Job Number 210149

This project is an Elgin grade 216, 6 size, 15 jewels, made about 1902. 

That's one dirty mainspring...

There was a lot of wear on this movement, but it cleaned up fine.

A replacement balance staff and one balance jewel and it's running nicely. The keyless works on these often functions poorly just due to design flaws and aged steel spring, but this movement is acting like it will be fine in that area.

The big problem with this watch was that the winding arbor end of the stem was completely sheared off. The piece fell out as soon as I removed the movement. That's an odd thing to find broken like that, but later I found out why. The first thing to do was to figure out how to get the crown off without the stem to grip.

This required removing the latch spring from the case body, something I almost never do, so I proceeded with caution. On this case the spring is held with a retaining pin. I was able to push the pin all the way in and out of the way. Then the spring could be removed, and I could reuse the same pin when I put it back.

With the spring out of the way, the body of the stem could be just barely gripped, the crown unscrewed and the sleeve turned out of the case neck

Here is the broken stem, the sleeve and the crown. On most vintage American watches the "snap" in and out of the crown is a function of the case and these parts in the neck. 

This design is called "negative setting". You can see how the stem pops over a shoulder in the stem. You can also see the larger hub on the stem that pushes the case's latch spring down to open the front.

This is the stem I found to replace the broken one. It's a very good match (these parts are not standardized).

Reassembled, this case looked like everything would work, however it was really hard to get the movement in the case, and the stem bound badly when in winding position. Looking at the neck of the case I realized why. And I now see why the stem was broken. It's bent. How this could happen without other damage to the case is beyond me.The crystal was broken of course, but that's it.

The case ended up having to be replaced, but it's finally ready for a few days of testing. This is the last watch from 2021.

See the album for this project here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RBDmj5j8hg5xpaXk7

Job Number 220016, Slipping Cannon Pinion

It seemed alright for awhile, but the cannon pinion is slipping. The watch ticks, the second hand moves, but the hour and minute hand are still.

The hands ride on the cannon pinion, which is friction fit over the center wheel shaft. The cannon pinion has to be snug enough so that the hands move with the center wheel, but it also has to slip when the time is being set.

The cannon pinion often has to be tightened a little after a watch is cleaned. Unfortunately, now I have to start the testing cycle all over.

I also went ahead and tightened the second hand. Its fit was OK, but since this it a lever-set watch it's a good idea to make sure it won't get knocked off easily.

The album for this project is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uPCp4erae19SGjQP9

Job Number 220016, Waltham Vanguard

This one is a Waltham Vanguard model, 16 size, 23 jewels, made about 1948. It's one of Waltham's best railroad grade products.

This is Waltham's motor barrel, jeweled on a 23 jewel watch. The bearing is literally a full depth cylinder for the arbor. Beautiful bit of work there...

No problems with this one.

The album for this project is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/uPCp4erae19SGjQP9

Job Number 220013

Here's an Elgin grade 479, 12 size, 17 jewels, made about 1927. 

No problems with this one, looking good.

The album for this project is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/sAW6ojCw2HTmnhLQ6

This is an especially nice "peacock" dial. These dials usually have not held up well over the decades. They are subject to corrosion.

Job Number 220004

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 looking 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.

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.

See the album for this project here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rC4kULz6zUrERdox7

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

New Arrival, Job Number 220027

 Find the complete album for this project here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SVVwjuc5A9BqerFQ8

New Arrival, Job Number 220025

 Find the album for this project here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fme6k6DWSPVybmV99

Job Number 220006, Still Not Right

I have not been able to get to a reasonable positional error on this one, so I'm swapping out the upper balance jewel again.

See the album for this project here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/T9w1ZrFPBcyQ89jM6

Job Number 220008, Bunn Special

Here a nice Illinois Watch Company Bunn Special, 16 size, 21 jewels, made about 1921.

It's always a pleasure to work on high end American watches in good condition. Everything just falls together perfectly.

A small amount of fine tuning, beat and rate, and it's off and running. No problems worth noting.

The album for this project is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7D1qqCeBEoKqeaXw8

Job Number 220002, Continued

This 16 size, grade 374, Father Time movement came in reported to have a non-functioning up/down indicator. On taking it apart I found the entire up/down mechanism inexplicably missing. I have never seen these parts for sale.

Miraculously, a source turned up with a cache of NOS parts for this complication. They weren't cheap, but they're here and it looks like it will all work.

The parts will work, but there is one problem. The stack of gears that transfers motion from below the mainspring to the dial side is too tall. The barrel bridge does not sit all the way down in place. The part that solely (as far as I can tell) dictates that height is the pinion 'G'. All the other parts have a fixed size and the arbor of the assembly just floats at the lower end so it doesn't care.

On close examination, I noticed that part G is really rough on one end in particular. On the other end it flatter, but does have a barely notable lip on the hole. These ends should be polished smooth.

I think this part is unfinished and it is by design that this piece should be reduced for the particular movement during final assembly at the factory since each movement could be just a bit different and this assembly needs to fit to a higher tolerance than other parts under that bridge. 

Here is the slight gap, visible at the left end of the upper plate as it sits on the up/down assembly. It seems like the pinion needs to be shorter by that amount.

I need to study the whole thing more and think about it before doing anything though.

Meanwhile, here's more parts from this movement that are getting hard to locate. The mainspring for Elgin's motor barrel hooks at the edge of the spring end. This the only time they used ends like this, on 16 and 18 size motor barrels. These springs are still around, but have become more expensive.

That hook attaches to a machined-in raised portion at the end of the slot at the outside edge of the barrel.These barrels are really, really hard to find if that hook area breaks or wears. It looks like a tab cut as part of the slot that could be duplicated, but it is isn't. It is manufactured into the floor or the barrel. I have not been able to succeed at repairing one of these in a way that would last.

When I first started watchmaking around 2000, I had 3 or 4 of these barrels. They all have been used in repairs. I did not at the time realize how scarce they would become.

By the way, most of my project get a single blog post. Some, like this, will have more than one. To look for project posts, use the search box with the job number. See all the posts for this project here. 

The album for this project is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1S13eWk9AjXT1qce8

Job Number 210147, Elgin Grade 214

This 18 size, 23 jewel, grade 214 Veritas model is one we've seen before. It's been job numbers 210147, 200090 and 180034.

I have literally lost track of how many times this watch has been sent back since 2018. It's off the charts at 6 or 7, maybe more (one other time in 20 years I had one other watch come back twice). This time it was stopping, again, and I found the roller jewel to be loose AGAIN. Cleaned it all up and reshellaced it, again. Now it's running fine, again.

The album for this watch is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CXHQYqyPOB08UIOA3

Job Number 220006

Well that's a broken mainspring ... Also a broken tooth on the ratchet wheel.

Over on Instagram I received several comments and a couple direct messages about this image asking how this could have happened to a mainspring.

Although this is a spectacular case, it's not uncommon with old steel springs. The watch was wound up when it stopped running for what ever reason. The spring was at least mostly coiled in toward the middle. It partly "set" in that shape over time, so tension on the coils was uneven. There was some rust that weakened the material. The outer coils just gave way at some point and opened up, while parts of the spring stayed "wound" in the middle. The weakness and uneven tension cause multiple breaks because the spring can't uncoil.

This keyless works design in many smaller Elgins is something to be dreaded. It very often works poorly as it depends on springs and other parts having just right tension and very low wear. Thankfully this one is almost like new and works perfectly.

This movement is a grade 289 Elgin, 6 size, 7 jewels, made about 1907.

Everything is in really nice condition. There's a slight grain to the finish on the plates.

I ended up replacing the upper balance jewel due to just a bit too much wear. A hairspring adjustment was also called for, and I am pretty sure that still isn't quite right. It's always a pain with these smaller Elgins... I'm leaving it in the case running for awhile, so the stem will be in winding mode.

It took quite a lot of work to get the rate in the ballpark, but it's finally ready for a few days of testing. Mechanically, just as far as running correctly, it's very good.

See the album for this project here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/T9w1ZrFPBcyQ89jM6