Reply To: Bridge/wheel alligment

[david pierce]

Ed,
When you say RELEASE WHEEL I now think you are refering to the ESCAPE WHEEL. The way I look at the train is to number the wheels 1,2,3,4,5. It is a simpler system for me and avoids a lot of confusion. Number one is the mainspring barrel (gear), two is the center wheel, three is the third wheel, four is the fourth wheel and five is the excape wheel. When I disassemble a watch I store the wheels in that order either in compartments (milk bottle caps work fine) or stick them in a pithwood button. When I put the watch back together I don’t have to worry about getting anything mixed up. Reassembling a watch is always difficult because it is easy to damage a pivot when the plates are put back together. I put the plates on lightly but not secured and then go in with the small tools and move the parts around until I am sure that the holes are lined up over the pivots. This is where a microscope can really save the day. As I put the plate or bridge into place I can make sure that the pivots are comming up through the holes. I think everybody else does this differently than the way I do it but it works for me.
david