ADDITION:

I just tried something simple and it seems to work ok except that you can see the balance wheel actual slow down at the 50 sec mark. I moved the regulator all the way over to the FAST side and it keeps runnung. Does THAT help at all?

Bud



Hi everyone;

I have a question that I can't find the answer to in the books.

I was given a watch by a lady across the street from me. It is a small "O" size I think, and it appears to be overwound. (I gently tried to wind it but it wouldn't move at all) So, I gave it a little shae and off it went. Then it stopped at the 50 second mark on the sub dial. I shook it gently again and off it went. I've done this about twenty times and it's always the same. It stops at the 50 sec. mark every thime.

Can anyone tell me what might be wrong?

Bud

The watch is wound too tightly and the best advice I can give you is to give it to your watchmaker and let him let the spring down then do a thourough COA, (Clean, Oil, Adjustment) on the watch and everything will be hunke dorie once again....

Regards,

Jerry

Bud,

First and foremost, there is no such thing as a watch being overwound. That is a term that is used extensively and the only thing it means is that something is wrong with the watch. There could be numerous reasons why this watch is stopping at the 50 second mark, starting with something as simple as the second hand touching the dial slightly at that spot.

Hi Bud

Just as Jerry said it need a cleaning.

I have found the following but it is only based on my limited experience at this;

The watch will get gunked up & stop every now & then. Sometimes a piece of gunk will get caught in one of the pinion leaves & will stop the watch at exactly so many seconds or minutes. The only way to fix it is to clean & oil the entire movement.

Good Luck

Tom

Hi Roger;

Ok...... now I am confused.

I always thought that if you keep turning the crown to the point when it won't go any further, and you DO go further, and the watch STOPS working, then it means you've "overwound" the watch. Or mainspring to be more presice. Surely the term "overwound" isn't used for numerous other malfunctions, is it?

Maybe I should have taken up rocket science instead of collecting pocket watches, it's got to be easier less confusing.

Bud

You may be right there, Bud....Rockets get up one way and one way only, propulsion....a watch works may ways and don't work many ways, you have to find the reason why by taking it apart and cleaning, oiling and adjusting....

I am no watchmaker, by any streach of ones imagination but I have heard someone say that by winding a watch too tightly, something(here is my ignorance)becomes over banked....what....I have no idea....

But the watch is going to need cleaning, I'm sure....

Regards,

Jerry

Bud,

Short answer is that it is impossible to overwind a watch that is in working condition. Now if you crank on the crown really hard after the spring becomes tight, you will likely strip the soft brass threads in the crown, or break the mainspring which will become immediately apparent. If you wind a watch tight and it doesn't run, there is simply something wrong with the watch. It may need cleaning, there may be a broken part, or any number of things could be wrong, but 'overwound' won't be one of them.

Jerry,

Overbanking occurs when the roller jewel gets on the the outside of the pallet instead of traveling smoothly thru the pallet fork. Again, a properly working, setup watch cannot be overbanked. If it gets overbanked, then something is wrong. Examples...the guide pin on the pallet may be maladjusted, the banking pins may be out of adjustment.

Roger, it just dawned on me that what you are saying is absolutly correct....a couple of weeks ago I was going through some of my Wife's Aunt Ginny's things and came across a small necklace watch in the original box and container along with the instruction booklet and all....I read it and in the instructions it plainly said, "wind the watch until you can't wind any further and don't worry about too much, it can't be wound too tight".....

So, Bud, it is not overwound....

Regards,

Jerry

PS...Thanks Roger, for the explanation of Over Banked....I heard the expression used many times but never really knew what it's meaning was....

Thanks, again....

Bud

Like Roger, who is by far more of an expert at this subject than me said you can't over wind a watch other than winding it so tight you break something. When the watch is wound the main spring is coiled up with all the power setting there waiting to be used up. Something is keeping that from happening, as he said anything from broken parts to just dirt, oil that has become hard etc.

One auction sites you always see the statement that the watch is over wound when really something else is happening to keep the watch from running.

Tom

Bud: I'd be using a loupe to watch the second hand to see that it's not rubbing the dial at the 50 second mark. Very odd that it would stop there each time. It could even be a spec of dust or grit in that exact tooth of the second gear

When you think about the jostling a watch takes when carried, it is a wonder that they run and keep time as well as they do. The safety roller/guide pin and banking pins on a watch all serve to help keep the watch running smoothly in all sorts of adverse conditions. Think now of the clock which sits in one place, has the advantage of size and doesn't need to be made to handle jostling and the wonder of the watch becomes even more fascinating.

Thank you very much guys, and Roger, thank you for that explanation. I think I actually understand what you mean now. This one here, that was stopping every 60 seconds has baffled me because now that I pushed the regulator thingy all the way over to the FAST side, it hasn't stopped one single time. Strange, maybe it just needed that little extra "power" in the spring to get it over whatever the hump was?

Does that make any sense Roger?

Thanks again guys, this is really interesting stuff.

Bud

Bud...I doubt that moving the regulator made the difference. You are talking about a VERY small amount of power difference in the hairspring from the two extreme positions. My guess is that by playing around with it you have loosened things up enough to get it to run. Try moving the regulator back the other way and see if it stops again. At any rate, it does sound like the watch needs a complete service.

Roger... I thought that moving the regulator just had to do with the distance the Balance wheel traveled. I didn't realize it changed the power at all.

Regards,
Larry

Larry,

The hairspring is anchored to the balance cock with a stud. The regulator serves to effectively change that anchor point. The two regulator pins that straddle the outer coil become a variable anchor point. When you shorten the spring by moving the regulator toward F the hairspring has just a bit more power and when you lengthen it by moving it toward S it is just a bit weaker. The same concept can be visualized on a larger scale with a mainspring. When you wind the watch the coils become tighter and the spring becomes stronger (stores more power). As the watch winds down, the spring uncoils and becomes weaker (stores less power).

That is very clear. Now I know.

Thank you Roger.

Regards,
Larry