Jump to content

Power crisis

jguitron

By jguitron
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

 Share

Recommended Posts

jguitron WRT Addict

jguitron

Posted
Posted

I'm suffering with a power crisis and need help!

I'm working on a vintage diver... it's a cheaper mechanical Sheffield and I actually got a couple of them on eBay in an attempt to rehab one with the extra pieces. 

It all looks great (washed, inspected, re-assembled) until I wind it up. For a few seconds the balance starts swinging in a promising manner only to slow down and come to a complete stop in less than a minute.

At first I thought it was the balance itself, checked, oiled, swings excellent with minimal impulse from the dust blower. Then I noticed the escape wheel wasn't advancing despite full wind. So I removed the train bridge and reassess all wheels and pivots. Minimal pressure on the train results in the balance swinging like a champ. banging.gif Finally I looked into the barrel: I noticed that if I held the stem on (meaning the barrel is spun forwards not allowing the click to lock the wheel), the balance swings very nicely, but it slows down to a stop as soon as I relax the stem. banging.gif

This made me suspect that the arbor wasn't well lubed, so I lubed it without any change. If I spin the balance and then help the barrel with my peg wood, all looks great, but as soon as I release it, the same thing happens. So that made me suspect that something was up with the mainspring. I removed it, cleaned it and inspected it not finding any anomaly. Looking at the main plate there's no obstruction or abnormality that I can tell. All wheels have appropriate endshakes, gears and pinions are all intact... it just seems that the power generated by the mainspring is not sufficient!! 

Could the mainspring be worn out despite keeping shape and consistency? It looks totally fine to me, but other than that, I can't think of what else could be the problem.

Thank you so much for even reading through this long litany. Any suggestions are more than welcome!!!

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jguitron WRT Addict

jguitron

Posted
  • Author
Posted
What is the endshake/sideshake of the barrel like? Does it tilt at all, or are there any signs of wear on it or the plate/bridge from rubbing?




Endshake and sideshake normal, no signs of wear. The barrel is the kind that doesn't have a cap. I made sure to oil the plate where the barrel/mainspring rest. All teeth intact. I'm starting to think it is a replaced mainspring that doesn't have enough power and that's why it was sold for parts/repair?

I got the barrel from the other movement I got. Unfortunately although it's the same "watch" he movement of different, which I believe is a coming thing among the vintage lower end brands. The other mainspring was 0.03mm taller and it killed the endshake when I tried to use it. No such luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SteveFitzwater Member

SteveFitzwater

Posted
Posted

you need to becareful when swapping out parts, for the sounds of it, it appears that there is a difference with the movements, try using the main plate from the "barrel" and assemble. I would be there is enough sideshake that when the mainspring is wound, it creates a binding with the main wheel, thus stopping the transfer of power.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Neverenoughwatches
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      This makes much more sense now, the oil is withdrawing itself to make as little contact with the epilame as possible. Same principle as wax on a car creates a hyrophobic surface that makes the cohesive properties of water molecules pull together.  The water beads run off only when under the influence of gravity but still remain cohesively beaded up. And as mentioned earlier a pivot would keep the oil in place on a cap jewel.  Epilame on an escapement would be a different scenario, there is nothing to hold the oil in position if gravity tugs at the bead to move, plus the escape teeth pull the oil about Maybe this is why its suggested to run the watch for a short while to remove the epilame to make two oleophobic surfaces either side of the oil, creating a ring of fire 🔥 around it 😅
    • mikepilk
      Balance wheelwheel crooked

      By mikepilk · Posted

      As with every skill it watchmaking, it takes practice. Notice at the top of the document it says, "Practical work - 40 hours".  I can get the balance wheels 'close enough' to flat, but never seem to get them perfect. Same with gear wheels. Guess I need more practice.
    • transporter
      Beat adjustment

      By transporter · Posted

      Has it got a beat adjustment on the platform or is it a fixed hairspring? in short what you are looking at to get it just about in beat is to get the roller jewel sitting dead centre between the banking pins. So remove the platform and take of the pallet fork and escape wheel to give you clear line of site, sit the platform with the balance in place and with it level look between the banking pins and see if the roller jewel is sitting between them, if it is nice and central its there or there abouts in beat, if its not the the position of the pinned end of the hairspring needs to be adjusted to move the roller jewel into the correct position, thats why I asked if it has an adjustment on the platform or not, if it has its an easier job. 
    • MapleWood
      Help - London Elliott Mantle Clock Night Silence

      By MapleWood · Posted

      I've managed to adjust it. I'm going to try and explain it as well as I can with my limited horology knowledge but I hope it helps someone in the future. There is a cam to the right of the front plate as shown in the picture. As the clock ticks along, the pin indicated in the gear comes around and slots into one of the silencer cam gaps, turning the cam. The pin completes a full rotation in 2 hours. To adjust the cam to start at the right time set the clock to just before 7. I did 6:45. Then I turned the silencer cam anticlockwise, which spins freely, until it pushed the silencer lever up and was placed just before the drop. Just before the 7AM indicated in the picture. All I then had to do was progress the hands to 7-7:15which made the pin slot into the silencer cam gap and turn the cam so the lever comes down again, unsilencing the clock. That was it. If anyone comes across this issue again I'd be happy to assist. Thanks again to everyone that helped. Hey Transporter! Thanks a lot for the reply. That was a really good explanation and I'm sure it would have made my troubleshooting a lot less painful haha. I'm sure someone will find it useful in the future. Thank you again for taking the time to try and help me out with this.
    • Waggy
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Waggy · Posted

      Now I'm completely confused, it would appear that the epilame  is oleophobic  as @Marc states: This oleophobic  behavior can be seen as beading of the droplet (as above) which stops the oil spreading which is supported by what we observe on treated/untreated cap stones (for example), but as @VWatchie states this should make the drops more mobile and is supported by the literature:   A review on control of droplet motion based on wettability modulation principles design strategies recent progress and applications.pdf   However the whole point is that we have less mobile oil so an oleophobic  would see to be the opposite of what we want. In fact this beading and high mobility are desirable properties in things like smart phone covers, see below.  I am fairly sure that epilame doesn't make the droplets more mobile, so maybe its a strange coating with dual properties that are both oleophobic (beading) and cohesive/adhesive resulting in low mobility?? This may explain the high price??  
×
×
  • Create New...