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Balance issues - jamming/catching?


p2n

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Bottom feeding of fleabay picked up what looked to be a fusee movement but isn't - where the fusee would be there is just a solid barrel. Did they ever convert fusee's or is this just one made from from old parts when the new technology appeared?

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Anyhow, the mainspring was broken so stripped, cleaned and replaced the spring. Got it all back together with no sign of the fairy so I must be getting better (just jinxed myself but hey...)

There's a problem with the balance, it seems to keep jamming. To me, it looks like the roller table is too low and fouling the escape lever, but before I wade in with the angle grinder I wanted to check and see what you all though? Is there something I'm missing?

Tried to photo it, but with that level of zoom I can't get the image stable enough, well lit enough or in focus to show the problem properly.

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The hairspring is straight and not catching

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That took a fair bit of manipulation to get right!

Here is a video of the problem

 

Will add a link to google photo when the whole bucket have uploaded...

 

 

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Looking at the video, to me it looks like the balance is stiff and might not have enough end shake. Check all the jewels making sure there is no old oil still there. Check, all the pivots on the escapement for rough spots, they need to be spotless and burnished. Make sure the pallet stones are correct and not lose and clean. The roller pin needs to be smooth and not have rough edges and secure in the roller. Does the pallet fork look right? If you have removed and jewels make sure you have put them back right.    

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Right - manage to spend a few hours on Sunday.

The wheel was definitely jamming - it would lock at a certain point. I realised in the end that the balance jewel was pointing in the wrong direction. The balance spring on this one is very long and held by a pin, so the rotation of the balance depends on where you pin the hairspring. Looking back at the photos I took I noticed these marks that aligned with the original position of the hairspring...

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So I realigned the hairspring to match these. The balance jewel was almost aligned within the banking pins. A minor adjustment and bingo - aligned and no longer jamming.

The now ran, but with very low amplitude:

 

About this time I took a break and was reading up on ultrasonic cleaners and their solutions when I found a comment that plastic containers are no use in the US cleaner. Hmmm.... That explains why I was getting poor results.

Disassembled and into a couple of sealable glass jars with the isopropyl alcohol as cleaner (all except the balance wheel and escape lever as I know IPA dissolves shellac). I cleaned the escape lever and balance wheel pivots by hand.

Reassembled and runs with a good amplitude now:

Now the only problem left is a frelling screw that doesn't fit.

It's the last one (I keep screws from the front separate from the rear). All the others are in correct but this one does not fit the hole that's left. Bloody watch is cursed!

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Sigh. Not sure what to do now. I don't want to force the screw. I can't see where it would have been mixed up with. The two holding the click wheel have tapered heads and the on holding the other spring is identical to this one!

 

 

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    • Learned a new thing today! 🤓 Looked this up and found this informative document: Watkins-MainspringGauges.pdf
    • Correct one dip is expensive when the chemical is purchased as " one dip " which is why it is mostly reserved for these two small parts as far as information tells us it is mostly tetrachloroethylene. I use it bought as perchloroethyl used in dry cleaning processes, i cant say I'm overimpressed with it though it appears to me to be shellac safe. What may be a better solution for hairsprings is a high lab grade of pure benzine.  IPA is mostly used as a rinse and water displacer and yes it does have the potential to dissolve shellac, personally i would not buy anything that has significant water dilution so 99.9% IPA is the way to go. And lastly the part you are cleaning dictates your choice of cleaning brush, delicate parts like a hairspring requires the finest artist's brush you can find. Plates and bridges can take a little more scrubbing, but always check to make sure the surface is being unharmed. And dont forget a stick of tip benzine soaked correctly shaped pegwood is your mate set up for cleaning dirty jewels and removing stubborn dried up lubrication. 
    • Hello and welcome from Leeds, England. 
    • Den / Dennison is a unit measurement of size this is actually a mainspring gauge . I haven't heard of a pivot been measured in Dennison before.  Though the small thickness gauge is  usually supplied with a Jacot tool and is more accurately known as a pivot destroyer.
    • Could it be an abbreviation for Denier? "Denier (/ˈdɛniər/) or den (abbreviated D), a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers, is the mass in grams per 9,000 metres of the fiber. The denier is based on a natural reference: a single strand of silk is approximately one denier; a 9,000-metre strand of silk weighs about one gram." The pivot gauge looks interesting, however I wouldn't trust myself to drive a pivot into a wedge incase it jams and gets damaged/snaps trying to get it free. More a comment on my ability and incompetence than the quality or design of the tool 🤣
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