New Guy Here

[watchdogg]

I have taken apart an “Elgin” 15s pocket watch and cleaned then oiled. The dog-gone thing was running fine for a couple days and then it stopped.
I noticed that the pallet fork is not touching the escapement wheel,therefore watch not running. What can I do?
I noticed my email address maybe wrong, but its [email protected]. I’ll go back and check then change if it is wrong..
Thanks,Phil

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Phil,
It sounds like something is stopping or actually jamming the train and the escape tooth just isn’t advancing to reach the pallet stone. When you manually move the fork back and forth does the escape tooth jump forward? If not try letting the power down and remove the pallet fork. Then add a couple of winds to the mainspring and see if the escape wheel spins forward. The wheel should spin until all power is gone and then spin backwards a few turns. If it’s sluggish or not moving at all please let us know and we can cover some possible causes for the problem as there are many things that can cause this problem. If it is jammed though then one quick thing to look for would be a loose screw or some other material stuck in the gear train somewhere. This is a common problem.
Please let us know and Enjoy!
Bob

[watchdogg]

Thanks Bob.. That did the trick. Don’t know what the problem was but after I found everything spun free with the fork out I just kept putting it all back together again and now it’s running GREAT!
Thanks,glad I had this problem and glad you helped me figure it out.
Thanks,Phil ( aka..wachdogg)

[Bob Tascione]

You’re welcome Phil,
You may find that the problem repeats itself as it could be something like a bad gear tooth, raised barrel cap etc. that only reveals it’s nasty little self after it’s been running for a while. If it does happen again and you still need help just let us know.
Hope you fixed the problem though.
Enjoy,
Bob

[watchdogg]

Ok folks, Phil here again. yes I did my first watch . A Walham 16 s pocket watch and everything went well. I took out all wheels and trian, cleaned in “R&L” cleaner and both rinse.
everything worked well for acouple hours. I was sorta upset that after the big party I had for myself it no longer worked.
After the lesson I learned from my last topic I see that every thing spins very well with out the fork and hairspring.?
What yall thinkThanks guys,Phil

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Phil,
You may want to check that the balance hole and cap jewels are not broken or cracked. Also they must be VERY clean. When cleaning make sure to peg the hole jewels as this can make a big difference. Also check the condition of the pivots. Make sure they’re straight and have a good finish. Then check that the hairspring is laying flat and not touching the balance arm, underside of balance cock etc. and is between the regulator pins. Also check that the roller jewel is tight and perpendicular to the roller table. A loose jewel will rob the balance of impulse.
If all looks well try putting the balance back into the watch without the pallet fork and give the watch a slight twist or tap the balance with a stiff brush bristle to get the balance vibrating and observe it’s action in different positions. It should vibrate freely in ALL positions and eventually come to a “gradual”, not abrupt stop.
If this all checks out ok then replace the pallet fork and check it’s action without the balance by winding the watch and moving the pallet lever back and forth with a piece of peg wood. It should snap to the other pallet after impulse.
Let us know how things check out and if all’s working well we can go on from there.

Also please start a new thread “Topic” (I could do it but it would be under my user name) with the title “Waltham 16s Pocket Watch Problem” and I will move this and your previous post into it so this thread will have it’s own topic. Thanks

Good luck,
Bob

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