Shaky Start After a Repair

[fbicknel]

After flushing that bush, I got the end shake I needed, but on reassembly, it still won't run.

At this point, I think the escapement must be toast.

I will try one more thing later on; the assembled without escape wheel test to see if the train runs free. If it does, I guess I'm in for asking Swissjewel company if they can replicate these. I dunno. I put it aside to think and maybe draw more comments here.

I suppose also that at some point that escapement pivot got re-bent. The escapement assembly hasn't been disassembled since it was put together again, so that's something else to check on.

 

[shutterbug]

Yes, that's the way we discuss those wheels often here. It's not always clear to new people what we mean, but it usually gets sorted out

 

[fbicknel]

I decided to pull it out of the box (I was bored) and see what happens. The cursed thing has been running on the stand all day. I'll leave it there a couple of weeks and see what happens.

I've been doing a little research online and this site called antiqueclockspriceguide.com has a dead ringer for it and they call it a Lafayette model. Can anyone confirm that? I'm not sure I trust their model labeling 100%.

 

[shutterbug]

If it runs on the stand but not in the case, you probably have something with the case interfering with it some how.

 

[fbicknel]

Yep, that would also be my first thought, but I think I found it.

When I put it in the case, I put the hands on and stake them in with the little tapered pin. When it's on the stand, that pin is just in there enough to keep it from falling out ... hassle to put in, etc.

Well....

I pushed that pin in all the way on the stand and guess what? The clock stopped!

So after a bit of head scratching over why that might be, I discovered that the hour tube was protruding just a bit and causing friction with the minute hand itself. I only figured this out by gently wiggling the minute hand and noticing that everything wiggled, even the hour hand. Hm....

So it turned out to be an easy fix: I didn't quite have the motion works drive gear (the one on the center shaft) on the shaft quite far enough. I loosened that setscrew (Thankfully this one wasn't pressed on) and moved it back ever so slightly, and that gave the hour tube enough clearance to not rub on the minute hand even when the latter was installed properly.

Oh yeah...

Here are a few pictures to show what's going on.

 

[fbicknel]

It's all back together and running now. Time *ahem* will tell if it continues to run this time, but it seems more likely this time around.

Seen here posing amongst its brothers and sisters.





... this time around. I'm gonna go wash my mount out with soap, now. Two time puns in one post... that's just too much.