Reply To: well, here goes

[Bob Tascione]

Hi William,

Yes I think you’re correct. The lock angle is a portion of arc whose center point would be the radius of circle swept by a pallet. The drop would be a portion of arc traced by an escape tooth tip whose center point would be the radius of the escape wheel. The half degree you mention seems pretty tight to me but if De Carle said 1/2 degree then I’m definitely wrong. I was under the impression that 1 to 2 degrees of lock and drop is the amount to shoot for. The less the better I guess. In practice I just eyeball it anyway and check for best performance. One thing that I feel is important and I try to shoot for is an equal inside and outside drop and equal entry pallet and exit pallet lock.

Having both bushing options as you mention is always a good thing. KWM with their smaller O.D. makes for a cleaner looking job (just my opinion) but it’s often necessary to go with the larger O.D. that Bergeon offers so having both to choose from is nice.

For pivot straightening I prefer using the smooth jawed pliers rather than a hole punch. I feel like I have more control over the straightening process because I can work slowly by pulling and bending, working it little by little. I use both ways but if the pivot is badly bent then I always play it safe and go with the plier method. You may find the complete opposite is true for you though.

I can’t quite visualize what you’re saying about the half hour strike when you say

otherwise it would gong the 1/2 hour too many times in a row.

Can you possibly elaborate a little on that? I believe you do want the train to stop before lifting the hammer and have a small run at it when half hour strike begins.

Again, good post William!!

Bob