WATCH GAINING!

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  • April 11, 2013 at 2:45 pm #48574
    steveboy033149
    Participant

      I am new to pocket watch repair, but I am enjoying working on them and this course!
      I have just cleaned and oiled an 1895 Elgin Pocket watch, also replacing the pallet and balance wheel (placing a piece of paper under the balance bridge because when I tightened the bridge screw the wheel stopped) The watch runs nicely now, but gains time, which I cannot correct with the regulator! Does this mean a new hairspring or what else can I try?
      Kind Regards,
      Stephen Lane.

      April 11, 2013 at 2:51 pm #53443
      arutha
      Participant

        Hi Steve,
        first check that none of the coils of the hairspring are touching each other while moving, or touching the balance cock. This shortens the effective length of the hairspring and will make the watch run fast. If that looks ok then check the escapement, make sure the escape wheel is moving evenly through the pallets, if you see any “skipping” this will show the “depthing” is not correct.
        How much is it gaining per day?
        If the hairspring is the “pinned in” type then this may be adjusted but check the other things first.
        Good luck and let us know what you find.
        Paul.

        April 11, 2013 at 5:01 pm #53444
        tmac1956
        Participant

          Steve:

          One thing that you might remember from the videos is that a magnatized hairspring will behave as Arutha described. You might want to run the whole watch through a demagnitizer first as thats really easy to do. That actually worked on the first watch I got a hold of. The thing had been serviced previously and suddenly started running really fast. The demagnitizer did the trick.

          Good luck and welcome!
          tmac1956

          April 12, 2013 at 12:14 pm #53445
          Bob Tascione
          Moderator

            Hi Steve,
            I agree with Tmac and Arutha. They’ve pointed out the most common problems. A dirty or sticky hairspring and magnetism probably being the most common reasons that I can think of. There are other reasons a watch can run fast such as more than one coil sitting between regulator pins, regulator pin adjustment etc. but would first check the things they’ve suggested. If that all looks good then please let us know a bit more about how fast it’s running as this can help us figure out what may be going on.

            Good luck,
            Bob

            April 14, 2013 at 4:35 pm #53446
            steveboy033149
            Participant

              Demagatized worked….thanks

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