I have a few (3 or 4) PW that will not run, either in the dial up or dial down position....other wise they run okay.

What is the reason for that?

What say you....

Regards,
Jerry

most the time i find that to be a broken staff and or jewel.if you lay it on the side they are good on it will run.Chris can help you out with them he is very good and dose not charge to much.

Doesn't appear to be a staff, but could be the jewel....

Chris has done great work for me in the past and I have a few that he will be getting....

Thanks, James....

Regards,
Jerry

I think it could be a few different things. Bent balance pivot/or pivots. The pivot can jam against the side of the jewel in the dial up or dial down position easier than pendant up where it can "float" between the cap jewels. When you say "runs OK", does the balance have good motion in a pendant up or down, etc position? There is less gravity working on the balance in the vertical positions, so it might run, but not necessarily well. This could mean it just needs a good cleaning. Hairspring might be rubbing against something in different positions. Is the hairspring between the regulator pins? There are probably other reasons I can't think of right now, but it should be easy to diagnose once disassembled.

Roger

I have a watch that runs in all positions except dial down, would that be the same problems as explained above, or something else. It drives me crazy, but the watch looks good, any solutions,
Thanks,
Bill

Hi Bill...Yes, it could be any of those. I would suspect a bent pivot, however.

Thanks for the info Roger,
what causes a pivot to bend or the other mishaps that are listed. Would dropping the watch do that type of thing. Unfortunately I am a collector rather than a repairer. This watch shows no sign of abuse at all, either to the case or the movement.
Thanks again,
Bill

Bill...Dropping or a sharp jolt is about the only way I know that a pivot can bend. They will often break because the material is so hard. The pivot could also be worn or there may be dirt in a jewel or a cracked or broken jewel. If you would like I would be happy to look at it for you and determine the cause of the problem. If it needs a simple repair there will be no charge except for shipping back to you. If it is more involved, such as restaffing, I will let you know before I do anything. BTW...I hope we are talking about an American Pocket Watch. I can make repairs to others, but parts can be a problem.

Roger,
I appreciate the offer to look at my watch, but this particular one is a swiss one, unfortunately.
Let me sit on this one for a bit, I have someone that is actually interested in buying it off of me, knowing that it has a problem, so will see where that goes first.
Thanks again for the offer, this could only happen in this club.
Bill

Hi Jerry,

This is not uncommon, and hopefully a thorough COA and some pivot polishing will restore them, most watches will show a decrease in amplitude when moved from horizontal to vertical, once stating to fail this drop is emphasized.
Of course there are many reason that can also happen if it was working well and has not been dropped etc dirt would be my first guess hopefully. As for bent pivots I have had a run of watch recently that have had the upper pivots bent form poor removal of the balance cock being lifted at a angle

Chris...Thank you for checking in on this topic...your vast experience is obvious and I appreciate reading your posts.

Roger

Jerry some good advice has already been posted.

Bill something you might check is the endshake on your watch,s balance ,, when a watch won,t run in dial down or up position there could be too much endshake.If there is too much endshake it will allow the pivot too drop down so far down that it will no longer be in the jewel, the watch will stop, but when you turn the watch over it will drop back in the jewel and take off running again.

Yes, you are correct, Samie & I thank one and all for the professional advice....

One of the watches I was refering to is a 12s GM Wheeler Elgin and I gave it a full wind a couple of day ago and it is still running, but only in the face up position....change positions and it stops immediately....This one will be going to Chris as soon as I can find a case for it.

Thanks again to all....

Regards,
Jerry

You might look for a tilted hair spring or a roller table that has not been fully seated.