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In the early days of horology the apprentice was taught the art of making a complete watch. Production was slow, very few duplicate watches were constructed, and it was necessary that extra material be made individually by hand in the same way that the original part was produced. As time passed the value of the repairer was indicated by his ability to make new parts and to replace them so that the watch would again be in running condition. This was the prevailing situation for many years and the repairer was judged according to his skill in making and finishing the various parts.
A similar method of judging ability is still in force among some employers, although the development of the industry into machine and specialized work has made many changes in regard to the most important duties of the repairer.
It is no longer necessary for him to know how to make a complete watch and only on occasional instances is it necessary for him to make a part. Genuine material for modern watches is supplied by the manufacturer at less expense than it can be produced by the individual and in this particular branch of the work the repairer's requirements have been very considerably curtailed.
A more exacting and a higher standard of timekeeping has developed, however, and in this field the requirements of the watchmaker have increased to the extent that it is no longer sufficient to merely restore a good watch to running condition. It must keep time. This development has grown gradually and surely and the past twenty-five years may be assumed as the period of greatest advance.
It has been made possible by scientific and practical refinements which permit the adjustment of watches so that they will keep time within closely defined allowances under varying conditions.
The larger problem of the successful repairer of today, therefore, is that of understanding the principles governing close time and of knowing how and where to look for the causes of variation, so that the higher standard of timekeeping may be restored in case of damage since the original adjustment.
It is naturally essential to know when material is correct, how to make it fit in its proper place, and how to make and finish some of the individual parts. It is also commendable to be skilful in all classes of lathe work, as this at times gains prestige for the workman through restoring old model watches to running condition.
It is, however, a disadvantage to develop one's ability in making parts for watches of a bygone age and neglecting the training that happens to be most essential and of daily advantage in repairing modern watches so that they will keep time as consistently after repairs have been made as they did when new.
The object of this book is to present the essential points of watch adjusting in an elementary and non-technical way that will interest the average watchmaker and to enable him to have a convenient source of information, covering the necessary refinements that are fundamental in repairing, regulating and adjusting the better class of watches.
The author trusts that the experienced successful watchmaker will read the book with interest and also with profit and that the novice will be enabled to foresee that there is something more to the art of watchmaking and repairing than that of merely assembling a watch and making it "tick."
It so happens that the author has had many years of experience in both factories and repair shops and that a considerable part of his duties have been devoted to instruction.
He has for a long time felt the need of a book that would, above all else, be practical in its description of the rules that an adjuster follows and which would prove its value in actual experience by being personal as far as permissible in the same sense that detailed shop instruction would be.
Since writing the article entitled "The Watch Adjuster and His Work" several years ago numerous inquiries have been received, for this class of information and the present book is an effort to meet this demand in a manner that can be followed without highly technical or theoretical education.
To promote advancement and interest in everyday practical results is the foremost consideration, and to this end definite means are presented for personal development and for obtaining better results from high grade watches than can possibly be obtained without a fair knowledge of the final details which go so far toward assuring close time.
WALTER J. KLEINLEIN, July 21, 1920 Waltham, Mass.
1. General Method of Obtaining Results 2. How to Place Screws When the Rate is Either Slow or Fast in Heat Compared to Cold. 3. Composition of and Distortions of Compensation Balances. 4. Tests and Experiments. 5. Effect of Shifting Screws to Different Locations. 6. Permanency of the Temperature Adjustment.
10. Observatory System. 11. Commercial System. 12. Rating Card and Method of Calculating Variation 13. Value of the Normal Period Rate. 14. Definition of the Characters Used on Rate Cards for Gain or Loss in Time. 15. Increasing or Decreasing the Extremes of Temperature.
16. Example of Maintaining a Pleasing Appearance of the Balance. 17. Correction Varies When Screws are Above or Below Normal Size and Weight 18. Over or Under Compensation. 19. Special Corrections for Over or Under Compensation. 20. Example Illustrating that Temperature Variation is Not Always Due to the Balance and Spring.
23. Optional Allowances for Variation. 24. Some Necessary Requirements for Learning Adjusting. 25. Train and Escapement Freedom.
26. Theory of Frictional Errors and the Isochronal Hairspring. 27. How Theory Works Out in Practice and what Isochronism Consists of. 28. Common Causes of Extreme Isochronal Variation.
29. Original Springing of Watches. 30. How Pinning Point Alterations are Made. 31. Even Coil Hairsprings Very Incorrect for Some Watches. 32. How to Find the Correct Collet Pinning Point for Any Watch. 33. Results in Vertical Position Rates due to Changing the Pinning Point. 34. The Natural Position Error and Why it Cannot be Eliminated. 35. Principle of Pinning Point Alterations. 36. Same Principles Apply in Case of American Hunting Models.
37. Altering the Length of Spring by Regulator Pins 38. Method of Examining Vibration of Over Coil Between the Pins. 39. Position Corrections Obtained by Spreading or Closing the Regulator Pins.
40. Routine Varies According to Circumstances. 41. Considering the Watchmaker in the Small Shop of One or Two Workmen. 42. Advantages of Understanding Adjusting Even Though Watches are Not Tested in Positions or Isochronism. 43. Concerning Watchmakers of Limited Experience.
44. Practical Suggestions. 45. The First Point of Consideration in Learning to Adjust. 46. Causes of Variation Between Dial Up and Dial Down. 47. Short Motion Generally Indicates Where to Find Trouble. 48. Short Motion Sometimes Caused by Burr on Opposite Pivot. 49. Examining the Hairspring. 50. Exceptions in Regard to Gaining Rate and Short Motion. 51. Detailed Practice. 52. Which Rate to Use as the Unit for Comparison. 53. Damaged Pivots, Pitted End Stones and Methods of Correction.
61. Order of Position Timing and Method of Calculating the Variation. 62. Example No. 1, Three Positions, Columbus. 63. Example No. 2, Three Positions, Ball. 64. Example No. 3, Three Positions, Elgin. 65. Example No. 4, Three Positions, Hampden.
66. What Five Position Adjusting Consists of--Detailed Allowances. 67. Example No. 5, Five Positions, Hamilton. 68. Example No. 6, Five Positions, Elgin, B. W. R. 69. Example No. 7, Five Positions, Waltham, Vang. 70. Example No. 8, Five Positions, Vacheron and Constantin. 71. Example No. 9, Five Positions, E. Howard 72. Example No. 10, Five Positions, Illinois, B. S. 73. Causes of Extremely Fast Vertical Rates. 74. How to Locate Defective Gearings.
75. Mean Time Screws and Timing Washers. 76. Importance of Properly Fitted Regulator. 77. Effect of the Middle Temperature Error. 78. Some Practical Reasons for Slow Rates.
79. Efficiency of Execution Analyzed (Two Examples) 80. Truing the Balance. 81. Poising the Balance. 82. Truing Hairsprings. 83. Treating a Rusty Hairspring. 84. Stopping by Escapement Locking when Hands are set Backward or When Watch Receives a Jar. 85. Essentials and Non-Essentials in Cleaning Watches.
RULES AND PRACTICE FOR ADJUSTING WATCHES
Only since the introduction of the compensation balance which received its most substantial early experiments as recently as the year 1859, has it been possible to control the variation in pocket timepieces which is caused by changes in temperature. Previous to this introduction it was not uncommon for the best watches to vary as much as two or three minutes with changes of forty or fifty degrees Fahr. Through experiment and improvement in the quality and application of balance materials, such advancement has been made, that this variation has been reduced to seconds and temperature adjusting is now quite universal in the production of medium and high grade watches.
In the large factories, girls and young men of very little previous experience are frequently taught to make the alterations and to do the testing, while men of experience in watchmaking handle only the more intricate cases such as "stoppers" and radical rates that may require investigation of the inner workings of the movement. The simplicity of the adjustment naturally becomes more apparent with experience and the general alterations consist merely of transferring the balance screws in opposite pairs, either forward or backward one or more holes, according to the extent of the correction desired.
As these alterations are quite positive the adjustment can be undertaken with considerable certainty of obtaining results in every instance.
The repairer will not find as much daily necessity for understanding temperature adjusting as he will for being thorough in Position adjusting. The subject is covered, however, for the benefit of those who may desire practical experience in this branch of adjusting and also for those who desire a general knowledge of the details.
2. How to Place Screws When the Rate is Either Slow or Fast in Heat Compared to Cold.
If a watch rates slow in heat compared to cold it is necessary to shift screws in opposite pairs out toward the cut or free end of the rims; because when the metals expand the hairspring becomes weaker and produces a loss in time. During this period the free ends of the balance rims, carrying the transferred weight are forced toward the center and produce a gaining rate which compensates for the loss caused by the weakened spring.
As the metals contract in cold the free ends of the balance are drawn outward from their true form and the concentrated weight of these screws near the ends reduces the fast rate in cold and in principle works both ways in its action on the rate.
Should the circumstances be just opposite, or the rate be fast in heat compared to the rate in cold, it will be necessary to move the screws away from the free end of the rims. In doing this, less weight will be carried toward the center as the free ends curl inward and as a result, the rate in heat will become slower and the slow rate in cold will be reduced.
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