Reply To: follow up to Watchdogg Post

[Bob Tascione]

Hi B,
I didn’t quite understand all of your questions and have to leave for the U.S. in a few minutes so thought I would just touch on what I think you’re asking.
The pivots should be straight and not mushroomed or tapered. If they are distorted then they should be ground straight and then burnished. If much material needs to be removed then a bushing or new smaller jewel will need to be put into the bridge or plate. If material needs to be removed to the point where the pivots strength becomes an issue then re-pivoting the arbor or replacing it with another one will be the correct fix. Grinding and polishing of watch pivots can be done in the lathe or Jacot tool. Ron DeCorte has put out a good video on using the Jacot tool which I believe can still be purchased through AWCI.
If you are experiencing excess locking on both pallets then closing the banking pins will help. There are times that the pallets need to be re-adjusted but not nearly as common a problem as badly adjusted banking pins. Excess locking isn’t so common that you should be seeing it as often as you do. I’m not sure what size movements you’re working on as I don’t think you mentioned that (could be wrong though) and didn’t put any pics up here of any of them. They may be pocket watch movements but if not then I do recommend starting out with larger pocket watch movements first. It’s much easier to see what’s going on than with smaller movements. You mentioned that you barely see some pivot holes even under 10X which leads me to believe you’re working on some pretty small movements. Again I always recommend starting out and practicing with larger pocket watch movements.

I’ll be away for a few days and will most likely be away from the forum during that time. I’m sure others up here will have some good input for you.

Take care B and enjoy,
Bob