Watch and Clock Escapements - Anonymous

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pivot hole d' for the escape wheel, and also the holes at e e and b, are now drilled in the bridge F. These holes should be about 1/16" in diameter. The same sized hole is also drilled in the main plate A at d. We now place a nicely-fitting steel pin in the hole d' in the bridge F and let it extend into the hole d in the main plate. We clamp the bridge F to A so the hole b comes central on the line a, and using the holes e e in F as guides, drill or mark the corresponding holes e' e' and b in the main plate for the pillars E E' and the pallet staff.

      This plan will insure the escape wheel and pallet staff being perfectly upright. The same course pursued with the plate C will insure the balance being upright. The pillars which support the bridges are shaped as shown at Fig. 28, which shows a side view of one of the pillars which support the top plate or bridge C. The ends are turned to ¼" in diameter and extend half through the plate, where they are held by screws, the same as in American movements.

Fig. 28 Fig. 29

      The pillars (like H) can be riveted in the lower plate A, but we think most workmen will find it more satisfactory to employ screws, as shown at Fig. 29. The heads of such screws should be about ⅜" in diameter and nicely rounded, polished and blued. We would not advise jeweling the pivot holes, because there is but slight friction, except to the foot of the balance pivot, which should be jeweled with a plano-convex garnet.

      IMITATION RUBIES FOR CAPPING THE TOP PIVOTS.

      The top pivots to the escape wheel should be capped with imitation rubies for appearance sake only, letting the cap settings be red gold, or brass red gilded. If real twelve-karat gold is employed the cost will not be much, as the settings are only about ⅜" across and can be turned very thin, so they will really contain but very little gold. The reason why we recommend imitation ruby cap jewels for the upper holes, is that such jewels are much more brilliant than any real stone we can get for a moderate cost. Besides, there is no wear on them.

Fig. 30 Fig. 31

      The pallet jewels are also best made of glass, as garnet or any red stone will look almost black in such large pieces. Red carnelian has a sort of brick-red color, which has a cheap appearance. There is a new phosphorus glass used by optical instrument makers which is intensely hard, and if colored ruby-red makes a beautiful pallet jewel, which will afford as much service as if real stones were used; they are no cheaper than carnelian pallets, but much richer looking. The prettiest cap for the balance is one of those foilback stones in imitation of a rose-cut diamond.

Fig. 32 Fig. 33

      In turning the staffs it is the best plan to use double centers, but a piece of Stubs steel wire that will go into a No. 40 wire chuck, will answer; in case such wire is used, a brass collet must be provided. This will be understood by inspecting Fig. 30, where L represents the Stubs wire and B N the brass collet, with the balance seat shown at k. The escape-wheel arbor and pallet staff can be made in the same way. The lower end of the escape wheel pivot is made about ¼" long, so that a short piece of brass wire can be screwed upon it, as shown in Fig. 31, where h represents the pivot, A the lower plate, and the dotted line at p the brass piece screwed on the end of the pivot. This piece p is simply a short bit of brass wire with a female screw tapped into the end, which screws on to the pivot. An arm is attached to p, as shown at T. The idea is, the pieces T p act like a lathe dog to convey the power from one of the pivots of an old eight-day spring clock movement, which is secured by screws to the lower side of the main plate A. The plan is illustrated at Fig. 32, where l represents pivot of the eight-day clock employed to run the model. Counting the escape-wheel pivot of the clock as one, we take the third pivot from this in the clock train, placing the movement so this point comes opposite the escape-wheel pivot of the model, and screw the clock movement fast to the lower side of the plate A. The parts T, Fig. 33, are alike on both pivots.

      PROFITABLE FOR EXPLAINING TO A CUSTOMER.

      To fully appreciate such a large escapement model as we have been describing, a person must see it with its great balance, nearly 4" across, flashing and sparkling in the show window in the evening, and the brilliant imitation ruby pallets dipping in and out of the escape wheel. A model of this kind is far more attractive than if the entire train were shown, the mystery of "What makes it go?" being one of the attractions. Such a model is, further, of great value in explaining to a customer what you mean when you say the escapement of his watch is out of order. Any practical workman can easily make an even $100 extra in a year by making use of such a model.

      For explaining to customers an extra balance cock can be used to show how the jewels (hole and cap) are arranged. Where the parts are as large as they are in the model, the customer can see and understand for himself what is necessary to be done.

      It is not to be understood that our advice to purchase the jewels for an extra balance cock conflicts with our recommending the reader not to jewel the holes of his model. The extra cock is to be shown, not for use, and is employed solely for explaining to a customer what is required when a pivot or jewel is found to be broken.

      HOW LARGE SCREWS ARE MADE.

Fig. 34 Fig. 35

      The screws which hold the plates in place should have heads about ⅜" in diameter, to be in proportion to the scale on which the balance and escape wheel are gotten up. There is much in the manner in which the screw heads are finished as regards the elegance of such a model. A perfectly flat head, no matter how highly polished, does not look well, neither does a flattened conehead, like Fig. 35. The best head for this purpose is a cupped head with chamfered edges, as shown at Fig. 34 in vertical section. The center b is ground and polished into a perfect concave by means of a metal ball. The face, between the lines a a, is polished dead flat, and the chamfered edge a c finished a trifle convex. The flat surface at a is bright, but the concave b and chamfer at c are beautifully blued. For a gilt-edged, double extra head, the chamfer at c can be "snailed," that is, ground with a suitable lap before bluing, like the stem-wind wheels on some watches.

      FANCY SCREWHEADS.

Fig. 36

      There are two easy methods of removing the blue from the flat part of the screwhead at a. (1) Make a special holder for the screw in the end of a cement brass, as shown at E, Fig. 36, and while it is slowly revolving in the lathe touch the flat surface a with a sharpened pegwood wet with muriatic acid, which dissolves the blue coating of oxide of iron. (2) The surface of the screwhead is coated with a very thin coating of shellac dissolved in alcohol and thoroughly dried, or a thin coating of collodion, which is also dried. The screw is placed in the ordinary polishing triangle and the flat face at a polished on a tin lap with diamantine and oil. In polishing such surfaces the thinnest possible coating of diamantine and oil is smeared on the lap—in fact, only enough to dim the surface of the tin. It is, of course, understood that it is necessary to move only next to nothing of the material to restore the polish of the steel. The polishing of the other steel parts is done precisely like any other steel work.

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