Hi,
I was admiring how much I loved my Hamilton 992B and fell asleep on the chair with it resting on my lap. When the phone rang I got up to answer it and my watch went flying and landed on the hardwood floor. I'm so bummed about it. It runs laying on its crystal but when layed on its back it ticks very slowing and then stops. Flip it back over on its crystal and it runs. It will even run on it's edge in any position but not on its back. I haven't checked it for accuracy since it was dropped. Any idea what kind of damage I may have caused by dropping it?
Thanks
Rick

Perhaps a broken pivot on the balance. If so, very repairable -- replace balance staff.

Michael,
Thanks for the info. Its comforting to know that it could be easily repairable.
Rick

If your the one that caused the damage you are lucky. At least you know it is a good runner. Like Mike says it's probably a broken staff, easily fixed, perhaps even by yours truly, the dropper. When the broken staff is removed don't forget that the little (Very little) pivot tail is still in the watch somewhere. so you may have to go after it the hard way by doing a COA. A good COA will probably bring it back to original or very close. If I had it here we could put it on the machine and see exactly whats wrong with it. In any case find and remove that tail before assembly.
Patrick

Patrick
I purchased the watch at a watch show. The seller (a watch maker for 40 years) said he had just given it a COA. It was my carry watch and it ran very well before the drop, only off 14 seconds in 2 months.
I have been buying tools a little at a time and try to read during the week. One of these days I look forward to disassembling a watch and putting it back together. I spoke with Steve ( the guy I got the watch from) today and he said to bring it down to his shop and we could work on it together. He is a two hour ride from me but if he is willing to show me things first hand I just may take him up on the offer. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Rick

Try not to miss this opportunity. Mentors are a good thing to have.

Hi Richard,

What a great opportunity. I Bought my first Pocket Watch from Dave Abbe... from the first time I visited his shop, I was "all in".

Dave spent a lot of time with me over the next year or so, showing me how to perform certain repairs and most importantly, which tools to use and how to use them correctly.

Having a hands on mentor is priceless.

Enjoy the ride,

Paul

Hi Richard,

Like you I have been trying to teach myself watch repair for a few years now. I have read a number of books and have mangled a few hairsprings in the process of learning. As they say... a picture is worth a thousand words... but to get a chance to work side by side with an experienced watchmaker would be invaluable! Do not miss this opportunity; I have been searching my area to try to do this very thing. There is no substitute for experience.

Best of luck,