Re-assembly of the train bridge & gears

[jpewslgl]

I have a Waltham movement (s/n 18922948) that I have taken apart and cleaned.

I am in the process of re-assembling the watch and am up to replacing the train bridge. I have watched that portion of the video several times now, and have come to the conclusion that Bob has all of his watches trained to automatically fall into place on command.

I cannot get all 4 gears to line up so that the bridge will go on. This particular bridge covers the center wheel, the third & fourth wheel and the escape wheel. The wheels always seem to fall just enough to keep from meshing completely and the stems going into the holes in the bridge.

Are there any tips or tricks to make this work better? I have tried to move the center wheel so the gears mesh,but this only seems to make one or more move to the side rather than spin in place.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time!
Jimmy

[Bob Tascione]

You’ve figured out my secret Jimmy!
Actually I must confess…I have the benefit of a rewind button on the camera when recording so it just looks like I get it right the first time!
If the watch is being that stubborn then there may be something wrong. You might try putting just one gear in then put the bridge in place and check that everything spins freely. Then add another and try again. By narrowing it down this way you may discover that one wheel is going in upside down or maybe some other problem. If everything’s ok then you’ll get some good assembly practice.
Please let us know what you find out.
Enjoy!
Bob

[Author]

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