I cleaned and oiled a Hamilton 974 a couple of weeks ago, which included removing the cap jewels, pegging out all the hole jewels, and so on. Before cleaning the watch was running fine, but now the balance runs VERY sluggishly.

I thought there might be some residual dirt so I took the whole thing apart again and cleaned it a second time, then re-oiled it. (Including removing the cap jewels). Put it back together, same problem. In fact, now it's stopping a lot, and I have to shake it to get it started. Then it ticks listlessly and stops again.

What should I be checking?

As I say, this confounds me because the watch was fine before I put my big thumbs into it.

Doug-

Did you oil the pallet fork jewels? it will stop a watch. also, hairspring may be rubbing the balance wheel.

Jared

I'm with Jared.. To much oil?

I did oil the front faces of the pallet fork jewels. It hasn't been a problem on the other watches I've done, and it is recommended in the books I've read. Should I avoid oiling them? (The books recommend either oiling the front of the jewels or a few escape wheel feet).

I've taken the balance out several times and don't think it's rubbing anywhere, though I'll take another look.

Bruce: any particular place or signs I should look for too much oil?

Doug, when you reassembled these, FIRST you test the Balance wheel for "free spin without the train in place, and likewise TWICE test the train for "free spin", first alone before lube, and then after lube with the Motor to see that the escape wheel has a slight recoil when the motorized spin is over.

I also GENTLY test the Pallet fork for "reverse flutter" when it IS FIRST installed. (A neat trick.)

If all of these things happen right and you have a good mainspring the only way you would experience a sluggish movement is from something messing with the Pallet fork/Balance wheel parts.

I had a similar problem with a Hamilton 974 that I had to re-staff. Every thing moved really well, new mainspring, cleaned, oiled, and as it turned out the culprit was the hair / balance spring. It was a little out of shape and the Breguet overcoil portion was touching the top of the rest of the spring on the rebound and slowing the balance down. I ended up lifting it up a little on the regulator pins (the two small ones that hold the spring in place to effectively lengthen it or shorten it) and squeezing it enough to keep from working itself down. And so far so good. I had another watch where the hairspring was touching the bottom of the balance cock, and another one where the spring was rubbing against the top of the balance arms (there was some slight petina that I had to rub off before it would move freely).

Dan: I think you've got it! I checked the overcoil and it looked like it might be touching a bit on the hairspring. I nudged it upwards slightly and the balance took off!

I'll keep an eye on this for a little while, but fingers crossed, so far you're looking like a genius in my eyes.

Thanks for all the other suggestions. If this doesn't hold up, I'll start on the pallet fork or David's suggestions with the wheel, but I'm hoping not to have to take this thing apart again. I prefer simple solutions!

Good to hear you found it. I figured it had to be something with the hairspring, but I have also seen people not oil the pallet fork stones and have that stop the watch. When you said you oiled the ends of the stones, it lead me to believe it was down to a hairspring adjustment issue if it was working fine before. Let us know how it goes. I will agree with David on the "reverse flutter" test. It allows quick assessment of how well the power is running thru the gears.

Thanks Jared. Yes, I was thinking you had suggested not to oil the stones. I know not to oil the pallet arbor ...

I actually did a 'reverse flutter' when I got the gears installed, and it seemed to work.

Presently running fine. I'll give it a day.

Doug,
Glad to hear you got it working! Nothing quite like seeing a balance get new life from a minor tweak!

Jared,
I have a 956 that is sluggish (new mainspring, oiled, cleaned, etc.) and it is sluggish. I have not oiled the pallet stones, and I am thinking I should look into the that! That is what I love about this site, help and be helped all in the same post!
Dan

Dan-

I had an 0s south bend I worked on for about six months on and off and then realized I hadn't oiled the ends of the stones. It took right off and kept perfect time. I had the watch together and apart probabky 10 times looking for the culprit... A learning experience to say the least.