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Fixed 2 Pocket Watches


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Fixed an old German pocket watch and an old 18l Elgin. The German one needed a new mainspring so I picked one up at Cousins UK and after much fun finally got the arbour to grab the spring and installed it. Then I oiled the crap out of it through the side of the movement with D5 and tada in started running. The Elgin I needed to disassemble to get at the jewels and gears because it was completely ceased up. Oils and reassembled it and it runs really well. I intend to do a complete cleaning on both of these watches but, for now, just wanted to see if I could get them running.

18f5f32634a445d9de1316bcabc27d11.jpg4a446b0434d76a9b09902a5f0220e2fb.jpgf36f919353e2430e8bcc45f2247c9745.jpghttps://vimeo.com/166703980

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On May 15, 2016 at 9:34 AM, jdrichard said:

Fixed an old German pocket watch and an old 18l Elgin. The German one needed a new mainspring so I picked one up at Cousins UK and after much fun finally got the arbour to grab the spring and installed it. Then I oiled the crap out of it through the side of the movement with D5 and tada in started running. The Elgin I needed to disassemble to get at the jewels and gears because it was completely ceased up. Oils and reassembled it and it runs really well. I intend to do a complete cleaning on both of these watches but, for now, just wanted to see if I could get them running.

18f5f32634a445d9de1316bcabc27d11.jpg4a446b0434d76a9b09902a5f0220e2fb.jpgf36f919353e2430e8bcc45f2247c9745.jpghttps://vimeo.com/166703980

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I'll bet it was fun getting all the wheel train pivots lined up on that thing!

Dave

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I'll bet it was fun getting all the wheel train pivots lined up on that thing!

Dave

A living hell:) the trick was to poke things very carefully From the side without any real pressure. Plus 200% patience and 500% luck.

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    • An update, for everyone who contributed advice, and for those who come after with a similar problem. Based on the answers received, I decided to work on the face of the hammer first. I used a square degussit stone to guarantee a vertical surface to work against, and ground the face back until it was square across 90% of the depth. I was conscious of the risk of removing too much material.* After I'd got the shape how I wanted it, I polished the surface with lapping film. To cut a long story short, it did the trick and the hammer hasn't slipped off the cam since. Of course, that wasn't the end of my problems. Have a look at this video and tell me what you think is wrong. https://youtu.be/sgAUMIPaw98 The first four attempts show (0 to 34 sec.) the chrono seconds hand jumping forwards, the next two attempts (35 to 47 sec.) seem "normal", then on the seventh attempt (48 to 54 sec.) the seconds hand jumps to 5 sec. and the minute counter jumps to 1. The rest of the video just shows repeats of these three variants. I solved it by rotating the minute counter finger on the chronograph (seconds) runner relative to the cam.  I'd be interested to hear your opinions on that. It seemed to be the right thing to do, but maybe I've introduced another problem I'm not aware of. * What is the correct relationship between the two hammers and cams, by the way? Should both hammers strike the cams exactly at the same time, or is it correct for the minute counter hammer to be a bit behind the seconds hammer? In this picture, I removed the adjusting screw at 1, and the hammers are contacting the cams simultaneously at 3 and 4. I had to turn the screw down tight to achieve this condition after stoning the seconds hammer and replacing the bridge.
    • It was easy enough to pop off. Once I had the cannon pinion hanging on the blades of the stump, I got my #2 tweezers on the gear attached to the staff and levered it down. That way none of the force was on the brass wheel itself.   I reinstalled it and the bridge, and it looks like a small but reasonable amount of end shake. It also spins easily with a blower. It stops quickly, but I think that's due to the large shoulder and about what I'd expect from this wheel.  
    • Oh, right. For some reason I was picturing a monocoque case in my head. Good looking watch!
    • Well said Ross. My reason for the thread, i like many of us dont want to lose the forum, such a well knitted group of individuals i feel. But things can happen out of anyone's control. Would be nice to have something in place just in case, if anyone has any ideas please speak up. 
    • Ok thanks Ross, I will give that a try!😁
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