New Arrival, Job Number 220023

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New Arrival, Job Number 220021

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New Arrival, Job Number 220020

The album for this project is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mHTma2KthFfUnBBo7 

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Job Number 220004, Elgin Grade 73

This movement is an Elgin grade 73, 18 size, 7 jewels made about 1894.



This incorrect screw on the balance cock is a bad sign. Sometimes I find these screws have been over tightened into the soft brass plate and the threads ruined. Then someone puts in a larger screw. Hopefully the correct screw was just lost and I can replace it, or if not, at least find a better matching replacement.

The post on this lever (technically a "vibrating arm") was loose. These parts are actually threaded, and it's odd because the threads on this one were fine. Fairly often I see them jammed back in and dimpled punched in the top to hold it.

This one I just screwed back in and it seems fine. Worth noting that these are left-handed threads...




For some reason the upper balance jewels were extremely snug. I ended up having to use a surprising amount of force in the staking set to get them out for cleaning. 

I expanded the setting a little so it won't be an issue for the next person.

The balance cock screw was indeed stripped. I found a better screw with just enough grip, I hope.

Running fine now.


A minor adjustment to true the balance wheel and it's ready for a fore tests of testing.

See the album for this project here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rC4kULz6zUrERdox7
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Job Number 220002, Grade 374, Missing Some Parts?

This 16 size, grade 374, Father Time movement came in reported to have a non-functioning up/down indicator. When I removed the barrel bridge it was immediately obvious why. In this first image, the cut-out to one side of the barrel should hold a complicated little stack of gears that transfers motion from the barrel edge down to a thin, flat gear under the barrel. The gears are completely missing.


The thin flat gear is also not present. 

This post about a similar Veritas movement shows some of the missing parts.
It's odd that the entire works of this complication would be missing. The hour wheel-like indicator gear, the wheel that drives it, and original hand itself are present on the dial side. The movement is otherwise in good condition, although showing some wear.

The album for this project is here:
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Job Number 210159

This watch is an Elgin  grade 571, 16 size, 21 jewels, made about 1949. 

It's always nice to work on one of these in good condition. It all goes together nicely. The only small issue this one had was that the mainspring that was in there had its lower tab in the wrong place for the barrel. No problem, I cut the tab off. It will be fine.

The rate was good with no effort, but the beat error was surprisingly highly. That correction and a dial washer and it's ready to test run for a few days.

There's unfortunately some cross-threading damage to the back. It's tricky to get on straight, but it's not the worst I've seen.


On the 4th day of running well, the mainspring gave out. Or so I thought. It wasn't broken, hooked fine, winding was fine, just no power. It took me a minute find the problem...


The problem with this movement wasn't the mainspring at all. The center wheel arbor couldn't handle the strength and the rivet to the center arbor failed. The center pinion and arbor were just turning free as the watch was wound. At first glance this looks like the safety pinion might have triggered, but it did not.


It takes a very specific stake to repair this. I had to look in three different sets to find one just right. It's running again, but this one will have to have extra testing. It's an uncommon repair.


Album here:
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Job Number 210160

Broken roller jewel... Interestingly, the roller table appears to be copper? It has the tone in color anyway. 



Roller jewel replacement... That roller table sure looks like copper.

Which way should the ratchet wheel go? The visible did has the decorative finish. The underside is plain.



Running nicely... I like to leave movements running overnight after a repair like this, before timing ang casing up.



One missing case screw replaced and it's ready for testing for a few days.


Album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fw9jQ9Ru9Pyf2jTZ7







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Job Number 210157, Elgin Grade 240, B. W. Raymond

This one started out interesting. The mainspring is completely missing.

It's a motor barrel so the barrel came right apart as I disassembled. 

Broken balance staff...


The movement is an Elgin grade 240, 18 size, 19 jewels, B. W. Raymond model, made about 1909.


Installing a brand new, strong, alloy mainspring in Elgin's motor barrel is tricky and has to be done carefully. Should this spring go flying it could do serious injury. 
Assembly seemed to go well... at first.
The bevel pinion and clutch failed to rest in contact in winding mode. The movement wouldn't wind. Odd... 

At first I thought either of the parts might be an incorrect substitute. Some Elgin bevel pinions have an extra shoulder at the back that would perhaps cause it to sit further up. But I was able to determine that all these parts were correct by comparing them to a Veritas I happen to also have on the bench. The bevel pinion can move up, as shown here. But the clutch is as far back as it can go in winding mode in this image. What could the trouble be? Quite a mystery...

In the old Google+ days it was easy to turn this sort of thing into a watchmaking puzzle and post the answer later. Here, I guess I'll just go right ahead and divulge the problem.

On the dialside where the lever is, there is a spring loaded cam that pushes the clutch into winding mode "by default". When the lever is pulled out, it pushes the setting lever, and thus the clutch forward into setting mode.

The setting lever cam was installed incorrectly such that the spring pushed the clutch into setting position, and block it from going all the way back for winding. The direction the clutch push by default was the clue. The last person in this watch took the setting lever off and and put it back on the wrong side of its spring.

Next up, the pallet and balance staff.

The broken staff is removed by cutting away the hub in the lathe, then breaking the riveted side away in a staking set.


This shows riveting on the new staff.

Things often don't fit perfectly. I had to tighten the hairspring collet using this dedicated tool. 

The roller table for this movement is a double roller in two parts. I guess I didn't take a picture of that. It takes some extra careful work to assemble. You can see one of these here.

Running well so far...



I replaced one of the plate screws that was an incorrect style, and added a couple of timing washers. It's now ready for a few days of testing.

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Job Number 210153, Hampden Special

This Hampden cleaned up really well. It's the movement from the previous post, here, an 18 size Hampden Special, 17 jewels, made about 1896.


On the dial side there were two broken springs related to the lever. One of these holds the lever itself in snugly when it is in winding position. The other acts to push the mechanism into the "default" winding mode when the lever is in. Pulling the lever out pushes against that spring to enable setting. Both these were broken, and the broken pieces where nowhere to be found.

This creates a bit of a mystery. How to replace these springs when what was there before is unknown? The best approach in this situation is to carefully study the mechanism and understand how the springs do their respective jobs given the screws and posts that define their endpoints. 

It helps that I have seen this type of arrangement many times before, but just the same, using springs I have, and not make new ones from scratch, requires careful study of the dimensions and geometry.


For my first attempt, I found a spring that fit will between the corner of the vibrating arm and the fixed point on the plate. The spring's maximum compression is thus in the middle of the lever's travel in and out. The lever thus gets a good feel to it. 

However, there's no tension pushing the vibrating arm to winding mode when the lever isn't pushing on it. Just the same, this probably would work since the gear motion when winding tends to "roll" the arm toward the ratchet wheel anyway. Indeed, many movements, including smaller Elgins (which drive me crazy for exactly this reason) depend on this tendency to engage winding.

I kept looking at springs for a better solution.

For the final configuration I used two springs. The one acting on the lever is again most relaxed at the two lever positions, so the lever has a good feel and tend to stay in or out.

The other spring pulls the vibrating arm into winding mode when the lever in in, and not pushing on it.

This is setting mode, the next photo is winding mode.

As an aside, the spring acting on the lever isn't really right. It would have been a spring with coils proving slightly less tension, but being itself under less stress while also staying out of the way of the minute wheel. Other Hampdens have such an arrangement.



Mainsprings for this watch are scarce. I obtained an Illinois spring with very close specs. It will work fine.
 


Hampdens always seem to me to have a lot of parts. Here's the ratchet wheel and click. This all get covered with a clamp that also has a notch guiding the vibrating arm.

It seems to be running pretty well. How about that regulator! 
Note the Hamilton style clamp on the hairspring stud. Those are always fun.

The movement has a broken cannon pinion (broken one upper right). I found two candidate replacements. One was much too loose. Luckily the other was much more snug. I say luckily because this type of cannon pinion is almost impossible to tighten. You pretty much have to find one that fits as is. They vary a lot though. Q/A at the time wasn't really a thing.


Oddball dust cover... The brass strip is held to an otherwise free part, that fits over the mainspring barrel, with two screws.


Not sure how testing will go on this one. But it may just have to be as it is. Parts are just not common.

Find more Hampden examples here:

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