Micromechanics and Watchmaking: Overhaul

This week we have been practicing overhauling a simple watch movement. This involves identifying potential problems while disassembling the watch then running it through a mechanical cleaner. Once the watch has been cleaned it must be lubricated and reassembled while maintaining a meticulous level of cleanliness. The trick here is to make sure you don't get even a single smudge anywhere on the watch and to keep an eye out for lint/hair/dandruff/dust etc. that floats down and contaminates the watch. Then you must ensure that the miniscule amounts of oil you are applying are in exactly the right location and quantity. It is a challenge, but I have improved greatly in just a few days of practices.

Some issues I encountered with my particular watch included:
1. The third wheel was not true and had to be flattened
2. The guard pin on the pallet fork was too low in relation to the safety roller on the pallet staff and had to be adjusted
3. The entrance jewel on the pallet fork was seated too shallow and was causing excessive amplitude and had to be adjusted
4. The regulation pins on the balance were set too wide causing an out of rate situation in vertical orientations

Each operation that brings the watch back to perfect working order has its own procedure and special tools. It will be interesting to see how well the watch keeps time once all of the adjustments are done and I have it assembled in a final state. I will post the timing results here once I get them.