Jump to content

Minute hand problems....


Recommended Posts

This is a project I started a couple of years ago and need to finish it once and for all. The second hand runs fine but the minute hand seems to stop after about 10 minutes. I thought maybe it had to do with the lever not sitting problem and have tried tightening it down but still can’t seem to resolve. I am continuously having to reset the watch after every ten minutes that it runs and then stops. Any suggestions?422e570a91075b90b612c7f05f9ea7d9.png

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a project I started a couple of years ago and need to finish it once and for all. The second hand runs fine but the minute hand seems to stop after about 10 minutes. I thought maybe it had to do with the lever not sitting problem and have tried tightening it down but still can’t seem to resolve. I am continuously having to reset the watch after every ten minutes that it runs and then stops. Any suggestions?422e570a91075b90b612c7f05f9ea7d9.png&key=9349ffada3d92c029c5b5e616b418dcdd154f8b147e17ec777462f585cd2f7ba
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Check for dirt in the gears. As well, make sure that the hands are free and not touching each other or the face


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please give us more information. What exactly have you done so far? Tell us about the watch? Does the second hand stop when the minute hand does, or does it keep ticking? We need more to go on>

I'm sure when we put our collected heads together, with the help of everyone on the forum, we will get your problem solved.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please give us more information. What exactly have you done so far? Tell us about the watch? Does the second hand stop when the minute hand does, or does it keep ticking? We need more to go on>
I'm sure when we put our collected heads together, with the help of everyone on the forum, we will get your problem solved.



I had completely tore into it about a year and a half ago, cleaned everything and reassembled. Prior to that, it hadn’t run in over 50 years. After reassembling that time, I thought I had everything operating properly. Put the project aside while I waited for a new crystal to arrive. After a month or so, i sat down to place the crystal and found that one to shallow to clear the pinion. So I ordered a second crystal. Went to install it when it arrived and broke it....lol. Ordered a 3rd crystal a few months ago and before attempting to install it, I noticed that while the second hand was moving, the minute hands was not. So I disassembled it a second time, cleaned everything, and reassembled. Still the second hand would run but not the minute hand. At the time, I had noticed that the lever on the side that you pull to set the time, felt a little loose. I opened it back up and noticed that when I would pull the lever, the screw holding it would back up ever so slightly with each pull. I tightened the screw back down and reassembled. Again set the watch, pushed the lever back in, and now the minute hand runs for a bout 10 minutes and then stops, while the second hand continues without issue. It is a family heirloom that I need to finish so that I can finally get it returned.


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


Check for dirt in the gears. As well, make sure that the hands are free and not touching each other or the face


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hands are definitely clear. I suppose could try another full tear down and clean....hmmm


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


Hands are definitely clear. I suppose could try another full tear down and clean....hmmm


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gear Dirt? Is the balance amplitude good right up to when in stops? As well, is there a bent tooth on the mainspring barrel


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


Gear Dirt? Is the balance amplitude good right up to when in stops? As well, is there a bent tooth on the mainspring barrel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The balance appears fine....incredibly smooth and never stops or slows


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

Ok I just noticed something I hadn’t before. When it would stop, I would pull the lever and reset the hands. Just a few minutes ago it had stopped again and I watched it for awhile to see if it might start on its own which it didn’t. So this time I pulled the lever and then pushed it right back in without setting it. As soon as I pushed the lever in the minute hand began to move again. So that lever is definitely part of the issue but I’m not sure why exactly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking at your vids it is nothing to do with the going train all looks fine. The fault will be on the keyless side, loose canon pinion or a intermediate wheel installed upside down or a pinion that is not tight with it's wheel. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 As clock boy has said its the keyless side. Remove the cannon pinion and just run it and see if it stopes. Add parts one by one to test until complete. Add hands without the dial. Run a complete test out of the case. When you are satisfied case up the movement less the dial and test. Working this way you should be able to find what is stopping the watch. The cannon pinion needs to be just so, to lose hands won’t carry, to tight will cause the movement to stop.  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Safe to assume the hour hand is not running either given that it is ultimately driven by the canon pinion->minute Wheel->hour wheel. In addition to the keyless work, this could be a basic issue with the motion work. Could be a broken tooth on the canon pinion, minute wheel or hour wheel. Could simply be a loose canon pinion. When setting the hands, do they move extremely freely -- i.e. too loose, or can you feel some resistance caused by the friction fit of the canon pinion to the center wheel post??? What lubrication did you use on the post prior to installing the canon pinion? Are you 100% certain that the canon pinion is set fully onto the post?

Removing the dial is critical. Perhaps your keyless work is not installed correctly (e.g. yoke or yoke spring) and the sliding pinion (clutch) is engaging the intermediate wheel when it should not be - this would stop the minute and hour hands, but not the second hand.

 

Good luck!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok so here is another video I just shot so that I could confirm that the drive train is operating properly and the there was transfer through all components which there is. Correct me if I’m wrong but this would as Oldhippy suggested, point me towards the canon pinion. I’m going to flip the movement over and shoot another video to see if I can confirm whether or not I have any slippage there.....




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

Correct - your issue is certainly in the motion works given that the second hand continues to operate. So your first stop should be the canon pinion. See my previous post for other considerations. You're getting close!!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wait a minute, Center arbor drives canon pinion, canon pinion drives minute wheel, minute wheel drives hour wheel, therefore canon pinion should rotate one revolution per minute.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your connections are correct, but math is not :).  Center wheel and canon pinion rotate together. Canon pinion drives minute wheel which drives hour wheel. But the minute hand is attached to the canon pinion. The minute hand (and hence the canon pinion) make 1 rotation per hour!  The fourth wheel (with the seconds hand attached) will rotate once per minute

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok....I knew I was off somewhere....ugggh....well during all that I removed the canon pinion, shot it across the room, crawled around, swept the floor with both broom and magnet, found canon pinion, demagnetized canon pinion, screwed my head back on straight, and now ready to proceed forward ....lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went ahead and tightened the canon pinion slightly to ensure a good snug fit over the arbor. I’ll let it run for awhile now and see what that gets me. If that doesn’t slip, the only other possibility would be hand slippage I think.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I've remained silent on this thread, and at the risk of upsetting everyone, the thing that worries me the most the the apparent absence of Mark. The moderators do a great job and the members also pitch in, and the site seems to run itself, but it is a concern for the future of this forum when the owner is absent for all intents and purposes. Like many of the comments above I would hate to log in one day and things be closed down as I rely on this site for ideas and knowledge and also cheer me up. maybe the Moderators could reach out to him, assuming he does not read this thread, and express our concerns and let us know the plans going forward?
    • That was the exact reason for me starting this thread watchie. Still we haven't worked out how the regulars are going to hook up if it goes tits up. I honestly think something should be arranged to stay in contact, we all help each other so much. 
    • Yeah ive watched that a few times before,  i couldnt find my old school dividers to scribe it up 😅 Yep thats the guy i bought a roll from . Thanks Nicklesilver that answers that perfectly and more or less what i thought an experiment over time would prove . The jumper arm is quite thick along its length, i left it that way intentionally, i thought the original was probably very thin, i didnt see that it was already missing. Setting isn't particularly stiff as such just positive, i still need to take it out and polish where it mates with the stem release. 
    • Yes, "Sold out" is difficult to understand. There doesn't seem to be a lot going on. It's been nine months since any new video was published on the Watch Repair Channel. The Level 4 course on watchfix.com has been in progress for what feels like forever (several years!?). Maybe Mark's enterprises aren't doing well or perhaps already so profitable there's nothing much to motivate him for more material. Or, perhaps these days he's more into crochet. The real reason is probably something entirely different but it would be nice/interesting to know. I don't mean to sound gloomy or pessimistic, but I wouldn't be surprised to be met by an HTTP 404. Every day feels like a gift. Speaking of watchfix.com I've been postponing the "Level 5: Servicing Chronograph Watches" course for a very, very long time. Anyway, I just enrolled on it so it's going to be very interesting to see the videos. I must say, IMO there's nothing really that can compete with Mark's courses when it comes to presentation and video quality. It's simply world-class and makes me associate with some really expensive BBC productions.
    • Steel has some funny properties, or at least counterintuitive. The modulus of elasticity is effectively (not exactly, but close enough) the same for steel that is annealed and hardened. What changes is the point of plastic deformation* . If the movement of your spring doesn't pass that, it should work fine. It looks a little thick, I would thin it a bit maybe from the main body out about halfway, maybe 10-20% thinner (not in thickness, along its form). But if it works it works!   *So- if you have two bars of the same steel, one annealed, one at 600 Vickers (general hardness watch arbors might be), clamp them to a table so the same length is hanging out, and put a weight on the ends, they will bend the same amount. But if you continue to add weight, then remove it, at a point the annealed bar won't return to its original straightness. That's the point of plastic deformation. But up to that point, as springs, they are the same. However- their wear characteristics will be very very different. And getting the hardened bar past its point of plastic deformation takes a lot more effort.
×
×
  • Create New...