I have a friend who has a Waltham 23j Vangard that is apparently overbanked, and needs the name of a good, competent watch person in the Washington D.C. area.

He really doesn't want to ship it off for something this simple.

Anyeone here have any suggestions who I can send him to?

Your help would be MOST appreciated.

Regards! Mark

Hi Mark,

How did it get overbanked? That should not happen if everything is right. It may not be as simple as he thinks.

Agreed, a 23J Vanguard that acts like that needs a more careful review.

I have no idea. That's why he wants to find someone competent in the D. C. area to take a look-see.

No one come to mind?

Regards! Mark

Kensington Clock and Watch
Expensive and will probably suggest the watch include a full servicing.
They generally take 3 months.

Mark, here is the closest one to your friend....In fact this one is only as far away as his post office is and that is;

Mr C Abell

P.O. Box 2070

Flint, TX 75762

Regards,

Jerry

Thanks, Jerry. Chris and I are on a first name basis and have been for years.

Like I said, my friend was hoping to keep it local, and I thank Michael for the name.

I'll pass it along. Thank you!

Regards! Mark

You know, that's funny what I hear about over banking.

I have had three watchmakers tell me in the last year that, if a watch is comletely run down, with no pressure on the balance, that if you take the watch and twist it like your trying to start it, and do it to hard that you can very well cause it to over bank.

I had done that to a Hamilton 992, and one of them talked me through taking the balance cock out and reinstalling it, and it has run just fine with NO problems.

So it's not always that there is another problem, Right?

Regards,
Larry

Here's a quote from another post that perhaps can explain some "possibles";

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Posted November 20, 2010 13:30

Some of the single roller movements that overbank can be a pain too get right,,A few things that can cause the problem is the guard pin too far away from the roller table it needs too be as close as it can and not rub,,also the roller jewel needs too be the correct size not too loose when it enters the pallet fork,also the lock and the release of the pallet has too be right on these which a lot of the times can be adjusted with the banking pins.Also one very imporant thing on these is they have too be in perfect beat.

What happens with these when not set up right is as the mainspring runs down there is less power on the train and the snap on the pallet fork gets weaker and they overbank usally on the last few hours of run time..

Posts: 2332 | Location: Monticello, Kentucky U.S.A. | Registered: June 24, 2004
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regards,
bb

Yeah, I caught that post too, Buster.

Larry, that kind of sounds like the situation he may be caught up in right now. He said he opened the back, gave the watch the 'twist', and the balance only bounced rather than cycled as usual, so something is definitely amiss in that area of the watch.

He also told me he had just returned from a cross country flight with it in his pocket, so it could have possibly been affected by magnetism when it was being x-rayed at security. Just a theory on my part on that one, though.

Regards! Mark

What Samie posted on another thread (Buster has included that info here) is exactly correct. Read his words carefully. "when not set up right" means just that. If everything is correct there is NO way a watch should overbank under ANY condition. Having said that, we are dealing with watches that have wear, have been touched by who knows how many watchmakers...both competent and otherwise and conditions may very well exist for a watch to get into overbank. Lets not confuse what does sometimes happen to what should NEVER happen if everything is correct.

Understood, and the words WERE carefully read, Roger. Thanks.

We also need to keep in mind we're talking about an old watch. In the case of this particular watch, I believe it's from the late '40's, so we're talking about a highly engineered machine with very close tolerances that's over 60 years old and in regular use.

Set up correctly or not, anything could have happened. As I said above, 'apparently overbanked' and a place to start, but it could anything...even a sheered gear tooth seizing the train. Who knows? That's usually the starting point when a watch is full wound, will no longer wind or run, and the balance bounces when the watch is twisted in hand.

That's why I posted his request for someone local to take a look-see to give him an idea what the problem was. Nothing more.

Thank you again for the suggested shop. It's only a few blocks from his place of business and he wasn't aware they worked on pocket watches. He plans on taking it there for an evaluation, and will proceed from there.

Regards! Mark

Mark,

I have used the Kensington Watch Co. they are good. But the Estate Store in white Flint Mall i Rockville,MD is better but also expensive. I don't have the phone # off hand but they will give a free estimate at least.

Hope this helps

Thanks, Steven.

He just emailed me and said he's got things lined up now, and asked me to thank you all for your help.

Regards! Mark

Hey Mark, I know you are on first name basis with Chris....I was being a little facetious about the matter and in fact do you remember the comments made about my Father's Elgin that he had back in the 40's....As I explained then that my brother had possession of the watch and he lives in Pauls Valley, OK....When he asked me if I knew of anyone locally that could do the repair, I told him the same thing I said to you....yeah, Chris is as close as your post office.... and besides Dallas is only a couple of hours away....

Anyway, that was my reason....and I have Jewelers all around me but I would never go any of them to check them out because I feel I have a "sure thing" when dealing with Chris....

Regards,

Jerry

Just this minute saw your response, Jerry. Did want you to think I was ignoring you.

I knew you were being facetious, and totally agree with your suggestion. As it is, he got everything sorted out, and is a happy camper once more.

Regards! Mark