly what happens when you move things around to adjust things.
 

hamilton_tech_note_on_regulation.pdf