The watch adjuster's manual

Front matter

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Preface To Third Edition

In issuing this Third Edition of The Watch Adjuster's Manual, it is opportune to state for the information and assurance of the reader, that since the work was first pubHshed onlytwo slight errors were brought to the notice of the author, and these were of such a trivial nature that they scarcely called for correction. This fact shows the extreme care and thoroughness with which the work was originally prepared, and is also proof of its accuracy and reliability of statement. It is also opportune here to make general acknowledgment of the letters received by the author from all parts of the world, giving assurance that the work was in truth what it was intended to be, the practical workman's standard authority.

Unlike most technical treatises, the progress of time has added greatly to the value of this work. Railroad watch inspection, which has now become almost universal, has made the very finest workmanship imperative, and such workmanship implies a thorough knowledge of the methods described in this book. And in this connection it may be added that the workman who is qualified for railroad watch inspection has the best recommendation for the patronage of the community.

The Publishers.

Part Fourth. Springing And Timing

Chapter XII. — Conveniences for Timing,

Chapter XIII. — Means for Registering and Comparing Times,

Chapter XIV. — Calculating the Proper Number tions,

Chapter XV. — Counting the Vibrations,

Chapter XVI. — Testing and Timing Hair Springs,

Chapter XVII. — Hair Spring Fitting Tools,

Chapter XVIII. — Fitting Hair Springs,

Chapter XIX. — On Poising, ....

Chapter XX. — Quick Ways of Bringing a Spring to Time,

Chapter XXI. — Regulating Watches, .

Chapter XXII. — Regulating Fine Watches, .

Chapter XXIII. — Rating, ....

pages 70 to 73

7S to 80 log to 124

Part Fifth. Special And "natural" Compensations

Chapter XXIV. — The Four Principal Escapements,

Chapter XXV. — Cylinder Escapement Watches, .

Chapter XXVI. — Duplex Watches,

Chapter XXVII. — Lever Watches,

Chapter XXVIII. — Box and Pocket Chronometers,

Part Sixth. The Adjustment For Isochronism

Chapter XXIX. — Isochronism, 21310221

Chapter XXX. — Why Springs are Isochronous, . . . 221 to 231

Chapter XXXI. — Methods of Securing Isochronism, . . 23210243

Chapter XXXII.— Isochronizing by Terminal Curves, . 243 to 252

CONTENTS. xi

PAGES

Chapter XXXIII. — Isochronizing the Cylindrical Spring, . 252 to 258

Chapter XXXIV. — Isochronizing the Flat Spiral Spring, . 25S to 263

Chapter XXXV. — Isochronizing the Breguet Spring, . . 263 to 271

Chapter XXXVI. — The Isochronal Adjustment, . . . 271 to 287

Part Seventh. The Adjustment For Positions

Chapter XXXVII.— Position Faults 288 to 298

Chapter XXXVIII. — Adjusting for Positions, . . . 298 to 313

Part Eighth. The Adjustment For Heat And Cold

Chapter XXXIX. — Compensation, 314 to 320

Chapter XL. — Apparatus for Adjusting the Compensation, . 320 to 327 Chapter XLI. — Adjusting the Compensation, , . . 327 to 342

TO THE READER.

A note of the following corrections should be made on the margins of the pages referred to :

TIME SIGNALS. — The methods of sending out noon time signals from the U. S. Naval Observatory, at Washington, D. C, as described on page 71, has been slightly changed. The signals now begin at 11. 55' a.m. instead of 11. 56''. 45'''' a.m., as before, and continue for five whole minutes, giving sixteen opportunities for comparing time. During this period a signal is sent out for each second, except the following, which are omitted : the 29th second of each minute, the last 5 seconds of the first 4 minutes, and finally, the last 10 seconds of the last minute are omitted, followed by a signal at exactly 12 o'clock noon, standard time.

The method of utilizing the signals is the same as before described.

OVER-BANKING IN LEVER WATCHES.— It should be stated at the end of paragraph 469, page 196, that over-banking in lever watches is a fault of the safety action (469), and is due to the lever being too short, or some other fault, which lets the safety pin (or guard point) get past the roller in the wrong direction, or before the proper time, or before the safety pin gets in the crescent. It is most frequently caused by setting the hands backward.

Whenever the instructions say that the safety pin or guard point is "too short," and the like, that of course means that the lever is too short, and that the safety pin or the guard point should be set forward, or towards the balance staff, and vice versa. See (469), lines 5 to 8, and especially line 14 to end of section. Also, see (465), lines 6 to 8 ; and (472), items No. 11, 14 and 15. The necessary instructions will all be found there somewhere, in their proper places. These corrections should always be made before beginning to work on the adjustments.

THE

WATCH ADJUSTER'S MANUAL.

CHAPTER I. Suggestions to Workmen

(i.) This book will be pre-eminently practical. Not that we would disparage theory — far from it. A knowledge of the theoretical principles of any art is the proper preparation for the most successful practice in it. But the majority of watchmakers would give more for an account of the actual practice among good workmen than for all the theoretical treatises ever published. This is not as it should be, but it is considered the part of wisdom to take things as they are. Hence the work has been made practical and exhaustive, going to the bottom of the subject, and useful to the most advanced workmen, as well as those with less experience. At the same time, enough of the theory of the different procedures is introduced, to enable the reader to understand the reason why he should do as described, as well as how to do it.

(2.) Need of such a book. — The truth is that a very large share of our watchmakers are but imperfectly educated, either in theory or practice. The foreign system of long apprenticeships is not in vogue here, and even if it were, the most of our employers are not really competent to instruct apprentices. Many of them are not workmen at all — only dealers in the goods of our line. Such as are good workmen are becoming more and more averse to taking apprentices because their time is too valuable to allow of giving thorough instruction, as they could better afford to do under the old apprentice-laws, which on the whole were certainly better for both masters and men. The result is that half-fledged workmen abound — most of them conscious of their shortcomings and anxious to learn, but they are compelled to educate themselves, and to make their living while doing so.

Again, many workmen have fully learned their trade, according to the old style, but everything has changed greatly since then, even within the last ten years, and they And that they are getting out of date. There are new kinds of work to be done, new tools and machinery to be used, new materials, new ways of working, and above all, greater excellence in every respect is required than would have sufficed in the old verge and lepine days. This change is constantly going on, even now, and the good workman of to-day will soon be left among the old fogies unless he keeps himself informed of all the current improvements.

(3.) The way to become a good workman. — Let no one feel discouraged because he has never had proper instruction in the trade. If he really desires to be a good workman, and has true grit in him, there can scarcely be any training more severe and improving than patient study and practice, growing out of his own resources, and being held responsible for the performance of his work, either by an employer or by a customer of his own. If he will persist in doing the best he can^ and improve every opportunity to learn, he will gradually regain the ground he should have made during his apprenticeship, and may in time become the equal of any, and the superior of those with greater opportunities but less determination to excel. A large share of our very best workmen are thus largely self-taught — thorough, independent, versatile and progressive, but the lack of a long and rigid apprenticeship has cost many of them a fearful loss of their time in the best years of their lives — a loss which it is the object of this book to lessen for its readers.

Habits are all-powerful with a workman, and I feel the importance of not leading any one into faulty or inferior ways of working. I shall try to tell all that is worth the telling, and worthy of being included in a first-class method of procedure — in fact, to give the latest and most advanced state of practical horology, so far as concerns the subjects treated herein. This involves the examination and comparison (either experimentally or judging from general experience) of perhaps scores of different tools, methods, etc., each claimed to be the best, in order to sift out and arrange a complete, uniform and practically reliable system in each branch of work.

(4.) Co7itents of the book. — While I shall not give all the new but visionary ideas floating about, I shall also exclude many old and generally accepted ones which I consider wrong in principle or superseded by better methods. I shall not only treat of things not generally known, but also of things very commonly done, but seldom done well, at least by learners, and which they need to know about, as they are at the root of all good work ; of some things that are highly important, and also of " little things. " But those little things are often just what constitute the difference between the good workman and the botch, which the former has learned by long and bitter experience, the fruit of years of labor, study and trials.

Much of what I shall say will, of course, be the standard practice among good workmen, and therefore not new to them. But I must take the risk of telling what is familiar to such, for the sake of that much larger class who have not had the opportunities of the former for learning. Another large share, however, will be the results of my own experience, investigations and observation, new and valuable even to experts and first-class workmen. I shall not claim perfection, either in judgment or experience, but simply lay the information before them and leave them free to accept or reject it as they think best.

What we need in our trade is more life, study, interest; more discussions and even quarrels, if necessary, to wake us up; more rivalry in letting such light as we have shine for the benefit of all. And if I should use rather sharp language in regard to some persons and things in the course of these pages, as I propose to do, my sole object in stirring them up will not be any personal feeling or prejudice, but a desire to tell the exact facts, according to my knowledge and belief.

(5.) Must put the directions in practice. — But let them mark this: — They can never really know a thing till they have actually done it, and discovered by experience the peculiarities, dangers and difficulties of each operation. It matters not how carefully they read and understand, they must practice also. Instructions alone will not make one a workman, any more than a book of prescriptions makes a man a doctor. Therefore they should take the first opportunity, or make one, to put my directions in practice. They will then learn many minor points •which space compels me to omit, will understand better what I do say, and they will remember it. Otherwise, as soon as they lose sight of the book they will know scarcely more about it than they did before. So when a small tool or fixture is described let them go to work and make one. Each one will take but little time, which they will never miss, but they will soon have a goodly collection of them, at the mere cost of material, which they could not buy for any money, for the good reason that most of them are not on sale; and, having made them, they will know how to use them. The directions being in print, they can refer back to my very words and details a hundred times if necessary, and study and practice on them ad libitum^ till they are perfectly familiar with every point. The unusually copious Index will be a great assistance in quickly finding whatever is wanted.

(6.) Annotating the book. — The workman who makes a specialty of some particular class of work can somewhat simplify matters by carefully going over the book and marking in the margin of each page the parts which apply to his specialty. This will both familiarize him with the rules, and also aid him to instantly find any part to which he wishes to refer for further suggestions. Another way to annotate the book would be to mark every rule and section which is applicable only to some particular kind of watch. " M. Chr. " could be used to indicate marine chronometer: "P. Chr." for pocket chronometer; " D. L. ," for detached lever; etc. " H. Sp. " could mean helical spring;" " F. Sp.," for plain flat spiral; "Br. Sp.," for Breguet, and so on. Parts not so marked would be understood to have a general application to all kinds of watches or springs. The mere effort to analyze the meaning, and determine to what cases the rule applied, would make him more thoroughly acquainted with the subject than reading the book a dozen times over.

(7.) Cross-references. — Another useful habit is to mark in the margin the number of any other section which bears on that point. This will greatly assist him in reading up on any particular point, and collecting all the information relating to it. The sections are numbered, in order to facilitate this, and to avoid repetitions, so that any directions once given may afterwards be referred to for full details, and easily found. A great many such cross-references are already given in the text, but the intellectual peculiarities of each reader, and his way of reasoning, may make others beneficial to him.

(8.) Make trie book a bench co7npanion. — The book gives the results of the investigations, studies and experience of horologists and practical men up to this time, and no better methods or rules are known to the trade. All available sources of information have been consulted, in order to make it complete, reliable and inclusive of the best theories and practices followed or known.

The reader may reasonably depend upon it that, so long as the present styles of watches are used, the directions in this book cannot be superseded nor materially bettered, nor can experience add very much that is new in the future, for they are the results of innumerable experiments, trials and inventions by the best watch and chronometer makers and adjusters everywhere. Moreover, it is the only special guide published, for practical watch and chronometer springers and adjusters. He should therefore make it his bench co7npanion^ keeping it always within reach, ready for constant reference, until he knows its contents perfectly. This habit of instantly looking up a point and settling it, makes the difference between a man who is constantly learning and improving, and one who is rapidly forgetting what he does know.

(9.) Honesty thorough work indispensable. — Before closing, I wish to give a few words of advice which will have a very wide application, although addressed especially to young or inexperienced workmen. They should clearly understand that there is no royal road to success in our trade. No amount of experience or knowledge, no costly instructions, or " trade secrets" — nothing whatever will suffice except good, honest, thorough work. Whatever other advantages they may have, that is the one indispensable thing. A watch is a machine; when it is all right, throughout, it will perform properly, and not before. Experience with thoroughness will make a fast workman, but never without. He should never knowingly slight any part, however small, for even after he has done his best, there will always be enough to apologize for. And, as my old master used to say, "you can't do it too well, if you try." This is what all old workmen will tell him, and he should settle down at once and forever upon that basis, and dismiss all ideas that there are any "secret ways," or ways that are not secret, known to any one, which will enable him to dispense with that requisite. Therefore it will be well for him to make up his mind never, under any circumstances, to shirk his work. He should do this for the sake of his reputation as a workman, of his self-respect as an honest man, and of avoiding the habit of shirking, which will surely grow upon him if indulged, till he will become actually incapacitated for doing a thorough job, by indifference and indisposition to exert himself.

(10.) Don't do too much. — On the other hand, don't do too much. This is a great fault with the inexperienced. They file, and bend, and hammer, and cut off, and make the most radical changes, on the slightest grounds or none at all. Now, a workman has no business to change any part of a watch unless he knows the precise purpose of that part, and of its peculiar construction; knows that it ought to be changed, and why; knows what object it is desirable to accomplish by changing it; knows that the proposed change w411 accomplish that object, and how to make that change in a workmanlike manner. If he does not know the difficulty and its cause, and the proper remedy, he has no right to butcher a watch on the " cut and try" principle. When he cannot improve it he should at least not injure it, but rely more on head-work and less on guesswork. That, after all, is the real secret of excellence. Of two men, alike in every other respect, the best thinker is invariably the best workman.

(i I.) The right way and the wro?ig ivay. — It will be noticed that the custom in some cases is to make the watch imperfect or wrong, /.<?., different from what would be strictly proper or right, in order to correct some error in the timing or to secure some special action. As examples I will mention the setting of the hair spring excentrically, putting the balance out of poise, opening the regulator pins widely, etc. If you should change such an arrangement in "putting the watch in order," you would ruin the adjustment, and make the watch worse off, instead of better. On the other hand, such imperfection may not be intentional, and then it probably ought to be corrected. It is necessary, therefore, to use good judgment in making repairs, so as to do whatever is really necessary and proper /// that particular case, and no more.

(i2.) The right way. — Perhaps the only way to determine that point is to inquire, when the watch is left, what kind of time it has kept, and by whom it has previously been kept in order. If it has been in skilful hands and has performed well, it may safely be left as it is, unless the directions are to " put it in perfect order," in which case you should do your best to carry out the instructions. Even then, you will often be compelled to choose between long and expensive changes and some quicker makeshift which, while theoretically wrong, is practically about as good as you would get it by the other way. In such cases, the decision will be largely determined by the value of the watch — and the temper of its owner. If it is an ordinary one, you would hardly be justified in making a bill of repairs almost equal to the value of the watch; but if it is a fine and valuable article and the owner is willing to pay for having it put in perfect order, do that. It may seem rather out of place to advise the doing of imperfect work, but if that kind is what we are expected to do, and it will satisfy the customer, it may be considered excusable.

(13.) Be careful what you do. — Especially when you get hold of a fine watch, be very careful what you do. Even when you see something which, according to the rules, is wrong, it may have been intentionally left so, or put so, as before stated. It may be a part of a laborious co-ordination of the various actions in order to secure a good rate. If you change any part of it, you at once destroy the whole arrangement. The watch may not keep very close time and you may think that a certain alteration will improve it. You try it, and find the rate worse than before. You try this, that, and the other way, and finally you find that the way it was at first gives the best results — not so close as it ought to be, but the best that that watch is capable of doing without a radical overhauling and reconstruction. Almost every one has had some such experience. Hence the advice to be careful what you do when handling a fine watch, or even an ordinary one which has been performing reasonably well. In addition to the suggestion in section (12), a good rule in all such cases is to notice how everything is, before taking it apart — making memoranda of every point, to prevent mistakes or forgetfulness — so that when putting it together again you can get everything precisely as it was before.

(14.) Apparent contradictions. — Should there be any seeming inconsistencies in different parts of the book, it will be due to the effort to give a complete and candid statement of all the different opinions and methods. The reader will perceive that some contradictions of the kind are unavoidable, after comparing the various opposing opinions on the subject of isochronism (536 to 541), and reflecting that opinions on other subjects are nearly as contradictory. I have endeavored to reconcile the old and the new as well as I could, and to be strictly fair and impartial in the statement of every case, but the reader can have no difficulty in knowing what my opinion is, if he wants it — and at the same time he is in a position to use his own judgment in the matter and to follow his o^vn opinion if he thinks it better. The book is not a set of rigid rules which must be obeyed, but it gives him full information of the opinions and methods of the best men in the trade, so that he is educated and posted up to date, and can intelligently make such use of his knowledge as he likes.

CHAPTER II. Preliminary Examination of the Movement

(15.) Prerequisites. It is not sufficient for the workman to perform his special work properly. There are numerous extraneous points about the movement which, if not correct, will either prevent his job from giving satisfaction, or will so influence its performance as to give the appearance of faults which do not exist, and will perhaps render it difficult or impossible for him to secure a good adjustment or rate. I will therefore specify some of the points which should be looked after, and they will serve to suggest others which he may find incorrect. It is elsewhere stated how the hair spring should be pinned in the collet and stud, and various other matters relating to the spring, and I will proceed to mention other points seldom attended to as carefully as they should be.

(16.) The Regulator. — As a general rule, the regulator-pins should be as close together as possible and yet leave the spring free between them. But if they are found otherwise, they should not be closed without good reason, for they may have been so opened for a purpose, by some one who fully understood the effects of so doing. But wide pins may justly be regarded with suspicion. The effect of having the pins very open is not only to render the spring less susceptible to control by the regulator, but also to cause sudden and violent checks to its motion, making uniform progression of force (352) difficult, if not impossible. Moreover, the spring vibrates upon the pin against which it rests, as a pivot or fulcrum, and the part beyond the regulator vibrates in a direction contrary to that of the normally acting portion, rendering it uncertain or difficult to regulate. The regulator is intended to act as the real stud, at the end of the acting part, and the pins should properly be as close together as they can be without binding on the spring when moved. The regulator should stand pretty well back towards the "slow" when the watch is regulated. The pins should both be tight in their places, so that they cannot yield any when the spring presses against them. If one of them has a foot, to close the bottom of the opening between them, the spring should be entirely free from it, nor should any dirt be allowed to accumulate there and touch the spring.

See that the outer coil stands perfectly free between the regulator pins as they are moved through the whole of their sweep from "slow" to "fast," not moving nearer to or against either pin at any point in the sweep. When you have occasion to take a watch apart for cleaning or any other purpose, which does not involve a change in the rate, it should be put together in such a way that the regulator should be at the same place, and the hair spring should occupy the same position between the regulator pins, as before it was taken down. To insure this, a careful examination should have been made, with the balance at rest, free from the motive force of the mainspring, and the position of both the regulator and hair spring noted down — for in a fine watch both of them have probably been carefully adjusted, and changing either of them or opening or closing the regulator pins might seriously damage the adjustment. Even in cheap watches, following this rule will frequently save several days in bringing them to time.

But if a watch does not perform satisfactorily on trial, or if the workman is sure from inspection that it will not do so, the defective conditions must of course be changed and corrected.

(17.) The end-stones^ if not held in settings, should be fastened there by cement. A loose end-stone is an abomination. When it is uppermost, it rests on the end of the pivot, and often can be seen wobbling about with every vibration of the balance. When the movement is inverted, the pivot rests upon the cap jewel and presses it down, but its position is very uncertain. It may possibly be level, but is much more likely to be otherwise, and may even tip up sideways so as to give little or no support to the pivot. Always fasten the end-stone in its cap or setting, either by a bezel or with cement.

(18.) To cement the end-stone level, a good way is to put some shellac in the cavity, soften it by heat, place the end-stone in position, and while the cement is soft invert the cap upon the paper over the board, press the cap firmly down, and hold till cool. Pressing the cap down forces the jewel into the soft wax up to its proper place where it has the support of the metal, and insures that its surface will be level with the cap. If not so, it must be heated again till it becomes so. Generally, a cap or foot jewel should be just even with the surface of its setting or cap, not lower, nor sticking out any above it. But cases occasionally occur requiring a variation from this rule. Before altering or cementing a cap jewel, feel of it with a sharp-pointed piece to see if it is tight in its place. Also notice if it is pushed as far towards the hole jewel as it can be. The cap jewel should not quite touch the hole jewel unless the latter has been lO THE WATCH ADJUSTER' S MANUAL.

cupped on the back side (726). If necessary, fit in a larger jewel, so as to bring its flat surface, when cemented, as it was before, if that was correct.

(19.) How cemented. — A cap or foot jewel must invariably be fixed parallel with the under surface of the cap, or the upper surface of the slip, so as to present a perfectly horizontal support for the end of the pivot. Otherwise it will slide down the inclined surface of the jewel and be wedged in against one side of the jewel-hole. This point must be carefully attended to. In the case of the foot jewel, which is out of sight, a little wax left outside of the jewel does no harm, and considerably strengthens the jewel. But for cap jewels, where no wax must appear to the eye, after prying the cap off the paper, and scraping the superfluous shellac from the under surface, see that the jewel is flat and true, lay it down on the bench, the jewel underneath, and carefully scrape the wax from the outside of the socket, without loosening the jewel. It will do no harm to leave a very little around the edge, as by again melting carefully, (and pressing down on the bench as before,) it will take a smooth, shining surface, and not be noticed. There are many workmen who denounce "sticking jewels in" with shellac as botchwork. So far as hole jewels are concerned I agree with them, but with cap and foot jewels it is often a necessity, and it is certainly far better than to plug the holes around the jewels with paper, slivers of wood, etc., as we see every day. Doubtless our carping friends would sooner leave them loose than " stick them in" with wax. But then, some people are so ve?'y nice!