Job Number 180083

This is a grade 92 Elgin movement, 16 size, 11 jewels, made about 1883. 

Note the damage to the plate around the head of the screw. This is from someone forcing a screwdriver that has too wide a blade. All the screws are like this. It's pretty common, I see this sort of damage all the time.

This watch has a male winding arbor. Cases for movements like this are extremely hard to find. This watch has a nice case, but it has to go out for a slight repair, so no photos just yet...

Another bit of repair damage...

The set screw for the hairspring, on the balance cock, has been striped in the past and then had the hole tightened with a punch. Again, things like this are why I am careful not to use the word "restoration". I can't do anything about this "fix" done decades ago in all likelihood. This part can never be "like new" again.

 A divot like this is far from the worst thing I have seen of course. It solves the problem, and it doesn't show since it is on the underside. But is would have been far better to have not striped the screw in the first place. These are tiny screws fit into very soft brass. It takes very little abuse to ruin them.

Just look at what this screw does, holding the hairspring stud in place, with very little stress. I little thought and understanding goes a long way in watches. The screw does not need to be torqued.

The album for this project is here.

New Arrival, Job Number 180099

A G.M. Wheeler...

New Arrival

Job number 180097... 

Job Number 180078

This is is an Elgin military timer, grade 469, 16 size, 7 jewels, made about 1945. 

It took awhile, and a couple of tries, to acquire the correct replacement balance staff.

When I finally got the part that was right, I thought for sure I'd have to reduce the pivots. They looked pretty big (original replacement staffs seem to often come that way, with the idea that you cut them down to what you need). But the pivots turned to be perfectly sized. I think they made these timers extra robust.

Here is the broken staff and what's left of the hub.

The new staff is riveted together with the balance wheel.

A "dry fit" has excellent motion.

 Installing the one-piece double roller...

 All set.

Job Number 180081

This Elgin is a grade 318, 0 size, 15 jewels, made about 1905.

This allowed the watch to continue to be used as an open face.

Job Number 180080

This Elgin is a grade 318, 0 size, 15 jewels, made about 1905. 

See the entire album for this project here.

I have seen this a handful of times... This is a hunter case. You can see the remains of the hinge at the left side, and the latch near the stem. At some point the front cover was broken off and is no longer with the watch.

The hunter crystal, which would be paper-thin and extremely fragile, has been replaced with a standard open-face, much thicker, crystal.

This allowed the watch to continue to be used as an open face.

Job Number 180079

This is a grade 582, 16 size, 15 jewels, military timer made about 1943. 

The "clutch" on these has no setting mode. There's no teeth at one end. And a simple coil spring holds the clutch in winding position.

Here's the stem parts in place.

On these watches, the minute motion is transferred to a sub-dial, while the seconds are moved to the center. The actual center wheel is minutes as normal, but it is on a hollow tube with the shaft down the middle for the large seconds hand.

Anyway, there is an extra cock and pinion to make this all happen.

Much of this watch looks like a normal 16 size Elgin.

Under the dial is where all the interesting stuff is. The dial is on risers to make room. Start, stop and fly back...

Here's where the staff is for the sub dial on the front.

Elgin used a gold flashed finished to conserve nickel for the war effort. Other parts have a black finish.

Here is the dial side of the 4th wheel. Note that it is a normal 16 size Elgin part. The shaft sticks up where, on a normal watch, the second hand would go. 

See the entire album for this project here.

By the way, this watch is not the same as job number 180078, which is also a timer. That one is waiting for a balance staff.

New Arrival

Here's a late model Hamilton 992B in for service...

Job Number 180082

This one is an Elgin grade 44, 18 size, 15 jewels, made about 1891.

I have mentioned about a few watches recently how the post for the gear between the main wheel and the ratchet wheel is sometimes held in place with divots.

This one doesn't have that.

However for some reason part of the lever at the other end has been stamped with a punch to lengthen that portion. It's not immediately clear what problem this resolved.

Here is another image made using a micro LED inside the movement as a light source. I think this will work out really well with some watches.