This is gonna' be a long one, so hang in there! First, here are the two clocks:
I've always had an affection for these little Schatz 8 Day clocks, built on the same platform as 400 Day clocks, but regulated with a balance wheel with lever pin pallet escapement. I find it captivating to watch that big 1-inch diameter balance wheel turning to and fro. The first Schatz 59 I acquired was dated 5 of '68, and was not in running condition. The tarnishing and corrosion on the brass case of this carriage model was extreme, the worst I've ever seen. The hands were so badly rusted there was no way they could be restored, so I let them be. It came from Hawaii so I assume its condition was most likely caused by proximity to salt air near the ocean. A friend of mine laughingly called it a "Steampunk" clock, so I just decided to leave it that way. At least the case matches the hands this way!
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I gave it a full service, but I wasn't expecting too much as it was obvious as soon as I let down the mainspring that the barrel was most likely in need of bushings (I could wiggle it slightly back and forth on its arbor). And it appeared the mainspring arbor pivot holes needed bushings as well and I think some of the other pivot holes did too. It's a known problem with these clocks. But lacking the equipment and parts (and the experience) to "bush the holes" I decided to forge ahead anyway. Here's some photos of the disassembled movement.
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Servicing the mainspring presents a challenge when using a spring winder, (Ollie Baker in my case), because the clock's winding key side of the mainspring arbor protrudes from the solid side of the barrel as opposed to coming through the cap which is usually the case. When the barrel is mounted in the spring winder, the clock's winding key which is threaded onto the arbor must be used to wind the mainspring. So, I made an adapter out of a 7/16" deep reach socket to deal with the problem. The mainspring will come out of the right-hand side of the barrel in this case, but the Ollie Baker has just enough room to fit the proper sleeve in the limited space available between the barrel and tailstock.
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I was definitely intimidated with servicing the balance wheel with its fragile hairspring, but it turned out I needn't be. The Schatz 59's are built the same way as the 53's and 54's, with the going train being held between the front plate and that middle third plate. Once you assemble all the wheels plus the pin pallet lever into their respective pivot holes, and being held in place, the balance wheel with its hairspring can then be installed between the front and rear plates, along with the mainspring barrel. The tiny pin that stakes the hairspring to its anchor is a PITA, but magnifying head gear with the right magnification and a steady hand makes it doable.
In the end the Schatz 59 responded to its service well, it's running OK and keeping decent time, but I was a little disappointed to see the amplitude of the balance wheel wasn't quite what I hoped it would be. I'm casting blame on worn pivot holes in this case.
The second Schatz 59, recently acquired, does not bear any of Schatz's trademarks on the back plate. It is been renamed Bulova on the dial, and the back plate bears the name "BULOVA WATCH CO. INC..", and the usual "TWO (2) JEWELLS UNADJUSTED W. GERMANY". Now we know Schatz went belly up and closed down in 1985. So, I'm thinking they made a deal with Bulova who at that time were very successful with their line of wrist watches (I can remember their TV commercials – yeah, I'm that old!). Probably a last-ditch effort to keep the company solvent, like their introduction of electric powered models (Quartz models, and Exacta and the like). If you're interested in the history of the company, this is a very good read: Schatz Clock Company aka Jahresuhrenfabrik
At any rate when I first inspected the clock to see why it wouldn't run, what I saw made me believe that I was really going to take a total loss on this one. Somehow, and It doesn't even seem possible, the balance wheel staff had somehow been forcibly moved sideways out of the pivot adjuster and was jammed up against and embedded into the rear plate! How could this be? The rest of the train was perfect with no abnormalities, the plates were not loose, so how did this happen?
I thought that after removing the pivot adjuster the staff might fall free, but this was not the case. It really was embedded in the front plate. So, believing the pointed bearing surface of the staff to be totally destroyed beyond repair, I loosened the plates to free the staff, and I'm off to my microscope to see what the heck is going on with this clock. The end of the staff was full of metal shards (see photos), and looked at first glance to not be salvageable. At this point I'm thinking how am I going to remove the hairspring from the balance wheel staff and come up with some way of chucking this in my lathe to salvage this mess, when I had an idea:
Why not clean the staff in place with 99% alcohol and an artist paint brush? It worked! I also placed the pivot adjuster in a small container with alcohol and shook the hell out of it and blew the jeweled bearing out with compressed air. Then I coated the tip of the staff, and the bearing in the pivot adjuster, and the escape wheel and the pin pallets with my favorite Dupont Teflon lubricant, put 'er back together and Voila! She's running like a champ. Balance wheel amplitude is an amazing nearly 360°, and I am one happy guy!
But I'm still wondering, how could the damage this clock sustained have happened? No evidence of it being dropped, or any other abuse, what? Any ideas guys?
So there you have it, here's a few more photos of the Bulova clock:
.
.
.
I've always had an affection for these little Schatz 8 Day clocks, built on the same platform as 400 Day clocks, but regulated with a balance wheel with lever pin pallet escapement. I find it captivating to watch that big 1-inch diameter balance wheel turning to and fro. The first Schatz 59 I acquired was dated 5 of '68, and was not in running condition. The tarnishing and corrosion on the brass case of this carriage model was extreme, the worst I've ever seen. The hands were so badly rusted there was no way they could be restored, so I let them be. It came from Hawaii so I assume its condition was most likely caused by proximity to salt air near the ocean. A friend of mine laughingly called it a "Steampunk" clock, so I just decided to leave it that way. At least the case matches the hands this way!
.
I gave it a full service, but I wasn't expecting too much as it was obvious as soon as I let down the mainspring that the barrel was most likely in need of bushings (I could wiggle it slightly back and forth on its arbor). And it appeared the mainspring arbor pivot holes needed bushings as well and I think some of the other pivot holes did too. It's a known problem with these clocks. But lacking the equipment and parts (and the experience) to "bush the holes" I decided to forge ahead anyway. Here's some photos of the disassembled movement.
.
.
Servicing the mainspring presents a challenge when using a spring winder, (Ollie Baker in my case), because the clock's winding key side of the mainspring arbor protrudes from the solid side of the barrel as opposed to coming through the cap which is usually the case. When the barrel is mounted in the spring winder, the clock's winding key which is threaded onto the arbor must be used to wind the mainspring. So, I made an adapter out of a 7/16" deep reach socket to deal with the problem. The mainspring will come out of the right-hand side of the barrel in this case, but the Ollie Baker has just enough room to fit the proper sleeve in the limited space available between the barrel and tailstock.
.
.
I was definitely intimidated with servicing the balance wheel with its fragile hairspring, but it turned out I needn't be. The Schatz 59's are built the same way as the 53's and 54's, with the going train being held between the front plate and that middle third plate. Once you assemble all the wheels plus the pin pallet lever into their respective pivot holes, and being held in place, the balance wheel with its hairspring can then be installed between the front and rear plates, along with the mainspring barrel. The tiny pin that stakes the hairspring to its anchor is a PITA, but magnifying head gear with the right magnification and a steady hand makes it doable.
In the end the Schatz 59 responded to its service well, it's running OK and keeping decent time, but I was a little disappointed to see the amplitude of the balance wheel wasn't quite what I hoped it would be. I'm casting blame on worn pivot holes in this case.
The second Schatz 59, recently acquired, does not bear any of Schatz's trademarks on the back plate. It is been renamed Bulova on the dial, and the back plate bears the name "BULOVA WATCH CO. INC..", and the usual "TWO (2) JEWELLS UNADJUSTED W. GERMANY". Now we know Schatz went belly up and closed down in 1985. So, I'm thinking they made a deal with Bulova who at that time were very successful with their line of wrist watches (I can remember their TV commercials – yeah, I'm that old!). Probably a last-ditch effort to keep the company solvent, like their introduction of electric powered models (Quartz models, and Exacta and the like). If you're interested in the history of the company, this is a very good read: Schatz Clock Company aka Jahresuhrenfabrik
At any rate when I first inspected the clock to see why it wouldn't run, what I saw made me believe that I was really going to take a total loss on this one. Somehow, and It doesn't even seem possible, the balance wheel staff had somehow been forcibly moved sideways out of the pivot adjuster and was jammed up against and embedded into the rear plate! How could this be? The rest of the train was perfect with no abnormalities, the plates were not loose, so how did this happen?
I thought that after removing the pivot adjuster the staff might fall free, but this was not the case. It really was embedded in the front plate. So, believing the pointed bearing surface of the staff to be totally destroyed beyond repair, I loosened the plates to free the staff, and I'm off to my microscope to see what the heck is going on with this clock. The end of the staff was full of metal shards (see photos), and looked at first glance to not be salvageable. At this point I'm thinking how am I going to remove the hairspring from the balance wheel staff and come up with some way of chucking this in my lathe to salvage this mess, when I had an idea:
Why not clean the staff in place with 99% alcohol and an artist paint brush? It worked! I also placed the pivot adjuster in a small container with alcohol and shook the hell out of it and blew the jeweled bearing out with compressed air. Then I coated the tip of the staff, and the bearing in the pivot adjuster, and the escape wheel and the pin pallets with my favorite Dupont Teflon lubricant, put 'er back together and Voila! She's running like a champ. Balance wheel amplitude is an amazing nearly 360°, and I am one happy guy!
But I'm still wondering, how could the damage this clock sustained have happened? No evidence of it being dropped, or any other abuse, what? Any ideas guys?
So there you have it, here's a few more photos of the Bulova clock:
.
.
.
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