Job Number 220090

This is a grade 575, 16 size, 15 jewels, made about 1952. 

Hairspring repair....

Dial side...

I had to make a final adjustment to the hairspring after seeing it in the movement. I don't often use a stand like this but it was a good choice in this instance since the adjustment was right at the stud.

No problems with this one aside form the hairspring. It turned out running well.

The album for this project is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CrMSJRht8AX7UFN8A

Job Number 220084

Here's is a grade 320 Elgin, 0 size, 7 jewels, made about 1912.

This movement's main problem was that the hairspring kinked and bent in the regulator pins. Here's a before and after of my first pass at fixing that. After this I put the assembly in the watch and made several more adjustments.

These old springs are soft and touchy. They'll kink if you breath on them. Making corrections is a delicate process, one tiny move at a time.

This is the initial pass at the repair.

Running nicely...

Follow the album for this project here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UEprVQ8uP5u5ac4J9

Job Number 220065

This project is a grade 315, 12 size, 15 jewels, made about 1921.

There were no issues with the train, but it did have a broken balance staff and damaged balance jewels. It's not uncommon for an impact that breaks the staff to take a jewel or both with it.

Elgin staffs are riveted. The broken staff is cut off the balance wheel on the lathe. 

The remains of the cut hub are popped off in the stacking tool leaving a tiny washer. I always save these. You never know...

Riveting the new staff...

This tool can tighten a hairspring collet. It's one of those tools that is not often needed, but does the job perfectly when it is.

See the whole album for this project here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/e7R2SJGwHmzrATzi9

Job Number 200038, Hampden Molly Stark

Here's a Hampden Watch Co. 3/0 size, 7 jewel, model 3, "Molly Stark", made about 1901.

The hairspring from this 3/0 size Hampden has a slight inside bend in the about a third of the way out, which is the hardest bend to correct. I find small Hampden springs difficult to manipulate. 

Usually, you can sort of “feel” the tension in a hairspring. The material in some way wants to be in its original coil so correction comes almost naturally. But these things are really soft. They just about deform when you breath on them, and it’s really easy to over-shot a correction. I’ve had trouble with them before. I’m guess they must be all steel, old steel. This one is also has a trace of rust. It’ll likely never time right. I just found another one instead.

Close observers may notice a few odd things about the dial-side winding/setting mechanism (keyless works). Indeed this is a type not commonly found in American movements.

This movement is pin-setting. Notice the button to the right of the winding arbor.

I had to get out the little mainspring winders for this project… Once I was in a watch repair place, just looking around, and there was a display under glass of all sorts vintage watchmakers’ tools, including this once commonly used winder set, that I use all the time.

Here’s a shot of the edge showing the setting pin to the right of the winding arbor. There’s a pusher in the edge of the case that lines out with this pin.

After a little more work on the hairspring today, it’s better. This may well work out fine. The second photo is of a few tools good for hairspring work. The last one is a tool for tightening hairspring collets, which this one also needed. A little of everything…

Here is the pin-set button from the outside of the case. holding down the button puts the movement in setting mode. This is relatively unusual in American movements.

After a bit further hairspring work, it’s finally ready.

See the entire album for this watch here. 

Follow all the projects in detail here:
https://pluspora.com/tags/elgintime

Job Number 190195, Elgin Grade 437

This project is Elgin's grade 437, 12 size, 17 jewels, made about 1914.

The job begins with a pretty obviously broken mainspring.

This grade of Elgin is less common, and it has some unusual features. It’s thinner than other 12 size Elgin movements for one thing. One of the ways this is achieved is to use a thinner barrel and to mount it lower. Note the large round cut out in the base plate. The mainspring barrel arbor on this movement is not supported by the plate.

To accommodate the mainspring barrel cut out, the minute wheel is offset and an intermediary gear added. The minute wheel clamp is virtually identical on millions of Elgin 12 size movements of nearly all grades, but on this grade it is different.

There’s a few different tools around for manipulating hairsprings, and different ones are good in different contexts. On larger springs when adjusting the height of the stud, as I did on this watch, the wide tweezers pictured here are just right. The short, wide nose can securely grip the outer coil and hold it straight, while using the other hand and regular 3C tweezers to change the bend with a slight twist.

The ratchet wheel and mainspring barrel have an unusual design, for Elgin.

Here is the dial side of this movement. Note how the mainspring barrel comes all the way down through the base plate.

Project link (all the posts): https://pluspora.com/tags/190195_et

Follow all the projects in detail here: 

https://pluspora.com/tags/elgintime  

And the album for this project is here: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TpjUJ5BMR4PRmwtp9

Damaged Hairspring

Take look at this regular and hairspring. I had serviced this watch and returned it to its owner. It was then sent back to me with the complaint that it did not run, in the state shown here. The owner denied touching anything.

The regular is turned to extreme, and the hairspring is yanked clear out of the watch hard enough that it actually broke. It's harder than one might think to break a pocketwatch hairspring, it's steel after all. This damage took significant force.

My first suggestion was that perhaps there was a curious child in the household, but was told this was not the case.

This happened a number of years ago. The owner paid for the additional repair, but maintained ignorance of what had happened throughout.

Elgin Grade 184

Some repairs were needed for this Elgin grade 184.

It's an 18 size movement, 17 jewels, made about 1898. 

This watch started out with a pretty messed up hairspring. It's restorable though. Here is a series of images showing getting it back in shape.

There is a sort of U/V like symbol as a serial number prefix on the secondary serial number stamps.

Here is that mark under the balance cock.

When put in the case, this watch did not always go into setting mode. There is a lever piece that turns slightly to change between modes. It is actuated by a spring so that it is either pressing and held into winding mode, or released to setting mode when the crown is pulled out.

The problem is that wear and damage in the plate around the screw that the piece turns on causes the screw to go down too tight and bind the moving part. The head of the screw it supposed to sit on a lip, visible here, leaving the part free.

But this screw can go down too far. It has to be snug though, so the solution is a tiny washer. It is very thin, and narrow enough to only span the lip. The screw can then be snug down, but not be in quite as far. That should do it.

The washer is left over from changing a balance staff. It is worth hanging on to those!

This shows the entire setting mechanism on the dial side.

Getting dirty?
Try this amazing soap!