Job Number 260030

A quick dial repair and this one is ready for a few days of testing.

Elgin serial number 6958332 is an 18 size, 7 jewel, grade 96, made about 1897.

Follow the album for this project here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bm6aeqVarEpqJVGi7

Job Number 260005

The movement was in over-banked state when it arrived, and sure enough the guard pin needed adjustment. Hopefully it's ok now, but that is one aspect of escapement adjustment that is notoriously touchy. You can never be completely sure.

Elgin number 13415400 is a grade 303, 12 size, 7 jewel movement, made about 1908.

Follow the album for this watch here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3Usmv18hRqJiYM639

Before...

Here's my redo of the dial repair.

Job Number 260005

This first red flag here is that the old dial repair, which I will definitely redo, spills over onto the edge of the movement. The patch/fill was done after the dial was in place.

The damaged area is exactly at one of the dial feet, and sure enough the dial did not want to lift up at that location. 

When I finally got the dial off I found that it had been glued on at that spot.

So what sequence of events led to this condition? We can't know for sure, but I can say that it will be much better for the next person that follows me in servicing this watch.

Elgin number 13415400 is a grade 303, 12 size, 7 jewel movement, made about 1908.

Follow the album for this watch here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3Usmv18hRqJiYM639

Job Number 170126

This is an Illinois Watch Company 18 size, 17 jewel, grade 61, model 6. Lever-set.

These first photos show the lever mechanism under the dial. It's a little different... And a little crudely finished. But it works fine.

There's some pretty bad dial damage. There's no way this is going to disappear, but we do what we can.

See the album for this project here.

Job Number 180089

This is a New York Standard Watch Company 18 size watch, 7 jewels, 5th model.

Here's the dial side with the gears that set and wind in place. Finish and construction on watches like this is crude. You can see machine and tool marks everywhere. Prior repairs don't help either. It can be rough getting things to move together like they should.

This is the ratchet clamp. It integrates the click spring, which is just a flat piece of steel. It could be part of an old mainspring.

Some interesting things here... Note that the lower balance jewel is on a raised platform, rather than integrating into the upper plate as most American 18 size watches do.

The banking pins are set in the lower plate too. They won't be adjustable once the dial in place.

Lastly the tain layout is actually a little odd. The balance pivot point leave the edge of the balance almost at the edge of the movement. And the 4th wheel's position leaves the seconds hand unusually close to the center of the face.

Here is an odd crescent divot in the bottom of the upper plate. I'm not sure what the explanation is for that.

The upper balance jewels, pivot and  cap, are held friction fit by a split in the end of the balance cock. No screws.

I've never seen this before.

Slight dial repair, near the lever as is so often needed...

The outer end of the mainspring on this watch was shot. It really should be replaced. Unfortunately, it's a scarce part. I could not locate one. So I redid the hole in the end of the spring. It will slightly shorten the watch's full runtime, but I think it will hold.

Job Number 180038 (Formerly 130123)

Here's a quick dial repair before and after...

Number 180038 will now get tested for several days. It's starting out well though.

See the complete album here. 

Job Number 170079

Rust is a funny thing. Sometimes, it comes right off, leaving a pretty good surface - if you're careful.

See the whole album for this project here.

Here are the secondary serial number stamps under the balance cock.

This Hampden has an interesting keyless works, for winding/setting. It works well, and is also pretty closely related to a lever-setting relative.

Dial patch... This one was pushing what you can get away with using this technique.

Elgin Grade 70, Dial Repair

Here are several images of the secondary serial number stamps on all the major parts of this watch, in place they can't be seen when the watch is assembled.

Elgin used a prefix on these stamps for the first digits. In this case, the 'W' is a stand in for '45'.

This is a Swiss-style, tangential pallet. This design is still used in mechanical watches today.

This watch is lever-set. It is not set by snapping out the crown. Instead a lever is pulled out from under the dial to engage setting. This image shows the lever extended.

This image shows the setting lever retracted - winding mode. Note how the circular part in the middle has moved.

The dial has an old, and pretty sloppy, repair.

The damage to the dial is pretty bad, but the repair could be better.

Here is the dial after my repair. Not perfect, but better. There isn't really a way to truly repair enamel dials, but some damage can be hidden.

Find more examples here.

This is a closer view of the center setting/winding parts. The inside gear in a wheel with teeth on the inside and the outside. This design is rather clever, but it has a flaw. There is often, on an old watch, not enough tension to hold that inner wheel engaged to the cannon pinion in the center. Setting tends to slip. I have a hard time getting these to work well.

Elgin didn't use this design for long.

This watch is an Elgin grade 70, 18 size, 15 jewels, made about 1892.