Stripped threads in Pillar Plate

[Tom Barrett]

Hi, I'm new to pocket watches and really enjoyed disassembling an old Elgin watch, cleaning, lubricating, and reassembling it...and seeing it run well when I was finished. I am working on an Elgin 18s watch (Grade 82) to give my friend as a gift, and when reassembling it, I noticed one of the pillars on the pillar plate has stripped threads so the screw won't hold. I have a parts movement and would like to know if it's possible to remove and replace a pillar, and if so, how to do it. It appears, to my untrained eyes, to be either a press fit or perhaps screwed on via a stud in the plate. I don't want to experiment and damage anything unnecessarily!

 

[Jerry Kieffer]

Hi, I'm new to pocket watches and really enjoyed disassembling an old Elgin watch, cleaning, lubricating, and reassembling it...and seeing it run well when I was finished. I am working on an Elgin 18s watch (Grade 82) to give my friend as a gift, and when reassembling it, I noticed one of the pillars on the pillar plate has stripped threads so the screw won't hold. I have a parts movement and would like to know if it's possible to remove and replace a pillar, and if so, how to do it. It appears, to my untrained eyes, to be either a press fit or perhaps screwed on via a stud in the plate. I don't want to experiment and damage anything unnecessarily!

Tom
All repairs depend on how one is equipped and personal work standards.

It is likely that your pillars are threaded(right hand) in the plate per attached photo. Unfortunately, they tend to be very tight and sometimes troublesome to get loose.

I have a junk lathe draw bar and junk set of collets that I insert various parts into and can over tighten until I am able to snap whatever loose.

If your not equipped, I would suggest placing a small piece of hobby aluminum tubing over the post to protect it, and clamp onto it with a pliers or a
small vise grip.

Good Luck
Jerry Kieffer

 

[Tom Barrett]

Jerry: Thank you so much for the help; it worked like a champ. I had to use the vise grips method with a thick piece of leather around the pillar to prevent scratching, but outcome was the same.

Tom