Maintaining and Repairing Mechanical Watches E-Book

Mark W Wiles

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

This invaluable, practical book is written by a watch repairer with over twenty years' experience. It is aimed principally at the novice mechanical watch repairer, although those with more experience will also find it most useful. Brimming with advice and useful tips, it provides step-by-step photographs with accompanying text and demonstrates how to maintain a mechanical watch, and how to identify problems and correct them. The author discusses the theory behind how a watch works and reveals how to take a watch apart and how to reassemble it without causing any damage. Each section of the book is related to a particular element within the watch, and the author clearly explains the function and design of each part. He covers the essential requirements of a workspace, discusses basic tools, and how to use and care for them and illustrates how to take a mechanical watch apart and re-assemble it. He goes on to examine types of watch cases, case backs and how to open and re-fit them, as well as the movement and removing the movement from the case. He demonstrates how to remove the hands and the dial, and discusses motion work and the removal of the cannon pinion. He also pays attention to keyless-work, the mainspring and the barrel, the balance wheel, the escapement, the gearing and the gear train, pivots and arbors, bearings and jewels, and much more. The book also shows the reader how to service, clean and oil a watch, and how to successfully complete common repairs and make basic adjustments. Essential reading for all those interested mechanical watch repair, and superbly illustrated with 337 colour photographs.

Leseprobe

MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING

Mechanical Watches

A Practical Guide

Mark W. Wiles

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2016 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2016

© Mark W. Wiles 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 156 7

Disclaimer

The author and the publisher do not accept any responsibility in any manner whatsoever for any error or omission, or any loss, damage, injury, adverse outcome, or liability of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any of the information contained in this book, or reliance upon it. If in doubt about any aspect of railway modelling, including electrics and electronics, readers are advised to seek professional advice.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks must go to the following people, without whom this book would never have been written: Barry Scott, for help with editing; George Gunthorpe (MBHI) for photos – and thanks for being a great mentor and friend; and Peter Curry for the technical drawings.Also to Vanessa Bennett, Francis Brodie, Holly Redfox, Mike Heavey, Jeremy Barley, Steven Domb, and The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers for my apprenticeship.

Thanks must also go to Richard Body, who took me as a shy twelve-year-old under his wing, and taught me all I needed to know about clocks and watches.This book is in memory of his wife Margret Body, who was like a second mother to me, keeping me well fed during the time I spent at their home tinkering with clocks.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part I: The Basics

1 Basic Tool Kit

2 Caring for your Tools and Using Them

3 The Workspace

4 A Basic Mechanical Watch

5 Types of Watch Case

6 Opening and Refitting Watch Case Backs

7 Removing and Refitting Straps and Bracelets

8 Picking your First Watch

9 The Movement

Part II: How a Watch Works

10 Removing the Movement from its Case

11 Removing the Hands

12 Removing the Dial

13 The Motion Work

14 Keyless Work

15 Removing and Refitting the Keyless Work

16 The Mainspring and Barrel

17 Removing and Replacing the Click

18 Removing the Barrel Bridge, Cap and Arbor

19 Removing and Refitting the Mainspring

20 Alternative Methods of Fitting a Mainspring

21 The Escapement and the Balance Wheel

22 The Action of the Lever Escapement

23 The Balance Wheel

24 Refitting the Balance and its Cock

25 Gearing and the Gear Train

26 Pivots and Arbors

27 Bearings and Jewels

28 Stripdown and Reassembly of a Watch

Part III: Servicing and Cleaning a Watch

29 Servicing a Watch

30 Cleaning a Watch

31 Oiling

32 Cleaning and Oiling an Incabloc

33 Adjusting [and Regulating] a Balance Spring

34 Regulating a Watch

35 Correct Hand-Fitting

Part IV: Common Repairs

36 Replacing a Mainspring

37 Replacing a Crown and Winding Stem

38 Fitting Watch Glasses

39 Adjusting the Hand Friction

40 Replacing Luminous Paint

Part V: Different Types of Watch Mechanism

41 Alternative Hand Frictions in Watches

42 Other Types of Keyless Work

43 Fusee Watches

44 Other Escapements

45 Sweep Seconds

Further Information

Index

INTRODUCTION

This book has been written with the complete novice in mind, and will guide the reader step by step through each page, learning about the theory behind how a watch works as it is taken to pieces. You will learn how to take each watch apart and, possibly more importantly, how to put it back together again without damaging it. You should think of this as a hands-on voyage of discovery. As your skill and confidence grow, the tasks that you will undertake will also increase in technical ability, thus improving your finger dexterity and skill.

There are many old wives’ tales as to why not to undertake watch repairing; some are given below, with reasons as to why they are unfounded.

You need sharp eyesight: Watchmakers use an eyeglass at all times, and you soon become comfortable with wearing one for long hours, working in a small world no bigger than a beer mat. It’s no different to wearing glasses – and if you wear glasses it’s still not a problem.

You need steady hands: Steady hands are not a necessity either, because if your bench and chair are at the right height your hands are rested and supported on the bench, which will stop them from shaking.

You need patience: When I started I had no patience at all, and rushed everything. However, as with most things, age (and making many mistakes) increases your patience. I find I have patience in abundance now, as I am sure you will too.

Fat fingers: Fat fingers are certainly not a problem, as watch components should never be touched with the fingers. In this world your ‘fingers’ will be a pair of tweezers.

You need to be young: I know people in their seventies and older who repair and even make watches.

I certainly believe that it is possible for anyone to take a watch to bits, clean it, and put it back together and have it working to some degree with a small amount of help. The real test of skill and ability comes with the problem-solving skills of diagnosing faults, which requires a mechanically minded person. This in itself is very hard to pick up and learn, generally coming naturally to some people, who will have a distinct advantage in this process.

If you are not this type of person, then you may have to work twice as hard, and you will be even more frustrated when things don’t work as they should. I would recommend trying to find a ‘tame’ watchmaker to help you out on the occasional day you get really stuck. But a word of warning: such watchmakers don’t grow on trees, and if you find one, only use them in absolute desperation, because they are a busy lot and will soon tire of someone bringing nothing but problems! Usually watchmakers are keen to help, and can be chatty, but remember that their job is demanding, so don’t keep them away from their bench for too long.

At the time this book is being written the watch trade is in somewhat of a renaissance, with the luxury watch brands on a drive to make more mechanical watches now than they were in the sixties, but unfortunately there is a real shortage of watch repairers in the industry. So if you are looking for a new and rewarding career you are certainly on the right path by reading this book. Alternatively, if you are looking for a hobby in repairing or collecting watches and restoring them yourself, the rewards can be just as great. It is most certainly up to you how far you take it.

It’s just a small matter of time.

PART I: THE BASICS

1. BASIC TOOL KIT

The items described in this section make up the most basic tool kit that you will need just to take a watch to pieces and put it back together again. I will focus on cleaning watches once we have covered the basics. The main reason for doing this is to make sure you feel comfortable working with watches before you rush out and buy a complete workshop. As we work through the book I will introduce you to more tools and the processes involved in using them.

BUYING YOUR TOOLS

My dear dad, as a self-employed mechanic, would always procure the cheapest tools that he could at markets and boot sales in order to try and save a penny. This was also the way I approached my hobby as a twelve-year-old, and I would always first seek out a cheaper alternative – but I soon found out, as did my dad on a number of occasions, that sometimes it is better to spend that little extra and buy the best you can afford from a reputable dealer when you start out.

This might seem obvious, but I have seen many a student like myself fall into the same trap. We all think we know better and buy the cheaper one, only to find that it doesn’t last, or fails to do the job as satisfactorily as we would like. Cheaper tools are no substitute for ones of quality. But if you are not sure if watch repairing is for you, and are just intrigued at this point, then maybe it would be better to take the cheaper route at this point.

Bench Mat

You can use a craft cutting mat, found in hobby shops – 12 x 8in (30 x 20cm) in size – or the traditional watchmaker’s green plastic or rubber mat, normally made by Bergeon or the cheaper ‘A & F’ (Albert Froidevaux & Fils).This will provide a hard-wearing, easy-to-clean work surface. They are normally a pale green but also come in black and grey. The colour is important: you need one that is calming and easy on the eyes, as you will be spending long periods looking at it. I personally prefer the anti-static watchmaker’s mat for its price, and I like the softer feel of the mat for those long nights at the bench. I also find with the harder mats that the corners tend to roll up because the glue dries out quite quickly, and the more you restick them the uglier they look and the more they tend to roll up in other places. Craft mats are much better and cheaper as part of a hobby. If money isn’t a problem, then opt for the soft anti-static bench mats.

Case Knife

Fig. 1: Images 1 and 2 show Japanese-style case openers. Image 3 is a case opener used to open square or rectangular case backs. Image 4 is the traditional case knife. 5 The blade used to open watch cases.

This is similar to a penknife, with the addition of the smaller blade that has been specially shaped to open watch cases. The blade is not razor sharp like a normal blade, and is very slightly rounded and polished. For now, if you have a penknife, you could modify the smaller blade by rubbing the sharp edge with a knife sharpener to just lightly polish its cutting surface. It is very important that a blade of this type is used when opening a watch case, as sometimes great force is necessary to open a stubborn watch back. However, on occasions cases can open up more quickly than expected and the knife can slip into your fingers or damage the case. Hence, a blunted knife edge will greatly reduce the risk of damage either to you or the case.