A Vintage Watch

Going Macro on an 1800′s Chauncy Jerome Shelf Clock

Robert — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:21:49 +0000

Chauncy Jerome 8 Day Shelf clock

This was to good to pass up at a live auction going for the cost of a dinner for two and any local drive through so I bought it thinking it had a 50/50 chance of ending up being parted out or worse. As you can see by the photo’s it’s not the prettiest thing in Horology and in this shape isn’t going to make it to any pageants any time soon.

Chauncy Jerome 8 Day Shelf Clock

I finally got to removing the movement and bringing it home for the start of what will probably be one of those long projects. In the interim I’ve been told the signed tablet and double doors make it a very desirable double Ogee that any collector would appreciate. So much for parting out or stashing behind my rock collection I finished when I was twelve. I still haven’t narrowed the date down to anytime specific but 1840 to 1870 is probably a safe margin.

Chauncy Jerome Artist signed Tablet

Pulling the back plate off I made sure to get a couple shots since I didn’t have any printed reference for the levers and wheel placement. Not really necessary anymore for older watch movements since the cutouts and lack of complication make it fairly obvious what goes where. At this point I know nothing about clock movements and I’ve already forgotten some of that.

Chauncy Jerome 8 Day movement

It looks like it spent most of it’s time not running with no ovaling on the bushings that I can see. Of course it’s hard to determine when it was the weights decided to leave taking out the bottom of the case when they did. It’s an Eight Day movement so at roughly 8 pounds a piece it isn’t hard to figure out how the bottom of the case disappeared. A little wood work and some faux flame mahogany brush work will bring that back to spec.

Chauncy Jerome 8 Day movement after cleaning

I turned some new pins on the lathe and then annealed them. Alternatively I annealed and then filed a squared pin which looks more authentic. The remainder will be done that style.

Chauncy Jerome 8 Day movement after cleaning

To be continued…

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Going Micro on an Enicar 678

Robert — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:32:49 +0000

Birks cocktail watch with an Enicar 678

This is one I wasn’t anticipating much fun with but after opening it up I discovered the size wasn’t really an issue as far as tearing down and servicing. At 13x15mm I was anticipating some challenges but it was Mom’s watch after all and when Mom asks you if you can fix her 1960′s Birks wrist watch, that’s too hard is not what rolls off your tongue.

The saving grace is the pinions and jewelling are a fairly standard size for 10 ligne and under watch movements. The space is compressed by creating shelves and using longer pinions. This is the first movement I’ve encountered with what I’ve heard described as solidified oils in the sinks. I’d always taken solidified as a loose term describing a toffee like consistency which I’ve come across many times in much older watches, but this was different. This was more like fully cured epoxy and just as hard to remove. Soaking a pegging took twice the time I usually spend but it was a good learning experience.

Enicar 678

Enicar 678 stacking wheels

Finished and ready to wear

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Swiss 15 jewel High Grade Hunter

Robert — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:29:13 +0000

Swiss 15 jewel 18s movement

This is one of the typical Swiss movements you’ll find online. The case sacrificed to the bullion buyer and the rest put up for sale. They can usually be found for around $50.00 and I picked this one up for a custom wrist conversion project. If you’re a purist I suggest you turn your head and skip to the next post because this will not meet your approval.

Listed as needing a balance staff turned out to be a shattered cap jewels as well.

Upper Cap jewel shards and balance

As you can see little attention was paid to finishing on the unseen side of the regulator. The cap jewel chaton looks like it was used for drilling practice. One thing that may have saved a few balance staffs in the 1800′s was the inclusions found in natural rubies that would shatter on impact rather than break the pivot. It’s up to the restorer whether finding a matching jewel or cutting a new staff is preferable. Since I don’t have a large collection of jewels I was prepared to cut a new staff but it does involve disassembling the balance and refitting the collets and roller so it comes down to what you’re most comfortable with. I may wax a small piece of agate and take a diamond file to it to serve the function until I can find a close replacement to fit. The movement does have other issues.

Poised pallet lever with flush mounted pallets

Poised lever with flush mounted sapphire jewels

During the clean and polish

Poised lever after clean and polish

Checking new fourth wheel pivot in upper jewel

I brought out the balance holders and gave them a thorough clean and gentle polish.

15 jewel hunter balance complete after clean and polish

15 jewel hunter after clean and polish

Next was removing and a clean and polish of the centre chaton and ruby. As usual the watchmaker made a registration mark clearly visible for re-positioning of the setting.

Centre wheel chaton and jewel

Chaton replaced with punch visible on the bridge and setting.

Next up is the ratchet and winding polish. The original frosted finish will be replaced with a black polish on the top plated or both I haven’t decided. As I said in the beginning this isn’t a strict restoration as the bottom plate will be further altered for fitting in either a large wrist wearable case or a turned lucite display case. as it’s an ongoing project I’ll update this article as it progresses.

More to come…

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The passing of a Master Watchmaker

Robert — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:24:57 +0000

George Daniels

As I grow older I’m ever grateful I’ve lived in a time where so many great men and women have been present. In watchmaking, George Daniels was at the top of his class and reflected pure quality and technical perfection. His works were without superfluous decoration yet retained a beauty that perfectly illustrated the concept of minimalism.

Mr Daniels died in his home in the Isle of Man Oct 21 2011. He will be greatly missed and forever remembered as one of the finest watchmakers in Horology.

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Waltham Royal

Robert — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 03:28:56 +0000

Waltham Royal Restored

Featuring two of my favourite things, nickel bridges and breguet hairsprings. Finding a case is a challenge for these since Waltham put them in their own odd sized case somewhere between a 16 and 17 size. The clean up was standard apart from marking the chatons before removal so they went back in exactly the same position. If you can find one cased I”d grab it, otherwise you”re in for a long wait

Waltham Royal before restoration

Waltham Royal after restoration

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The Marshall Watchmakers Lathe

Robert — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:18:39 +0000

Marshall Watchmakers Lathe

The C&E Marshall Company in Chicago Illinois bought/made and distributed watchmakers tools in the early to mid 1900′s You’ll see many examples of their tools on this site and just about any other that features watchmakers equipment. The most popular today would probably be their Staking Sets and Lathes as decades later these machines are still in use and running strong. This one is a good example of the model they produced after WW II when Veterans were returning from the War and there was a concerted effort to integrate the disabled into the field of Watch Repair. Marshall’s answer to attracting new customers was chrome, lots of it. Watchmakers lathes have come full circle in the scheme of watch repair. While the independent watchmakers have always had one on the bench, repairs have almost always relied on the parts system that made them unnecessary. Now that those parts are getting harder to find they’re becoming the only practical way to finish the more unique pieces.

Marshall Watchmakers Lathe headstock

Collet holding micrometer tail stock

Collet holding tail stock with micrometer adjustment

This model is a good example of the bells and whistles used to attract new customers with the collet holding tail stock with micrometer adjustment

Turning a lower pallet pivot

Turning a .34mm lower pallet arbour pivot

Fitting a lower pivot

This is a practice watch and it’s first getting a new pivot that was previously repaired by drilling and replacing. After this a new arbour and pivots will be turned since it’s in really rough shape. Oddly enough the watch still ticks with the entry pallet jewel being chipped beyond any recognition. It skips every third or fourth tooth but it’s fun to watch

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Back on the bench

Robert — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:31:03 +0000

Alpina-Gruen cal 157

As much as I love the Alpina Gruen Quadron as a watch, this one has come the closest to being thrown into a parts box more times than any other watch in my collection. So far three parts movements have been purchased due to it falling off my bench twice, both times resulting in broken pivots. I now keep a folded blanket directly below the bench when working on it. No others need this precaution as it’s only this one that seems to have suicidal tendencies.

Being as it may it was my first so it has that place reserved on the shelf along with my Gruen Touchdown and Bumper. As it stands the balance staff has to be removed from the rim and put into another then poised. The present balance is scarred from some very sloppy staking and regulating. When it’s finally finished there will be a small party to celebrate.

Alpina-Gruen cal 157

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Dressing Watch oilers

Robert — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:42:09 +0000

Dressing watch oilers

Many collectors come across the frustration of oiling early on and the cheap oilers offered for sale make the task even more difficult. The problem with cheap oilers is the manufacturing dies are rarely up to par creating a a .40mm or smaller tip required to properly load and dispense the amounts needed. This can be remedied in a few minutes with a staking set, sanding stick and buff when you know how.

Watch Oilers before and after dressing

The first thing you really need to know is how capillary action works. Simply put, when an oiler is dipped into your reservoir the oil creeps up to the widest portion of the steel by attraction to a larger surface area. The trick is shaping the tip so it doesn’t move so far up it won’t deposit on the part you’re trying to lubricate. The shape I use is a spade tip which keeps the oil close enough to run off as it meets a larger surface area. It works well and with the basic tools can be made in just a few minutes.

Using a round faced stake to peen the tip flat

With a round faced stake peen the end of the pin or oiler lightly with a staking hammer. The initial thickness will determine how wide the face will be so be aware of it coming out too thin to stand up to repeated use.

Peening until the rough shape is formed

Check with your loop for a well developed and even shoulder as this will prevent the oil from creeping up the pin.

Finished rough shaping

Shaping the spade tip on a sanding stick

Lightly drag the tip of each side over your sanding stick or emery cloth to form a shallow spade or diamond shaped tip. Polish lightly with a buff or burnish to remove the burrs.

Drop testing the new oiler on a polished surface

When finished the oiler should deposit almost all of the oil after loading in gradually smaller amounts. This is good for oiling each jewel or arbour from largest to smallest. The entire process takes less than 5 minutes and with practice and experimenting with different shapes you’ll quickly have a set of custom oilers for each task you need.

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1891 Seth Thomas

Robert — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:13:48 +0000

1891 Seth Thomas model #5

Picked this one out of a box from an estate buyer.. It was the first time I’ve serviced a full plate with s potence so the camera didn’t get set up. Being new to pocket watches I wasn’t aware Seth Thomas made them. Researching I’ve discovered they came out with some beautifully decorated pieces.

1891 Seth Thomas model #5

I’ve since removed the spackle repair and I’m reading up on how to restore the dial properly. I wish more wristwatches received porcelain dials since even with hairlines they are easy to work with and simple to clean. After a good soak they look like new.

1891 Seth Thomas model #5

While a bit of a challenge on the first reassembly I’m rapidly becoming a fan of the full plate movement.

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Waltham 1883

Robert — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:47:53 +0000

Pocket watches aren’t a usual feature here but I picked up a few on my recent road trip. I was advised when starting out that buying an old pocket watch to learn on was the best idea and I now understand why. This one didn’t even require a loop for the quick clean and service. In fact I did most of it at a kitchen table using an eyeglass screwdriver and a pair of reading glasses. For 1883 Collectors it’s a nice example of the Waltham home grade export running on a 7 jewel low grade movement. For someone like a Railroad watch collector it’s worth the price of the silver plus about ten bucks.

before cleaning

The dial needs some filling but I’m as yet undecided whether I’m going to keep the watch as it is or find a nicer grade 15 jewel Key wind/set to use in the case.

Farringdon H in Sterling Slilver triple hinge case

At 95 grams of silver it’s worth more than I paid but the engine turning is all but worn off at the back. If anything it will look good on a proper holder sitting on my bench.

Farringdon H in Sterling Slilver triple hinge case

Farringdon H 7j Pocketwatch getting a complete overhaul

Updated with a shot of the overhauled and restored plates with re bluing of the screws.

Farringdon H Waltham 7 jewel pocket watch.

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