I have a waltham model 1877 #1703804 KW/KS FP which has a small lever on side below barrel,it wound okay but I flipped the lever to put it in key set mode? and now I can not get it back to wind mode.How can I remove dial to access lever set mechanism since the hand shaft rotates and I can't loosen the nut above the minute hand??Would like to include a picture but need some tips on how to attach since I have a mac..JPG file..and these are too big to attach.Once again I admit my total ignorance!

Thanks,Mark

Hi Mark

Is the lever you moved the one show in this post?
https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...86047761/m/988100951

If so it is the let down lever to let the tension off the mainspring. If you moved it with it wound up you might have caused the winding arbor to come unattached from the mainspring, if there is a safety pinion on that model you might have also caused it to spin off the center wheel.

The nut you mention on the hands is not actually a nut, it is part of the cannon pinon. The hands will come off with out doing anything to it. The nut shape is only there to let you set the time with the key.

Does this make any sense to you.

Tom

I took a couple photos of a Waltham key wind cannon pinion so you can see it is one piece, it comes off like any other cannon pinion but does not have to come off to remove the dial. I think your problem maybe in the mainspring barrel & not under the dial.

Tom

Tom..yes that is the lever and I was afraid thats what happened ,checked the barrel arbor and the spring had come off the arbor.Can you rebend or attach the spring or do I need a new mainspring when this happens?Excellent description of the canon pinion for me, that is deceiving when you see it for the first time.I will take it down & see if indeed the safety pinion spun,is this something you can just retighten??
Also do anyone know how I can search for the hints on photo attachments for this site i remember seeing it somewhere last month

Thanks Again Tom!!!
Mark

Hi Mark

1st, here is the link about photos;
https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...s/a/frm/f/7356029761

Yes you can try to reshape the end of the mainspring so it grasps the winding arbor.

With the mainspring barrel out you can see the safety pinion, it is what the mainsspring barrels teeth engage to make the watch run. If it has come loose you can tell, it does just screw back on, some times they are left handed threads & sometimes right, it just depends on which direction the main spring turns.

Here is a link to some photos I posted yesterday showing a safety pinion.
https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...=649104261#649104261

Tom