Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hi all

Obviously I am still new to all this, having cut my teeth on a few Seiko and Citizen Automatics I thought it about time I did a pocket watch, picked up a couple of likely candidates on eBay and made a start on the first one.

A simple Pin Palet Swiss model with the name The S&G Perfect Watch Swiss Made in the case, nothing other than Swiss made on the Movement.

Described by the seller has having a broken main spring and when it arrived that is what it felt like, but once stripped I found that thye reason it was not winding was because the mainspring had been put in upside down, so the hook on the arbour could not engage in the spring, the spring itself looked ok.

So I went ahead with the stripdown and clean, then rebuilt the movement, making sure the spring was put in the correct way arround.

So you can imagine by annoyance when I found it still didn't wind, but this time you could feel the mainspring slipping in the barrel.

Looking at the picture below of the barrel and the hook on the end of the spring, has it been fitted with the wrong spring, or is somthing missing.

What should the end look like so I know what to look for in a replacement.

Thanks for any help with this

Paul

 

 

Screenshot 2025-05-10 16-17-14.png

Screenshot 2025-05-10 16-17-31.png

Posted (edited)

You have a Roskopf type movement. Though cheap, they are not the best choice for beginners, as they differ in many details from normal (i.e. better quality) movements.

Your mainspring is meant to slip, from notch to notch in the wall. I doubt however, the spring end is correct.

Frank

Edited by praezis
  • Like 1
Posted

Some old pin pallet movements used a sort of precursor to the slipping bridle in automatic watches. I guess as a remedy for overzealous winding- these tend to have unusually long and strong springs. There should be another piece that the end of your spring catches, it would be about 3x the barrel diameter in length. Most likely lost by the person who put the spring in upside down.

 

A regular spring should catch in one of the notches and work, trick is finding one long and strong enough. Sometimes with these you have to settle for reduced power reserve from a shorter spring.

Posted
17 minutes ago, rjenkinsgb said:

The teeth on the barrel appear to be damaged - could that be part of the problem?

Damaged_Barrel_crop.png.d4a5df303c0fbf408b76b4edee1a6759.png

 

Can you post photos of the full movement?

 

Its not as bad as it looks in the photo, only the very edge is missing, forming a slight shamfore, 90% of the teeth is still there.

Sorry can't post pictures of the full movement or the keyless side as its currently back in bits to get the barrel out again.

Thanks for the replies, so looks like this first one is destined for the junk pile as I have little to no chance of finding the missing bit.

Lessons learned on this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Fully wound I presume ?     End shake adjust in escapement is significant,  if excessive then fork pallets and escape teeth interface change in different positions, thus  small misalignments let pallets face or escape teeth to extremes of free play interval, where escape teeth can't  escape. So when adjusting end shakes, you want fork pallets and escape teeth in one plane with minimum end shakes.          
    • Is that a bloody big pencil or a very tiny part.  I think, I  knew the answer. 
    • Three of the broken teeth have now been located and removed. I haven’t counted the total number yet, but it would be a huge relief if I manage to find them all. The nightmare scenario is missing a tooth that survives cleaning and ends up jamming something important. The hunt continues! Oh, and that thing you see on the right in the last picture? Yep—that’s just the tip of my pencil! 😅
    • Interesting the dangers of IPA? But it brings up a problem Elma recommends IPA as the final rinse in situations where the normal rinse will not evaporates. I've never actually looked at the programming of the cleaning machine as to how long it actually spends in the IPA it shouldn't really be that long. When I was cleaning watches at home I was using alcohol that the container it came in specifically said it would dissolves shellac and still never had a problem because the final rinse of alcohol is only supposed to rinse off the previous rinse so here in their? To be honest I never really times when I was doing it I would just put the parts in a beaker dump in alcohol swish it around the rinse it off and then put it right in the dryer. The problem would be extended time and especially if you heat up your alcohol that would speed up bad consequences. The problem with this choice of a cleaning product is it isn't actually for cleaning watch movements. https://store.elma-ultrasonic.com/en/products/ec-90 If you look through the discussion group I know we've talked about alternative cleaning products and? The problem with alternative products is experimentation is required. Plus the commercial stuff really works nicely but? We now end up with an interesting problem and watch repair which is environmental air quality for human beings. If you look at the quote above there is an excellent suggestion a box with ventilation system. If you look at the very newest of cleaning machines that's basically what they do they pull air in the machine so nothing gets out and it goes through a hose either outside or through an activated carbon filter.      
    • I don't trust myself with a hammer! It's funny though - I've got my dad machining up several little crystal press attachments when really I could just hammer it! 
×
×
  • Create New...