Second servicing of Elgin pocket watch

So today my ultrasonic cleaner came in the mail. I figured it was as good an opportunity as any to break this watch back down and give it a much more thorough cleaning and see how the assembly would go for a second time. 

Really love the watch dial for this watch. I think it’s called a railroad dial since it breaks down the individual minutes in the sub sections. 

Here we have the dial removed. The dial screws are along the vertical edge. At the 12 o’clock position on the face is the setting and keyless works. 

Here I’ve removed the minute wheel, setting wheel, cannon pinion, and setting and keyless works. That’s about it for this side. I put the screws back in because they’re less critical and I don’t want to lose them. 

So now we’ve flipped over to the movement side of the watch. Normally I’d have the movement on a movement holder but this pocket watch is slightly too big for the one I have. I really like the details on this watch. I think it was advertised as “damaskeening” but the rippled texture on the steel is amazing in something from 1936 and something mass produced in such a small size. I also removed the balance because it’s so delicate I find it a good practice to set it off to the side before I get started. Sorry for not including it in the pictures. 

Here I’ve removed the crown wheel (which is reverse threaded.), the click, and the ratchet wheel. At this point I’ve also used the crown and my tweezers to move the click out of the way so I can let the mainspring wind down carefully  this way the watch isn’t under tension when I’m disassembling. 

Here’s a closeup showing the click spring under the click. It’s not under natural tension like modern click springs so I opted to leave it in place. 

Here we have the train bridge removed exposing the train of wheels. I’ve also removed the pallet clock and pallet fork. I’m actually surprised how sturdy these wheels and their pinions are.

Here I’ve removed the barrel bridge. Exposing the center wheel (with long pivot. Which is why I have to hold the movement because the movement cushion will push the wheel out otherwise). I can also remove the stem and winding pinions. In this watch the stem was originally two pieces. And so I have to use a screwdriver into the square opening at the crown head to wind the watch. 

So here is the empty main movement plate and the tray I offloaded everything into. I ran all these through two 5-10 minute cycles in the ultrasonic. I loaded parts into a small jar first filled with lighter fluid and then submerge that jar in the water of the ultrasonic just enough so it doesn’t float. And then move all those parts over to a jar of 92% isopropyl alcohol for a rinse. I have to do this in stages as everything won’t fit all together. 

I reassembled and oiled the watch after all this and it’s actually running worse than before. I’m not sure yet if I damaged or incorrectly installed something. Either is equally likely. But I’m learning which is the important part. I’m hoping to do more investigation tomorrow or the next few days. Let me know if you have questions. Really happy to share.