Reply To: Pocket watch running WAY-WAY FAST

Hey Watchdogg congratulations on being hands on now!!
That’s really good to hear. You should move forward very quickly now.
Yes I think there’s a good chance that the hairspring is causing problems somewhere. Before you start dealing with the hairspring though you may want to make sure that all the timing screws are on the balance. They do sometimes unscrew from the rim and disappear into the movement. One side of the balance rim should match the other side perfectly. That is the screw pattern should be the same. If that looks good then inspect the hairspring very closely under high magnification to see if there’s any trace of dirt, rust or oil. Often times the hairspring will need additional cleaning as they can be very stubborn when it comes to letting loose of crud like oil. Then while the hairspring is vibrating observe how it “breathes” and check to see if there’s any possibility at all that one or more coils is making contact during oscillation. Then viewing from the edge check to make sure that the spring is on the exact same plane as the balance and that it’s not making contact with the underside of the balance cock and especially not touching a balance arm. There are other possibilities such as an escape tooth skipping past a pallet etc. but these are much rarer so would want to check that hairspring thoroughly first. If you have any doubt about the hairspring sticking then would definitely clean it again to see what happens.

Good luck and let us know Watchdogg!
Bob