An 1875 Elgin has a comprimized screw hole on one side of the cap jewel plate. Is there a tool (ancient or new) which can re tap the threads? I currently have a replacement screw in place, but like the previous one, it rotates without tightening down. However,it does seem to be holding the cap jewel and plate in for now.
Thank you.

I just have thought. We use locktite on bolts & screws that loosen in other applications. Has anyone tried locktite on watches. Once the screws are in they hold. When you want to remove them they will loosen but you need to use a little more effort than normal, but usually not as much as some the originals that have been in so long they have become a part of the movement.

When I have a stripped Jewel screw, I take the near smallest ball tip stake, and a "stump" and using my Watchmaker's anvil for suppport, I LIGHTLY strike the top of the stripped hole so the ball end compresses the hole enough to accept the thread again. This works 99% of the time (for me ) WARNING!, if this is struck too hard, you may need to scrape out the Jewel pocket, so be careful try and test, try and test . . .

One other thought on the loctite, they make it in several different types, from one that needs heat to free it up to one that will still loosen by hand, if I remember correctly part of the ingredient in loctite is cyanoacrylate which is the ingredient in superglue.

Tom

Thank you gentlemen for somethought provoking responses. I did not have the courage to broach the subject of glue,so I am relieved wiser men than myself have done so in this forum. Anthor confession is that I also do not have the courage to stake anything at this point, but this too is excellent information for me to consider.
Does there exist a tool which the original watchmakers owned which threaded the bridge or re-tap?
As a note of interest the discovery of the bad thread was the result of my investigation as to why the Elgin ran well in every position except on its back. I have seen this before and this was the first time I suspected a cap jewel and supporting gear.

My friends,
I have a follow up question. The watch is beginning to stop occasionally again,only now, it doesn't seem to matter if the timepiece is on its back or straight up. It starts again easily, when I gently rotate clockwise then counterclockwise 180 dgrees. Also the tick seems weak. Any opinions? I am wondering if the mainspring is set.

Also, can anyone recommend a good troubleshooting book for pocket watch repair. I need to read more/see a list of, the many things which have gone wrong with watches. I often encounter issues which, probably because of lack of experience, I can not explain. Thank you my friends.

Kenneth,

I agree with both David and Lindell. Compressing the soft metal to decrease the thread diameter, very carefully and just as Mr. Abbe describes, is the best option. If the outer material will not shrink sufficiently to accept the screw, I think a good adhesive is the only option. Both cyanoacrylate as well as 2 part catalyzed epoxy, which is also a good option in this case, are removable through boiling in water. So no permanent harm will come from doing this in my opinion.

William

I'm sorry, but everytime I stumble across this subject title, I think 'Oh no, another good watch has bitten the dust!?'



Regards! Mark

Kenneth, Friction is the enemy and in most cases that is what you are fighting against. I use an isolation process in repair work. When I take down a movement, I start with the balance. If the pivots and jewels are good, they are cleaned & oiled and put in the movement with no other parts. Note: I take the cap jewel and hole jewels out and clean them and place my oil between the cap jewel and hole jewel. I check for good balance motion by a twist of the wrist and watch the balance carefully. I like to see at least a full minute of oscillation of the balance wheel before it comes to a nice gradual stop with no jerking action. I will also turn the movement upside down and in various positions to make sure the oscillation does not change in the different positions. At this time it is easy to look in to see if the balance is in beat by making sure the roller jewel is centered between the banking pins. Once satisfied with a good balance, I move on to the train and clean all the wheels and pivots, plates and pivot holes. A close examination of all of these parts is important. Assemble the movement with just the train in place (no mainspring, no pallet) and check for a nice smooth running train with no binds. Next I check the mainspring and see if it needs replacing. The barrel, cap and arbor, along with the spring are cleaned and lubed and put back together. Now I put the mainspring in with the train and give a click or two to wind while watching the train. It should run smoothly and ideally when stopping actually run backwards a bit. After adding the pallet, give a few more winds and check for a nice snapping action as you gently move the pallet fork back and forth (a pin works well). If all is well, when you drop the balance assembly back in place the movement will take off before you even get the screw in the balance cock. This process works for me. I share it as informational only and don't suggest that this is the best or only way to go about repair work. This is also just the basic process, as there are a lot of other things I do as well, such as going over the winding/setting mechanism, etc.

For a step by step process by a master see Chris Abell's post:

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...091039223#6091039223

Good Luck!
Roger

Roger,
On your repair or insight postings, I am very impressed with what you add to the various topics especially since I am not a repaireman
I probably know just enough to get me in over my head
Thanks for your contributions and insights to our club
regards,
bb