Escapement Wheel Replacement

[wingman]

Well I finally got the Ingraham Clock back together and no joy. The verge and escapement wheel will not rotate past the verge and or push the palets. The palets slips by the wheel part way around then catch without getting a push or passing further. I tried bending the verge pin and the escapement wheel arm trying to correct the problem but with no success. I believe the problem is the that the escapement wheel is so worn it is out of round. Some teeth appear longer than others and the teeth look more like hairs. I tried straighting the teeth with little success. I located a 48 tooth escapement wheel at Merritts page 110 of the Merritts catalog. I see that you can remove the shaft and pivot and put it into the new wheel. What is the best way to do this? Also the catalog says it comes as a set with a new verge. Do you think the verge will be the same as what the Ingraham clock has.

Help!
Steve

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Steve,
I don’t have a Merritts catalog down here with me so I’m not able to look at that escape wheel. Looking at the pics in your previous post “Ingraham Clock Repair” it looks like the verge is set too deep into your escape wheel. If you look at the pic I’ve uploaded here (your pic with red lines added) you’ll see the red lines resting on the verge arm mount post (can’t remember the actual name). This arm can be pivoted toward or away from your escape wheel. If you haven’t already done so you might try moving the arm out a bit until the teeth just begin to escape and give impulse to your pallets. Keep adjusting it until each tooth gives impulse and can clear the pallet. At this point move it out a tiny bit more to assure clearance for all teeth. If you get skipping or inconsistant ticks then you may need to top or possibly change your escape wheel. I’m not able to see the condition of the teeth in your pics.
Hope this helps Steve
Have fun,
Bob

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[wingman]

Yes that seemed to be part of the problem. I tried moving the excapement wheel arm to bring it away thinking that perhaps the new bushing took it out of alignment. This managed to move the verge away. Then it would skip and then catch and stop without getting any push on the verge. I noticed the escapement wheel teeth seem worn comparied to other clocks including another newer Ingraham movement that I have. Though it is not the same model has an identical escapement wheel and verge, only the wheel rotates the other direction. I have some photos of the escapement wheel to show the wear. I’m not sure if they are high enough quality though.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[oldtimers]

Hello Wingman,
Pics are not too clear but from what I can see it appears that one section of teeth had been slightly damaged. Although I have seen much worse that still worked it may be time to top the wheel.
I’m confused though. You keep referring to an escapement wheel arm. Are you talking about the escape wheel bridge that the escape wheel pivot hole is in or do you mean the verge arm that Bob sites with the post that the verge fits on?
John

[wingman]

Thanks John

Sorry I wasn’t sure what the correct term was. It is the bridge that the escapement wheel pivots on.
The escapement wheel teeth look to be worn to fine points. Some of the very tips are slightly bent. I get the impression that once the verge is close enought to get push other teeth are slightly longer and bind with the point of the tooth hitting the palet. The wheel will skip several teeth then bind.

I have ordered another wheel. I’m not sure if the new center is large enough. The woman at Merrits told me the hole was 2/16 of an inch across. I wasn’t all that confident in her measuring abilities. However she was really trying to help. I measured the escapement wheel shaft and it comes out to .330″ or 8.38 mm.
Steve

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Steve,
Curious to see a pic of that wheel when you get it. Good to know you can order one if it looks good.
Please let us know how it looks.
Thanks,
Bob

[pkamargo]

Well, I will tell you what I do when I find an escape wheel that has teeth that aren’t the same height – worn or damaged, or just out of center.
I get a small file or something rigid and flat and wrap a piece of fine grade sanding paper around it (400 or 500).
Then – with escape wheel assembled in movement plates – I hold this wrapped file just near the edge of the wheel and make the wheel turn fast back and forth. As I turn the wheel I get the file slowly closer, holding firmly till it touches the teeth tips. This way I can ‘turn’ the wheel to a perfect circle, all teeth with exactly same height.
Unless the difference between the higher and lower teeth heights is too big, this method results in a good correction.

[Author]

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