I cleaned my watch and oiled it i reasembled it 2 times and it still won,t run.
What are some things that are common mistakes a beginner could make when reasembling.
The watch is a elgin 7 jewel, pendant set.

What you describe is not all that unusual, so don't be discouraged.
What I do first is let down the mainspring and remove the bal & bal cock, along with the pallet arbor & pallet assy. Gently wind a couple of clicks on the mspg. The train should turn freely and even back up a little as it comes to a stop. Try this in a couple of positions, it should turn very easily with a minimim of friction. If this is OK, next put the balance assy back in the watch and give it a gentle 'twist' in the horizontal plane. The balance should oscillate easily in all positions. If it doesn't, check the hairspring first. Often it is pushed up or down and is fouling the balance arms or the cock. Then check the balance rims for contact with the center wheel. Reinstall the pallet cock (without the pallet assy) to check if the balance is hitting that. If its not touching anything (don't forget to make sure that the hairspring coils aren't hitting the base of the stud or the index pins) check the pivots, and jewels. If the balance seems OK, remove it, reinstall the pallet assy & cock and put a half turn on the mspg. With a toothpick, gently move the fork end of the pallet lever back & forth between the banking pins. Make sure that the escape wheel is releasing and that the lever,'snaps' into lock on the opposite banking pin after it is released.
All of the above should enable you to either find the problem area or greatly narrow down where to look.
Keep us posted on what you find out.

Ed Ueberall
NAWCC 49688
IHC Member 34
The Escapement

I am having a similar problem. My watch is an Elgin 16. I first thought my problem may have been with the hairspring. I bent up the old hairspring, trying to remove it and discarded it. (I shouldn't have done that! I hadn't read about how to straighten bends, at that point.) I've tried various hairsprings, which appear to be the same size--even pulled one from another Elgin movement, but the balance will not turn freely, when wound up.

I wonder if I may have damaged the cap jewel. When I first removed it, the two halves fell out, but there also seemed to be a washer or a small gasket between them. I put them back in without that washer. I attempted to put the cap jewels back with a punch and watchmaker's hammer. My angle was not straight on and the cap jewel rotated within the jewel hole. I used my staking set anvil to remove and replace it again. Much easier that way! I wonder if I could have closed the hole or damaged the cap jewel, from my inexperience--and that is why the balance will not rotate smoothly? For now, I have set the watch aside and began working with clocks. Any thoughts?

Willy,

Hmm... sounds like an interesting challenge. I am assuming that the two "halves" you are refering to are the two parts to a balance setting. One part is a hole jewel and the other is the cap jewel. These are removed from either the balance cock or foot by first removing the screws. The plate or bridge is then turned over. I usually place this on a piece of button pithwood and use a jewel pusher (an appropriate sized concave hole punch can also be used), and pushing the two jewels out. The jewels easily push into the pithwood and stay put. ie they don't go skipping off of the bench into a dark corner

The "washer" you refer to isn't a standard piece, but could have been a past watchmaker's poor fix to give more endshake during a past staffing job. The proper fix would have been to shorten the balance staff pivot.

To return the jewels after proper cleaning the process is reversed. First replace the hole jewel (check if there is an index mark that aligns with an index mark on the plate or cock) then replace the cap jewel (again check for an index mark). They should only be pushed in by hand. Even a light blow with a punch and hammer can deform the delicate jewel setting or crack a jewel. If this happens, new jewels will need fo be found or fabricated.

I suspect (given the fact that a washer was found in the mix), that the balance endshake is too little, causing the balance pivots to be pressed against both the top and bottom cap jewels when the balance bridge is tightened down, which will stop the balance from freely moving.

I would be happy to look at your watch if you are ever in Washington or if you make it to the Chapter 66 meeting in ElPaso of September 26.

Mike Miller

Thanks for your reply Mike! This happens to be the same watch, I had emailed you about before. I set the watch aside, while I read up some more on Fried's Bench Practices book. I thought I might set it aside and clean another watch and bring any that I had problems with to the local chapter meeting in September. I am planning to go, but I have not yet called any of the officers of that chapter. Should I bring any watchmaking tools with me?

They have a pretty good mart there. Bring what you want to sell or trade

Mike Miller

I'll keep that in mind. I was just wondering about bringing something to take the watch apart enough to inspect it, while at the chapter meeting?