Question:
Can I adjust a key-wind cannon pinion as I would one on a pendant set watch?
Answer:
No. The key-set cannon pinions (or every one I have seen), are
much thicker and can't be tightened the same way as others. You'd only
end up breaking something, maybe the tool.
This is a problem with no good solution. What you can do
may depend on the circumstances. Notching the base with a
three-cornered punch is not recommended as the notches won't last if the
watch is set much, and may grind the center staff. On the other hand, for
an antique watch that is just displayed and occasionally wound, this may
actually be OK. It will make the hands work.
Some folks put some sort of material inside the
cannon pinion, such as a fine grit, a tiny bit of fabric or even a hair! This
seems a bad choice to me as anything like that can also grind the center
staff, or get out and into the mechanism or at least the center wheel
baring, which seems bad.
A few times, I have seen the side of a cannon pinion
filed down so that the usual method would then work. This seems like
excessive modification to the part though, and it is is not really
carefully done the part would be ruined.
When I've had this problem, I have replaced the
cannon pinion or the center staff. That's the only "correct" answer.
It's usually the center staff that's the worn part. But these parts
are getting very hard to find. The last couple of times I had to alter a
replacement part slightly to work. This won't always be an option as
parts disappear from the world. The center staff could be made, but
making a cannon pinion is quite a procedure, requiring rigs I certainly
don't have. This is one of the repairs that's likely to render some
watches non-fixable in the near future, at least not easily.
Here's a few blog posts on the subject:
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