My recently obtained Hamilton 940 is cased in a Keystone swing-out case. The movement is tight in the ring, but the ring is a little loose in the case. Not real loose but enough to make a little rattle when you tap the case. Is there an easy fix for this or does it really matter? The hinge is in good shape and is not loose. It seems like the movement is barely touching the case back when you lightly tap the case. This is the first swing-out case I've seen so I've had no experience with them. Suggestions are appreciated.

Regards,

Bob

Bob,

Are the case screws tight?

Steve

Hey Bob, any photos of the new addition...? We would sure like to see this baby....

I have never seen a 940 in a 'swing out' before....would be interesting....

I have a few 'swing outs' but mine are all tight, a couple of them are too tight, nearly....

Maybe one of our case experts can give you some ideas on what to do, if anything....Good Luck....

Regards,
Jerry

Steve,
Yes the case screws are tight.

Jerry,

There are pictures in "My First Hamilton 940" I was thinking of using a small shim of some type to tighten it up a bit.
Regards,

Bob

Bob

Does it have the dust ring around the movement, that might tighten it up if missing. If it is not there I might have one you can have.

Tom

Tom,

The only ring on the watch is the one the movement is attached to with 2 screws. This ring is attached to the case with a hinge. Should there be another ring that goes around this ring? It's very obvious I know nothing about swing-out cases. I would get ridiculed on any other board for asking these dumb questions.

Regards,

Bob

Bob, a dust ring looks like a short table napkin holder and was added to protect the movement from incursions of dirt in between the plates around their perimeter. The band that Hamilton provided from the factory with ALL 940s was a nice machined ring that in fact helped control the clearances between the movement and the case mounting ring be it swing out or not.

Unfortunately too many times jeweler's in their sensless haste to finish up servicing the watches would toss out the dust ring, leaving the watch more vulnerable to dirt and more likely to cause another trip to the watchmaker sooner than otherwise needed.

That said, most of the swing rings I have seen fit very snugly into the outer watch case. In fact so well that usually one needs a case knife to start them on the "swing out", so we think the rattle could be the movement in the ring rather than the ring in the case, especially if it has no dust ring.

Here are photos of the ring on & off one of my 940's, if you think yours is missing let me know & I will see if I can find one.

Like David said you can see in the photo of it on the movement it adds some bulk to the diameter.

Tom

Ring off

Hello to Everybody, I'm a new mwmber and this is my very first contribution to the forum. I had the same problem with an 18s Waltham Vanguard. The presence or not of the dust ring doesn't make a difference since it is between the movement and the swing out ring. The problem is between the swing out ring and the case (Worn out friction latch). I corrected mine by removing the movement and slightly ovalizing the s/o ring in the norh-south direction so it would become a little longer and thus friction fit at the bottom of the case, there is usually enough play for the movement to still fit (especially if the dust ring is missing). Hope this is of some help.

Welcome Peter

Glad to see you join & to start posting. Thanks for the information. When I posted about the dust ring it was just an idea, but after your post & re-reading the others I realize I had the wrong idea about where the rattle was coming from.

Keep up the post & let us see some photos of what you collect.

Tom

Thank you for the welcome, Tom
I've been following the club activities for quite some time now and I feel I know you people almost personally. You are a darn good bunch (you have to, if you collect watches) and I'm proud to be in your company. I collect and restore mainly American Pocket watches with a preference for R/R and military. I have a few nice ones, but nothing compared to what I've seen from some of you.
Peter

Hi Peter

Well we, along with most of the other members have the same interests. I like both RR & Military too. I look forward to seeing some of your watches.

Tom

Hello Peter, I will echo Tom's welcome to you and it is nice to read your posts....You may have hit the nail on the head in your analysis of the cause of the 'rattle' in Bob's 940....

When you get some time, please show us a few of your watches, that would be nice indeed....

Welcome to the '185 EXPRESS' we are going places so you might as well come along for the ride....

The best to you,
Jerry

Peter, please accept my warmest welcome for your joining our group. I beleive that we all share the credo; "It is the size of our passion to collect and share knowledge about watches and clocks that we measure in this group. The size of our collections is only measured by what we can share with our co-members for all to enjoy.

Hello Peter and welcome aboard! We are glad to have you and look forward to seeing your collection and reading your posts. I am a newbie to the group (and to collecting) and have met some incredible, friendly people willing to freely share their wisdom and thoughts. There is a never ending store of information for anyone interested in horology. Again, welcome!

Thank you Jerry and David, I will eventually start a post one of these days to "officially" introduce myself and I'll have to learn the picture posting, but there is nothing I have you haven't seen before.Till then, take care to you all.
Peter

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I've come up with a very unprofessional fix for my rattle. I cut a very small piece of electrical tape and attached it to the side of the swing-out ring at the bottom. The ring now fits very snugly in the case and the rattle is gone. It fits so tight even before the tape that I don't think a dust ring would fit there.

Regards,

Bob

Welcome aboard Peter. I can see you are getting right into the swing of things here at IHC185.

Friendly sharing of our horological knowledge, pictures of examples in our collections, etc. is what it's all about.

Thank you Mary Ann and Edward

Tom, electrical tape coming to the rescue once again!....Well, at least you didn't use DUCT TAPE!
(OK,sorry, but I couldn't resist!).
Peter

OOPS, sorry Bob for calling you Tom...Must be the effect of the late night...
Peter

Peter,

No problem. It's really a complement to be called Tom. He is a very helpful person. Let me take this opportunity to welcome you also.

Regards,

Bob