Hamilton 992b stainless steel case

[Joe Straub]

Hi,

How are the pins that secure the bow to the pendant on a Hamilton model 15 stainless steel case for a 992b secured in place? How is the bow removed from the case?

Thanks in advance,
jcs

[Joe Straub]

Hi,

How are the pins that secure the bow to the pendant on a Hamilton model 15 stainless steel case for a 992b secured in place? How is the bow removed from the case?

Thanks in advance,
jcs

[pocwatjim]

Joe,
There are two types of bow pliers. One for removing it and one for installing/tightening it.

To remove it the pliers are made to slip inside the bow and it spreads the bow and the reverse would accomplish the tighting/installing of the bow.

If you use needle nose or some other type of tool it will usually leave teeth or scratch marks.

[doug sinclair]

Joe,

Welcome to the NAWCC Message Board!

Do I assume correctly that you need to remove the bow because the hinge pins are loose, and there is a danger the bow may come off by itself? If so, the trick to getting the bow off will be the smaller part of repairing the wear and re-fitting the bow. There was an excellent article published in the NAWCC BULLETIN in October, 1995 showing how to repair this sort of problem. Let us know if we can help further.

[Joe Straub]

Thanks Jim and Doug for the replies, and thank you for the welcome. I have been reading the message board for over a year now, and I have gained a wealth of information from many knowledgable people who post on the board.

You assumed correctly Doug, the stainless steel cased 992b that I have has a loose hinge pin on one side, I can see the head of the pin rocking slightly in the bow. This is the problem I would like to correct, if possible, although at this point, I have no fear the pin is going to come out.

I could also be proven wrong about that when I start wearing the watch!

When I looked into the gap between the crown and the pendant with an eye loupe, I could see the inside end of the pin rotating as I rotated the bow. The end of the pin inside the pendant also appeared to be larger than the head of the pin, appearing like the inside end of the pin may have a nut or retainer threaded, press fit or staked on it.

Can I assume the pin is a seperate component to the bow, and if so, how is the pin retained on the end inside the pendant?

I am guessing the outside end of the pin has a small head on it to keep it from sliding any further into the hole in the bow and rubbing against the crown. I am also guessing that the pin may be keyed to the hole in the bow by maybe a flat on the pin because the pin rotates with the bow even on the slightly loose side.

Although this watch appears to have seen little use, the bow is definitely not 'stiff' as I have experienced on other watches, most notably, as on a Star stainless steel cased Elgin 571 that I have. The Elgin also appears to have seen little or no use.

I like these post-WWII railroad watches, but the lady watchmaker (yes - lady with over 30 years experience, I feel lucky to have found her) I use told me that in the post-WWII watches, sometimes the manufacturing tolerances and quality control in non-critical areas (such as this 992b bow) were not as good as in the earlier watches.

Maybe this 992b came from the factory with the bow in this condition?

Any knowledge I can gain would be most gratifying.

Thanks again,
jcs

[doug sinclair]

Joe,

From your description, it could be that the hinge pin "floats" in both the bow and the pendant. Removing the crown might reveal the inner end of that floating pin. I have seen this type of arrangement on watch cases in the past, but I wouldn't swear that the case you have is built that way. It would be necessary to remove the movement from the case, grasp the inner tip of the stem with smooth jawed pliers, and back off the crown. This might reveal the inner end of the hinge pin. If it does, that would be an easy removal and repair. Or you might find the wear to be less than critical, and that you might get away with leaving it as is.

[Joe Straub]

Thanks Doug, your apt 'floats' description looks to me to be the case. Also, my hope is that it might be an easy repair, as you suggest.

The next step is to call my lady watchmaker and see what she says.

I will post another message as this project progresses.

Thanks again,
jcs

[doug sinclair]

Joe,

Please keep us posted. We might all learn from this!

[Kent]

Like Joe, I have an affinity for post-WWII railroad standard watches, and I also have a 992B in the stainless steel No. 15 case and a 571 in the No. 3057 stainless steel case. I had always wanted to built a display box for the "Big Three" post-WWII standard watches and I have a question:

<span class="ev_code_blue">Was the post-WWII Waltham No. 1623 Vanguard even sold in a factory-cased stainless steel case? If so, what did it look like?</span>

Thanks,

[Joe Straub]

Doug & Kent,

I have seen both of you reply to many message posts in the past, thank you for replying to my post. It is very humbling.

I am inspired to pursue this bow project so that I can report my findings on the message board and we all can learn, as Doug suggests.

Learning, for me, is the most gratifying part, and a successful repair reinforce the gratification. Let's see what happens.

Thanks again to all who replied,
jcs

[Jon Hanson]

Joe,

Maybe you could do a "before and after" scan or picture?

[Joe Straub]

Jon,

OK, I have a scanner and a Nikon 3200 with a nice close up capability. As much trouble as I been reading about trying to post pictures on this board, I think I would prefer to e-mail the pix to someone who knows how to post them.

I would be glad to share pictures, thanks for asking, Jon.

jcs

[Jon Hanson]

look forward

[Kent]

Joe:

It really is easy, once you have the pictures stored on your hard drive (or jump drive, or CD or whatever) - and you know which drive and what folder the pictures are in.

Currently, Tom Chaudoir, the NAWCC Message Board Administrator, is recommending that those who do not have web space in which to post pictures register for a free account at flickr.com (http://flickr.com/register.gne). Their menu-driven procedure for loading pictures is about as easy as it gets. After you enlarge the picture, using flickr's magnifying glass icon <span class="ev_code_BLUE">(the magnifying glass icon appears in a toolbar above the loaded & saved picture once you've clicked on the picture)</span>, scroll down below the picture to find the field labeled "1. Grab the photo's URL:" The link in that field is the one to post on the NAWCC Pocket Watch Message Board.

As I've offered to others, you can attach it (them) to an e-mail to me (you can get my email address by clicking on my name in the upper left-hand corner of this post and viewing my Public Profile) and I'll post it (them) for you.

Good luck,

[Joe Straub]

Point well taken, Jon. Unlike yourself, I don't have a webpage, so Flickr.com it will be. It has to be easier than buying a tank of gas right now.

Thanks for your helpful suggestions on how to use Flickr.com, Kent.

Doug, the first step will be taking the movement out of the case, and then, instead of using the smooth jaw pliers you recommended, I think I will hold the square stem with a 4" crescent while I carefully attempt to screw off the crown. Then I can look at the inside end of the bow pins much better.

I will post my findings on the board.

Thanks all,
jcs