Frozen Cannon Pinion

[bchaps]

Hi... I Received a client's 16s Elgin B.W. Raymond to see if it could be salvaged. It is actually a beautiful piece with GJS, a good staff and balance. But, the cannon pinion appears to be rusted to the center wheel. Any recommendations to free it up? Thank You, Bill

[bchaps]

Hi... I Received a client's 16s Elgin B.W. Raymond to see if it could be salvaged. It is actually a beautiful piece with GJS, a good staff and balance. But, the cannon pinion appears to be rusted to the center wheel. Any recommendations to free it up? Thank You, Bill

[GandalfPC]

For rust to bind two parts together probably means that both parts are rusted - so when (if) you do manage to free up the cannon pinon you will most likely (certainly?) find the center wheel post rusted also.

I was searching around on the board for tips on freeing rusted parts, but didn't manage to find any to refer you to yet - I will do a further search here and elsewhere later on tonight...

I have had great success removing rust using black tea (such as Earl Grey) - but have not tried it with parts that are frozen together - I am unsure whether it would free it up, or freeze them together forever... I will see if I can dig up something rusty to test it with.

If you have some other rusted and frozen together parts to experiment with, you can try soaking them in a pint of black tea - the tea should be made very strong (4 or 5 tea bags) - let it cool a few minutes before dropping in the parts, then leave it to soak 1 to 8 hours (checking on it from time to time)

I am fairly positive that this would be of no use at all if trying to free up a rusted screw, but it might do the trick for something like a cannon pinion...

Jason Goldman
Apprentice Watchmaker

[doug sinclair]

Bill,

A lot of rust removers are acid based. Leaving a rusted item soaking in any acid based rust remover will cause as much rust as it dissolves. I speak from experience on this. I don't generally advocate WD 40 for anything. But for your problem, a good long soak face down in a saucer of WD 40 should free up your rusted cannon pinion. I would recommend soaking it for a few days, grasp the cannon pinion with a good, tight pin vice, and coax the cannon pinion to turn. If it doesn't initially, soak the pinion some more. persist until it loosens.

Try tea if you wish, but before you do, remember, it is WATER based, and has tannic acid!


Doug S.

[beta21]

As stated, be careful with water in this location, since water will be drawn in between the arbor and the cannon pinion and eventually worsen the situation. I would, as Doug suggests, soak the assembly in the thinnest possible oil or kerosene. If it is a "through hole" in the cannon pinion, which it probably is, and there is no centre jewel in the bottom plate, I'd put the plate up-side down on a suitable ring to give the centre wheel clearance. Then a flat punch, slightly smaller in diameter than the hole in the CP is choosen. Give the centre pinion a couple of light taps with the stake, and the parts should come apart easily. I believe this method gives less stress to the metal of the arbor than twisting or pulling, which could cause the arbor to break.
Let us know how You managed!

Peter

[bchaps]

It Worked!!! Thank You! I soaked the cannon Pinion in WD40 for two days and then using a tiny ended punch made from a concrete nail, (my staking tools did not have a tip small enough to enter the cannon pinion), I was able to tap the arbor and free the cannon pinion. Fantastic!!! As much as I love reading Fried and DeCarle, this message board provides workable solutions where no one else does. Thank You again, Bill