Jump to content

Waltham 1899 17j won't wind fully keeps slipping


Recommended Posts

Hi all, this is my first post so please be gentle, I can wind it up about 4 turns and then something slips and looses all its tension and I wind it again and it does the same thing, so I brought a new mainspring from cousins uk out of the GR book page 195 under 16s 1899 witch lists it as part no 6991-TR as a 0.19 thickness, in my E.& J. SWIGART CO book it lists it as 4 different sizes 0.19  0.18  0.17  0.16  0.15, when I put the new spring in it done the same thing so I striped it down again thinking winding pinion teeth and crown wheel are badly warn but they are not !!, so with the crown wheel removed I tried to wind it up with a screwdriver and it still slipped, so I tried to close the spring tighter you guessed it SNAP, so I got another one but an 0.18 thickness put it in and still the same so my question is what am I doing wrong ??? do I still need to squeeze it in or should it be ok straight out of the box.

Many thanks Kaz

Thu Jun 09 20-04-55.jpgThu Jun 09 20-07-30.jpgThu Jun 09 20-08-43.jpgThu Jun 09 20-10-53.jpgThu Jun 09 20-14-09.jpgThu Jun 09 20-16-14.jpgThu Jun 09 20-20-43.jpgThu Jun 09 20-24-35.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, syfre said:

what you have is a Waltham motor barrel, the problem is at the other end, the spring slips at the barrel hook.

The end of the spring must be shaped to match the barrel wall, some explanation here :

http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?68116-Waltham-Motor-Barrel-Mainspring-will-not-catch

Thanks for the reply, this is a pic of the actual spring, it all looks spot on to me but I know nothing, do you mean bend it in a bit the last 5 mm ?, I can't see how it can jump out as it is hooked it and the more you wind it the tighter it becomes.

many thanks for your help KazFri Jun 10 16-42-38.jpgFri Jun 10 16-41-17.jpgFri Jun 10 16-46-12.jpgFri Jun 10 16-46-21.jpg 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like these conversions. I know a lot of people feel they are a Frankenstein watch but in my opinion it's nothing different than putting a seagull movement in a aftermarket case and making your own dial. Hey, Tiffany never made their own watches. I think these watches allow people to wear a beautiful movement again. Im in the process of making one as well as a gift. Good luck your watch looks great

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎17‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 10:23 PM, jdm said:

It's really nice. How do you wind it? Where did you sourced the case?

I drilled a hole in the side and put a stem in a pin vice and just wind it like a key wound pocket watch.(hunter movement)

the case I came across on eBay with some other stuff, I can't believe how accurate the watch keeps time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎17‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 10:53 PM, Joeydwatchmaker said:

I like these conversions. I know a lot of people feel they are a Frankenstein watch but in my opinion it's nothing different than putting a seagull movement in a aftermarket case and making your own dial. Hey, Tiffany never made their own watches. I think these watches allow people to wear a beautiful movement again. Im in the process of making one as well as a gift. Good luck your watch looks great

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thanks I love it, and a good talking point down the pub. :biggrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like these conversions. I know a lot of people feel they are a Frankenstein watch but in my opinion it's nothing different than putting a seagull movement in a aftermarket case and making your own dial. Hey, Tiffany never made their own watches. I think these watches allow people to wear a beautiful movement again. Im in the process of making one as well as a gift. Good luck your watch looks great

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reply, this is a pic of the actual spring, it all looks spot on to me but I know nothing, do you mean bend it in a bit the last 5 mm ?, I can't see how it can jump out as it is hooked it and the more you wind it the tighter it becomes.

many thanks for your help KazFri Jun 10 16-42-38.jpgFri Jun 10 16-41-17.jpgFri Jun 10 16-46-12.jpgFri Jun 10 16-46-21.jpg 

I think this is the best I am going to get it what do you think guys

 

Dial up

WP_20160613_16_50_06_Pro.jpg

Stem down

WP_20160613_16_52_16_Pro.jpg

Is this a size 0 pocket watch that you put into a wristwatch case?

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Thanks, This watch was in a box of old scrape units that a friend gave me. They used to be his late father's who was a watchmaker before the war and then continued later in life. I picked this one out as it looked like it had potential, and I liked the dial, it's been a bit of a learning curve for a beginner but I was determined to get it going. Now I'm on the final lap it feels good. I'm just wondering whether to invest in a decent set of hand placement tools or stick with the cheap Chinese red thing I have, decisions decision 😆
    • 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. 
×
×
  • Create New...