Empire Watch Co. Venus 170 Service? Repair?

[ScottMcAfee]

Thanks @Geo!

OK, so I got the watch largely back together.  It kept pretty good time over the 12 hours I tested it, so the watch part is working pretty well.  The chrono mechanism is functioning: start, stop, and flyback.  I do have a couple of issues though:

The chrono second sweep hand stutters from time to time, especially when the dart contacts the intermittent minute gear. 

     a) I can't see the dart tooth through the chrono runner to make sure the depth is good w/respect to the intermittent minute gear.  It's rotated just outside of the view circle.  Any tips on rotating it about 5 degrees without breaking the tooth or messing up the shaft or wheel?

     b: The second hand drags a little on the dial in a couple of places.  I'm gradually smoothing out the bend to it but I'm real worried about breaking it. 

    c) I did break the tip off minute register jumper, despite the warnings from the ensembl-o-graph guide to be careful.  So I'm sourcing a replacement.

    d) I can't seem to get many of the parts shiny.  Any good tips to take off black patina?  I've tried muriatic acid, vinegar, pepsi, naptha.   Sandpaper works but is not usable in a lot of places.

Thanks!  Despite these minor issues I'm really happy with the watch and the result of my work so far.

 

 

 

I broke the tip off the minute register jumper, despite

[RyMoeller]

3 hours ago, ScottMcAfee said:

Thanks @Geo!

OK, so I got the watch largely back together.  It kept pretty good time over the 12 hours I tested it, so the watch part is working pretty well.  The chrono mechanism is functioning: start, stop, and flyback.  I do have a couple of issues though:

The chrono second sweep hand stutters from time to time, especially when the dart contacts the intermittent minute gear. 

     a) I can't see the dart tooth through the chrono runner to make sure the depth is good w/respect to the intermittent minute gear.  It's rotated just outside of the view circle.  Any tips on rotating it about 5 degrees without breaking the tooth or messing up the shaft or wheel?

     b: The second hand drags a little on the dial in a couple of places.  I'm gradually smoothing out the bend to it but I'm real worried about breaking it. 

    c) I did break the tip off minute register jumper, despite the warnings from the ensembl-o-graph guide to be careful.  So I'm sourcing a replacement.

    d) I can't seem to get many of the parts shiny.  Any good tips to take off black patina?  I've tried muriatic acid, vinegar, pepsi, naptha.   Sandpaper works but is not usable in a lot of places.

Thanks!  Despite these minor issues I'm really happy with the watch and the result of my work so far.

Good job!  I hope to see a picture of the finished product!

1. I don't think the dart tooth is movable (or at least shouldn't be).  I took a quick look at the Venus 170 I have and the dart tooth was just barely inside the window, but enough that I could see clearly where it contacts the intermittent wheel.  Perhaps there's a problem with the chronograph runner you have.  Post a picture if you can- that might help.
2. Sounds like your doing it right- slow and steady.  My method is to carefully rub the hand with steel tweezers to slowly correct an aggressive bend.
3. Uh-oh, those can be costly- it looks like Scotch Watch has them in stock though, possibly Otto too.
4. Depends.  Bridges and plates are usually silver plated so a simple silver dip solution will work wonders.  For mirror finished steel parts (like the chronograph levers) I use a Dremel, a polishing wheel, and a bit of Dialux compound.  It makes a mess and so each piece must be done separately and then carefully cleaned to remove any polishing compound and fibers.  Also, you run the risk of loosing sharp edges this way.

Happy to hear it's come together fairly well.  Nice work!

[ScottMcAfee]

Here are some pictures of the aberrant dart tooth on the runner.  I've set that aside as I messed up my hairspring pretty bad (got the tension spring tangled up in it).  I'm having fun learning all about the mechanics of tweaking and shaping hairsprings, but it's slow going.  Mark's videos on this are very helpful.  I may ultimately have to buy one, but I'll give it my best shot.  I also took some time off of the 170 to service a family alarm clock with my dad, which was a nice switch to the macro from the micro and my first look at a pin escapement. 

[RyMoeller]

20 hours ago, ScottMcAfee said:

Here are some pictures of the aberrant dart tooth on the runner.  I've set that aside as I messed up my hairspring pretty bad (got the tension spring tangled up in it).  I'm having fun learning all about the mechanics of tweaking and shaping hairsprings, but it's slow going.  Mark's videos on this are very helpful.  I may ultimately have to buy one, but I'll give it my best shot.  I also took some time off of the 170 to service a family alarm clock with my dad, which was a nice switch to the macro from the micro and my first look at a pin escapement. 

Well I need to apologize for getting it wrong- the dart tooth on a Venus 170 chronograph runner can be moved.  I had a rusty movement here that I was breaking down so I mounted the runner on some Rodico and gave the tooth a bit of lateral pressure from my tweezers and voila- the tooth was moveable in either direction.

So you can move the tooth into the window on the runner but keep in mind this will change the moment that the minutes are recorded on the minute register.  I had a similar issue with a Pierce watch just a few days ago where the minute recorder would register one minute elapsed as soon as the chronograph was started.  This resulted from either the heart cam or dart tooth being slightly out of position when the chronograph runner was reset to its zero position.  I'll have to go back now and see if the dart tooth on a Pierce chronograph staff is adjustable as well.

Good luck with the hairspring.  That's one of the more difficult repairs to make but it's excellent experience.  I've mangled a few in my time and brought a few back to life as well.  

[ScottMcAfee]

Great news, Ry. Thanks for doing the force test for me. I wasn't looking forward to risking my runner. [emoji51] I'll center it in the hole and adjust the heart if necessary.


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[ScottMcAfee]

After a few months of minor setbacks and slow progress in addressing the inconstant chrono timing, I now have the watch together and working pretty well.  Ended up getting a replacement balance wheel w/spring for the one I tangled and chrono runner (mine had a couple mangled teeth).  Also had to straighten two teeth on the oscillating pinion with an exacta blade.   I'll post a note or two with pictures to close this thread, but first a question: 

Does anybody know the lift angle of a Venus 170?  If not, I'll try to figure it out with the 180° method, but it would be nice to know the standard.  Can't find it online. Thanks!

[ScottMcAfee]

Here's the finished watch. I tried lightly cleaning the dial with rodico, but it turns out rodico is not always your friend. I accidntally removed most of the 8 and took a big chunk out of the '1' in 10. I used some very small dry transfer numbers to bring them back. The '8' is actually a capital 'O' sideways with a small 'c' on top.


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