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

    • The stress is the force (on the spring) x distance. The maximum stress is at the bottom, and decreases up the arm. That's why they always break at the bottom. I used a round file, then something like 2000 grit to finish. I gave the rest of the arm a quick polish - no need for a perfect finish. Just make sure there are no 'notches' left from cutting/filing. The notches act like the perforations in your toilet paper 🤣
    • It's probably a cardinal rule for watch repair to never get distracted while at the bench. Yesterday, after finishing a tricky mainspring winding/barrel insertion (I didn't have a winder and arbor that fit very well) I mentally shifted down a gear once that hurdle was passed. There were other things going on in the room as I put the barrel and cover into the barrel closer and pressed to get that satisfying snap. But when I took it out I realized I never placed the arbor.  When opening a barrel, we are relying on the arbor to transfer a concentrically-distributed force right where it is needed at the internal center of the lid. However, when that isn't present it's difficult to apply pressure or get leverage considering the recessed position of the lid, the small holes in the barrel and the presence of the mainspring coils. It was a beat-up practice movement so I didn't take a lot of time to think it over and I pushed it out using a short right-angle dental probe placed in from the bottom, but that did leave a bit of a scratch and crease in the thin lid. I had also thought about pulling it using a course-threaded screw with a minor thread diameter smaller than the lid hole and a major diameter larger, but that may have done some damage as well.  Thinking about how this might have been handled had it been a more valuable movement, is there a method using watchmaking or other tools that should extract the lid with the least damage? 
    • 🤔 what happens if lubrication is placed directly on top of epilame ? Making a small groove so the lubrication doesn't spread across the component but what if when lubing a little overspills and sits on the epilame .
    • Why just the bottom mike ? Is it worth polishing the whole arm ?
    • The one thing I took time over was to round and polish the curves at the bottom of the jumper arm. The slightest mark (left over from cutting of filing) acts as a stress raiser, just where you don't need it. 
×
×
  • Create New...