I posted this question on the pocket watch page , they suggested I put it in the technical group so here it is ......

I am still not sure about what the s after the size means 16s.

I also have another simple question ( I hope ). I have acquired several reasonably priced (cheap) watches. Most of them do not work but I have two that do. They are all Elgins . The question is ..... how tight and how often to wind them. The one runs really well but I want to be careful not to over wind. The other winds up ok but requires a tap to get it started. It also seems that if I wind it tight there is a slippage of some kind and the tension goes out of the winding. when I wind again the tension increase and then slips again. I assume that this means the center of the main spring is not properly anchored or there is some sort of over winding protection in the watch.

The more I learn the more questions I have. Thanks again for everyones time and attention.

The s in 16s is for size. 12s = 12 size,18s = 18 size.

I'm sure the mainspring is broken in the watch you are having winding troubles with. If you don't want to mess with these just send them to me and I can fix them for you.

Lawrence, since you're offering, is the service free?

My advice is free. Labor cost is a little higher.

Thanks Lawrence I'll keep that in mind.