Finished Hamilton 992 long-term restoration

[mbwatch]

After a little over a year of restoration work, I am finally finished with my Hamilton 992 16 size railroad watch project. I'm really proud of this project because it was my first end to end restoration, with multiple repairs, banking pin adjustments, extensive poising & regulation, custom case work, hands restoration & bluing. This movement came into my possession sort of by accident when I was just starting out and recognizing it was nicer than most I had worked on I set it aside until I had a couple years experience. The movement was made in 1925, and the case I ultimately put it in is probably 20 years older than that.

I started with a movement and dial - the dial was in perfect condition and the movement could tick weakly but had broken lower balance jewels. Sourcing correct replacements took a few tries. I also attempted a few replacement mainsprings, ultimately unable to form a workable inner coil on a contemporary white alloy spring and going with a genuine NOS Hamilton steel spring that in the end is performing great.

I acquired loads of vintage tools for this project to do measurement, static poising, timing washers, screw undercutters, and while I was doing what I thought would be the final dynamic poising, I .... broke the balance staff. Replacing the balance staff, as stressful as that was for this project, had the positive effect of a major amplitude gain after leaving behind the worn old pivots. Before I broke the staff, I did have it running at 0.0ms beat error. After replacing the staff I really couldn't get it under 1.0ms but I decided I had to leave it there rather than risk hairspring damage. (the difficulty was probably due to nonparallel regulator pins which were fixed later)

The case I chose is a Fahy's Oresilver with screw-on bezel and caseback. Since I wanted to install a glass caseback, I had to find two identical cases with good front bezels. That was one of the more difficult parts of this project - 16 size cases are far more scarce than 18 size. And though this railroad movement would most likely have been in a gold case, I will settle for an alloy that takes a good polish. I had to cut a slot for the setting lever under the bezel, and fit new glass to both sides. Plus it still has a solid metal caseback as an alternate option.

Special thanks on this project to @JohnR725 who helped me with a lot of minute details in the escapement and mainspring and parts sourcing, @Neverenoughwatches and @mikepilk helped when I was learning heat bluing, and many others who probably contributed.

Okay photos!

The hands are Hamilton 16s railroad spade originals, polished with 10 phases of diamond paste and blued. And the minute hand hub mirror polished. Thanks to several of you who helped me build a workable bluing pan for this and develop my technique several months ago.

I am happy enough with the rates, though I think the horizontal/vertical delta lands outside of railroad specs. I suspect this is due to pivot wear in the train that I could not address without a jacot lathe. But the vertical rates are all very close after dynamic poising. And since this watch is most likely destined to live as a desk clock, it has been regulated to run near 0s in the pendant up, slightly angled backward position where it stays steady for 36 hours. I'm not sure if dialing the beat error back to 0.0 would make any difference, but I doubt it and I ran into a deadline where I couldn't risk more mishaps. As it stands, if it gets wound up daily it will keep great time, hopefully another hundred years.

 

 

[JohnR725]

you've done an excellent job watch looks extremely beautiful.

1 hour ago, mbwatch said:

I am happy enough with the rates

as you're happy with the rates and the watch is really beautiful I assume you do not want me to be nitpicky on timekeeping?

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, mbwatch said:

After a little over a year of restoration work, I am finally finished with my Hamilton 992 16 size railroad watch project. I'm really proud of this project because it was my first end to end restoration, with multiple repairs, banking pin adjustments, extensive poising & regulation, custom case work, hands restoration & bluing. This movement came into my possession sort of by accident when I was just starting out and recognizing it was nicer than most I had worked on I set it aside until I had a couple years experience. The movement was made in 1925, and the case I ultimately put it in is probably 20 years older than that.

I started with a movement and dial - the dial was in perfect condition and the movement could tick weakly but had broken lower balance jewels. Sourcing correct replacements took a few tries. I also attempted a few replacement mainsprings, ultimately unable to form a workable inner coil on a contemporary white alloy spring and going with a genuine NOS Hamilton steel spring that in the end is performing great.

I acquired loads of vintage tools for this project to do measurement, static poising, timing washers, screw undercutters, and while I was doing what I thought would be the final dynamic poising, I .... broke the balance staff. Replacing the balance staff, as stressful as that was for this project, had the positive effect of a major amplitude gain after leaving behind the worn old pivots. Before I broke the staff, I did have it running at 0.0ms beat error. After replacing the staff I really couldn't get it under 1.0ms but I decided I had to leave it there rather than risk hairspring damage. (the difficulty was probably due to nonparallel regulator pins which were fixed later)

The case I chose is a Fahy's Oresilver with screw-on bezel and caseback. Since I wanted to install a glass caseback, I had to find two identical cases with good front bezels. That was one of the more difficult parts of this project - 16 size cases are far more scarce than 18 size. And though this railroad movement would most likely have been in a gold case, I will settle for an alloy that takes a good polish. I had to cut a slot for the setting lever under the bezel, and fit new glass to both sides. Plus it still has a solid metal caseback as an alternate option.

Special thanks on this project to @JohnR725 who helped me with a lot of minute details in the escapement and mainspring and parts sourcing, @Neverenoughwatches and @mikepilk helped when I was learning heat bluing, and many others who probably contributed.

Okay photos!

The hands are Hamilton 16s railroad spade originals, polished with 10 phases of diamond paste and blued. And the minute hand hub mirror polished. Thanks to several of you who helped me build a workable bluing pan for this and develop my technique several months ago.

I am happy enough with the rates, though I think the horizontal/vertical delta lands outside of railroad specs. I suspect this is due to pivot wear in the train that I could not address without a jacot lathe. But the vertical rates are all very close after dynamic poising. And since this watch is most likely destined to live as a desk clock, it has been regulated to run near 0s in the pendant up, slightly angled backward position where it stays steady for 36 hours. I'm not sure if dialing the beat error back to 0.0 would make any difference, but I doubt it and I ran into a deadline where I couldn't risk more mishaps. As it stands, if it gets wound up daily it will keep great time, hopefully another hundred years.

 

 

Michael...you must be super proud of what you've achieved here .....honestly mate it looks amazing...someone is very lucky and will be thrilled with it

[mbwatch]

2 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

as you're happy with the rates and the watch is really beautiful I assume you do not want me to be nitpicky on timekeeping?

Haha no, please refrain. Some things went wrong as I was winding the project down (catastrophically wrong, breaking the balance staff while poising) and I came to a point where I could not take on any additional risks. With the original staff I had very low balance end shake and closer DU/DD rates. The replacement staff had a lot of end shake which I had to shim and even still it's more than I would like. I know that is affecting the DD rate and amplitude. But also, I don't have an explanation for lower DD amplitude once I put the dial and hands on than before. The horizontals were actually within 10° without the dial. Maybe too much friction under the dial washer? If I didn't have to ship this watch off in 2 weeks, if I were keeping it for myself, I would do everything to get it perfect. I have run out of time and nerve though.

Thanks so much for all your help on my various threads for this project. I'm very happy with it.

6 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Michael...you must be super proud of what you've achieved here .....honestly mate it looks amazing...someone is very lucky and will be thrilled with it

Thanks very much. I am quite proud of it and really itching to start on one for myself.

[JohnR725]

6 hours ago, mbwatch said:

The replacement staff had a lot of end shake which I had to shim and even still it's more than I would like.

one of the things you want to pay attention to is the balance bridge and the plate as to whether anyone has modified this. Often times they will raise the metal up by shoving a graver in producing a raised surface to tip the bridge either way. something always to check for when you're having end shake issues may be a dealing with someone else's problem

then thinking about Hamilton and balance staffs I was looking for something the other day and was reading the advertisement on the cover of a magazine I was looking at. July 1958 a reference to Hamilton balance staffs.

6 hours ago, mbwatch said:

I came to a point where I could not take on any additional risks.

unfortunately I know the feeling. Projects start off with so much promise everything seems perfect and then it spirals into a nightmare. then yes sometimes it is best to walk away even if it doesn't seem perfect. Trying to chase that last little better perfection usually leads to a nightmare.

Then actual railroad timekeeping specifications are interesting in that they're not based on the timing machine. There based on allowing the watch to run for 24 hours in a variety of positions. But if I assume your 24 hour numbers were the actual running time errors you are so incredibly close to railroad timekeeping to be honest I just wouldn't worry about it. Then we get so excited of dial up having to be regulated to zero but a pocket watch they typically regulate pendant up from 0 to +5.

6 hours ago, mbwatch said:

Some things went wrong as I was winding the project down

this is a weird amusement I have a work. The store manager has a project management degree and I think she would like to have a schedule perhaps of when things will get done. But when it comes the vintage basically it's done when it leaves the store whenever that may be. Because you never know when a problem is going to pop up and often times the problems pop up as your finishing the watch and things are running. So basically scheduling the length of the vintage watch repair is something that basically cannot be scheduled.

[mbwatch]

10 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

Often times they will raise the metal up by shoving a graver in producing a raised surface to tip the bridge either way.

Usually I can recognize this modification if I see it, but I am not in the habit of actually inspecting for it. I have a 12s later grade Elgin in a box somewhere where I did my first ever staff replacement a couple years ago. But afterward it had a wild amount of shake, probably 0.2-0.3mm and could only run dial down. I stashed it away until I had more tools and experience; now I should pull it out and see if anything was done to the plate or bridge (or if I just had the wrong staff)

[mbwatch]

10 hours ago, mbwatch said:

I have a 12s later grade Elgin in a box somewhere where I did my first ever staff replacement a couple years ago. But afterward it had a wild amount of shake, probably 0.2-0.3mm and could only run dial down. I stashed it away until I had more tools and experience; now I should pull it out and see if anything was done to the plate or bridge (or if I just had the wrong staff)

I found it. It's an Elgin 495 from the 1940s. And while I remember thinking the movement was very worn, I didn't have the experience to know what I was seeing.It was absoolutely butchered, both the front and back of the balance cock were dug up with  tool.  I pressed the divots with my tweezer back to smooth them, put a paper shim in back and the huge end shake went away. The balance is still bent to hell so this is a project for later. It's nice what some experience accumulated can add.

Edited February 18 by mbwatch

[JohnR725]

3 hours ago, mbwatch said:

Elgin 495

maybe it's the lighting it may be an optical illusion but the banking pins appear to be different colors? In other words one has a brass color and the other looks silver-ish or nickel plated?

3 hours ago, mbwatch said:

and the huge end shake went away

usually with American pocket watch staffs we will end up with lots of variations. Typically pivots size variations often times they'll be actual physical variations of where ideally they should just call the different staff number. This will end up with an old-style or new style or some other variations but with the watch there's only one staff? But maybe somebody got creative but may snip out a image. Oh and there's one other minor thing when I look up the part number for the staff listing I have has the number of 5317 but in the listing here it has C which may indicate something? Oh and then the other problem when staff skit changed often times the whole jewels get changed and oftentimes that's not right then occasionally and stones will get change. Which is all kinds of places for people to get creative.

to hear the image out of my staff reference guide and it looks like you may be could be creative and go to another staff were just about everything is identical except the link and maybe the pivots size but still there are some other staffs that are really close and may be somebody was creative and went to one of those that is considerably shorter? Yes we never quite know what people were thinking or doing when they were doing stuff to the watch prior to us. Go and the initials CD-R I believe stand for a combined double roller versus where there would be two separate components. Which is exactly what you would typically have in a modern watch.

[mbwatch]

8 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

maybe it's the lighting it may be an optical illusion but the banking pins appear to be different colors? In other words one has a brass color and the other looks silver-ish or nickel plated?

That is the lighting, though there is some plating wear. What is a different color is the pallet bridge (old disassembly photo below) - and where I used to assume this was a replacement part from another movement, I doubt this grade came in gilt and the dished balance arms have so many weird clearance issues that I now realize somebody ground down the top of the pallet bridge. The pivot and screw sinks are still nickel plated.

8 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

the part number for the staff listing I have has the number of 5317 but in the listing here it has C which may indicate something?

Looking back at my old order, the part I installed was 5317C and the C is probably for combined double roller. So probably the correct staff fitted into a movement that had been hacked up for a different staff in the past. Interesting, though I doubt I'll put much more effort into this one beyond a little more "learning skill". It has a crappy dial and case and the movement is all scratched up.

[SwissSeiko]

Great job fellow midwesterner! I also had issues with a Hamilton PW that had its balance staffs changed to a different size. After ordering 2, I just ended up making one. But the hands looks great

[mbwatch]

12 minutes ago, SwissSeiko said:

fellow midwesterner

Daktoas, right? I'm a Minneapolitan who recently moved about 200 yards over the border into St Paul.

[SwissSeiko]

3 minutes ago, mbwatch said:

Daktoas, right? I'm a Minneapolitan who recently moved about 200 yards over the border into St Paul.

Yep, im in Sodak. Do they still do the midwest watch show in the spring in Minneapolis? I want to attend one of those 

[mbwatch]

14 minutes ago, SwissSeiko said:

Do they still do the midwest watch show in the spring in Minneapolis?

Apparently they did it last year. I don't see info for this year but I'm not really plugged into any of that stuff.

[JohnR725]

6 hours ago, mbwatch said:

replacement part

typically on American pocket watches up until sometime I guess in the 50s you'll find serial numbers are all the plates. So even the pallet fork bridge underneath should have at least the last digit or two of the serial number

even typically the balance wheel have the serial number scribed on to it as all these components were made and assembled together.

But people sometimes do get creative. I was helping a friend once and he had an 18 size Hamilton I believe there is some issues which I didn't initially see. Then later I noticed that the balance wheel just didn't look right with the way it was? Then looking carefully I noticed it had an entirely different balance bridge. This required purchasing of a new orate used movement and better condition because this wasn't a conveniently fixable problem. I never did get to hear the history of the watch how it came to be this way the person does doing this for just wanted the problem to go away. So yes people can be creative and start swapping things around

usually though when you have discoloration on plates and things it's because somebody probably left it too long in the cleaning machine or something similar or equivalent.

4 hours ago, mbwatch said:

I don't see info for this year but I'm not really plugged into any of that stuff.

one of the things you do if you're looking for watch shows is go to the national Association of watch and clock collectors website. See if you're lucky enough to have a chapter in your state or maybe a neighboring state. chapters will typically be having a meeting is a regular basis where a lot of times it's chapter meeting to buy and sell stuff. Then a lot of times the chapters will come together and have regional meetings. You can also look on their event page and see if there's any regional meetings coming up that you'd like to go to as now their typically open to the public.