Second Hand Speeds Up

[chaplin37]

Hello,

I have a waltham wrist watch that when i go to change the time, say I adjust the time forward the second had starts moving forward at a faster rate, if i adjust the time backwards the second hand starts going backwards until i stop adjusting the time. Any help on this would be great, thanks.

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Chaplin37,
Sounds like you’ll need to reduce the cannon pinion tension. There should be just enough tension to stop the ticking when adjusting the hands backwards but not enough to reverse the escapement action. If too tight damage to the motion work gears may occur. Also when the tension is excessive extra power will be adding to the mainspring power when advancing the hands as it cannot be released through the normal slipping of the cannon pinion. This extra power can cause re-banking (knocking, overbanking) which is most likely causing the second hand acceleration that you are seeing. If adjusted correctly the watch will not re-bank when adjusting forward. This action can result in damage or shearing off of the roller jewel. Often times the tightness is caused by dirt, rust or grime between the cannon pinion and the center wheel post. A thorough cleaning of the cannon pinion and center wheel post will usually take care of the problem. Adding a little dab of thick oil or grease (Mobius 8200, D5 etc) between the two also can help (after cleaning). If after doing this the tension is still excessive then the cannon hole may need to broached a little larger.

Hope this helps Chaplin!
Bob

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