It is hardly necessary to say that great caution must be observed in taking the watch down - that is, i separating its parts. If you are new at the business think before you act, and then act slowly. Take off the hands carefully so a not to bend the slender pivots upon which they work; this will be the first Step. 2. Loosen and lift the movement from the case. Remove the dial and dial wheels. 4. Let down the main-spring placing your bench key upon the arbor, or "winding post," and turning as though you were going to wind the watch until the click rests lightly upon the ratchet; then with your screw-driver pres the point of the click away from the teeth, and ease down the springs. 5. Draw the screws (or pins) and remove the bridges c the train, or the upper plate, as the case may be. 6. Take out the balance. Great care must be observed in this or you will injure the hair-spring. The stud or little square post into which the hair spring is fastened may be removed from the bridge or plate of mos modern watches, without unkeying the spring, by slipping a this instrument, as the edge of a knife blade, under the corner of it and prying upward. This will save you a considerable amount of trouble, as you will not have the hair-spring to adjust when you reset the balance. If the watch upon which you propose to work has an upper plate, as an American or an English lever, for instance, loosen the lever before you have entirely separated the plates, otherwise i will hang and most likely be broken.

Having the machine now down, brush the dust from its different parts and subject them to a careful examination with your eye glass Assure yourself that the teeth of the wheels and leaves of the pinions are all perfect and smooth; that the pivots are all straight, round and highly polished, that the holes through which they are to work are not too large, and have not oval in shape; that every jewel is smooth and perfectly sound; and that none of them are loose in their settings. Bee, also, that the escapement is not too deep or too shallow; that the lever or cylinder la perfect; that all the wheels have sufficient play to avoid friction, but not enough to derange their coining together properly; that none of them work against the pillar-plate; that the balance turns horizontally and does not rub; that the hair-spring is not beat or wrongly set so that the coils rub on each other, on the plate, or on the balance; in short, that everything about the whole movement is just as reason would teach you it should be. If you find it otherwise, proceed to repair in accordance with a carefully weighed judgment, and the processes given in the next chapter, after which clean - if not the watch only needs to be cleaned, and therefore you may go ahead with your work at once.

How To Clean

Many watchmakers wet the pillar-plates and bridges with saliva, and then dipping the brush into pulverized chalk or Spanish whiting, rub vigorously until they appear bright. This is not a good plan, as it tends to remove the plating and roughen the parts, and the chalk gets into the holes and damages them, or sticks around the edges of the wheel-beds. The beat process is to simply blow your breath upon the plate or bridge to be cleaned, and then to use your brush with a little prepared chalk- (See recipe for preparing it.) The wheels and bridges should be held between the thumb and finger in a piece of soft paper while undergoing the process; otherwise the oil from the skin will prevent their becoming clean. The pinions may be cleaned by sinking them several times into a piece of pith, and the holes by turning a nicely shaped piece of pivot wood into them, first dry and afterwards oiled a very little with watch oil. When the holes pass through jewels you must work gently to avoid breaking them.

The oiling above named is all the watch will need. A great fault with many Watchmakers lies in their use of too much off.

The Chemical Process

Some watchmakers employ what they call the "Chemical Process" to clean and remove discolora-tions from watch movements. It is as follows:

Remove the screws aud other steel parts, then dampen with a solution of oxalic acid and water. Let it remain a few moments, after which immerse in a solution made of one-fourth pound cyanuret potassa to one gallon rain water. Let remain about five minutes, and then rinse well with clean water, after which you may dry in sawdust, or with a brush and prepared chalk, as suits your convenience. This gives the work an excellent appearance.

How To Prepare Chalk For Cleaning

Pulverize your chalk thoroughly, and then mix it with clear rain water in the proportion of two pounds to the gallon. Stir well and then let stand about two minutes. In this time the gritty matter will have settled to the bottom. Pour the water into another vessel, slowly so as not to stir up the settlings. Let stand until entirely settled, and then pour off as before. The settlings in the second vessel will be your pi pared chalk, ready for use as soon as dried.

Spanish whiting treated in the same way makes a very goo cleaning or polishing powder. Some operatives add a little jeweler's rouge, and we think it an improvement; it gives the po der a nice color at least, and therefore adds to its importance in the eyes of the uninitiated. In cases where a sharper polishing po der is required, it may be prepared in the same way from rotti stone.

Pivot Wood

Watchmakers usually buy this article of water material dealers. A small shrub known as Indian arrow-wood, be met with in the Northern and Western States, makes an exce lent pivot wood. It must be cut when the sap is down, and sp into quarters so as to throw the pith outside of the rod.

Pith For Cleaning

The stalk of the common mullen affor the best pith for cleaning pinions. Winter, when the stalk is dr is the time to gather it. Some use cork instead of pith, but it inferior.

How To Pivot

When you find a pivot broken, you will hardly at a loss to understand that the easiest mode of repairing the damage is to drill into the end of the pinion or staff, as the ca may be, and having inserted a new pivot, turn it down to the pr per proportions. This is by no means a difficult thing when the piece to be drilled is not too hard, or when the temper may be slightly drawn without injury to the other parts of the article.

How To Tell When The Lever Is Of Proper Length

You may readily learn whether or not a lever is of proper length, by mea uring from the guard point to the pallet staff, and then comparing with the roller or ruby-pin table; the diameter of the table should always be just half the length measured on the lever. The ru will work both ways, and may be useful in cases when a new rub pin table has to be supplied.

How To Change Depth Of Lever Escapement

If you are opera ing on a fine watch the best plan is to put a new staff into the lever, cutting its pivots a little to one side - just as far as you desi to change the escapement. Common watches will not, of course justify so much trouble. The usual process in their case is knock out the staff, and with a small file cut the hole oblong in direction opposite to that in which you desire to move your pallet then replace the staff, wedge it to the required position, and secu by soft soldering.

In instances where the staff is put in with a screw you will have to proceed differently. Take out the staff, pry the pallets fro the lever, file the pin holes to slant in the direction you would move the pallets, without changing their size on the other Bide of the lever. Connect the pieces as they were before, and with the lever resting on some solid substance you may strike lightly with your hammer until the bending of the pins will allow the pallets to pass into position.

How To Tell When The Lever Pallets Are Of Proper Size

The clear space between the pallets should correspond with the outside measure, on the points, of three teeth of the scape wheel. The usual mode of measuring for new pallets is to set the wheel as close as possible to free itself when in motion. You can arrange it in your depthing tool, after which a measurement between the pivot holes of the two pieces, on the pillar plate, will show you exactly what is required.

How To Put Watches In Beat

If a cylinder escapement, or a detached lever, put the balance into a position; then turn the regulator so that it will point directly to the pivot-hole of the pallet staff, if a lever, or of the scape-wheel, if a cylinder. Then lift out the balance with its bridge or clock, turn it over and set the ruby-pin directly in the line with the regulator, or the square cut of the cylinder at right angles with it. Your watch will then be in perfect beat.

In case of an American or an English lever, when the regulator is placed upon the plate, you will have to proceed differently. Fix the balance into its place," cut off the connection of the train, if the mainspring is not entirely down, by slipping a fine broach into one of the wheels, look between the plates and ascertain how the lever stands. If the end furthest from the balance is equi-distant between the two brass pins it is all right - if not, change the hairspring till it becomes so.

If dealing with a duplex watch, you must see that the roller notch, when the balance is at rest is exactly between the locking tooth and the line of centre - that is, a line drawn from the centre of the roller to the centre of the scape-wheel. The balance must start from its rest and move through an arc of about ten degrees before bringing the locking tooth into action.

How To Prevent A Chain Running Off The Fusee

In the first place you must look after and ascertain the cause of the difficulty. If it results from the chain's being too large, the only difficulty is a new chain. If it is not too large, and yet runs off" without any apparent cause, change it end for end - that will generally make it go all right. In cases where the channel in the fusee has damaged and is rough, you will be under the necessity of dressing it over with a file the proper size and shape. Sometimes you find the chain naturally inclined to work away from the body of the fusee. The best way to remedy a difficulty of this kind is to file off a very little from the outer lower edge of the chain the entire length - this, as you can see, will incline it to work on instead of off. Some workmen, when they have a bad case, and a common watch, change the standing of the fusee so as to cause the winding end of its arbor to incline a little from the barrel. This, of course, cannot do otherwise than make the chain run to its place.

How To Weaken The Hair-Spring

This is often effected by grinding the spring down. You remove the spring from the coilet, and place it upon a piece of pivot wood cut to fit the centre coil. A piece of soft steel wire, Battened so as to pass freely between the coils, and armed with a little pulverized oil stone and oil, will serve as your grinder, and with it you may soon reduce the strength of the spring. Your operations will, of course, be confined to the centre coil, for no other part of the spring will rest sufficiently against the wood to enable you to grind it, but this will generally suffice. The effect will be more rapid than one would suppose, therefore it will stand you in hand to be careful or you may get the spring too weak before you suspect it.

How To Tighten A Ruby Pin

Set the ruby pin in asphaltum varnish. It will become hard in a few minutes, and be much firmer and better than gum shellac, as generally used.

How To Temper Brass Or To Draw Its Temper

Brass is rendered hard by hammering or rolling, therefore when you make a tiling of brass, necessary to be in temper, you must prepare the material before shaping the article. Temper may be drawn from brass by beating it to a cherry red, and then simply plunging it into water the same as though you were going to temper steel.

How To Temper Drills

Select none but the finest and best steel for your drills. In making them never heat higher than a cherry red, and always hammer till nearly cold. Do all your hammering in one way, for if, after you have flattened your piece out, you attempt to hammer it back to a square or a round you spoil it. When your drill is in proper shape heat it to a cherry red, and thrust it into a piece of resin, or into quicksilver.

Some use a solution of cyanuret potassa and rain water for tempering their drills, but for my part I have always found the resin or quicksilver to work best.

How To Temper Gravers

Gravers and other instruments larger than drills, may be tempered in quicksilver as above; or you may use lead instead of quicksilver. Cut down into the lead, say half an inch; then, having heated your instrument to a light cherry red, press it firmly into the cut. The lead will melt around it, and an excellent temper will be imparted.

Other Methods To Temper Case Springs

Having fitted the spring into the case according to your liking, temper it hard by beating and plunging into water. Next polish the small end so that you may be able to see when the color changes; lay it on a piece of copper or brass plate, and hold the plate over your lamp, with the blase directly under the largest part of the spring. Watch the polished part of the steel closely, and when you see it turn blue remove the plate from the lamp, letting all cool gradually together. When cool enough to handle polish the end of the spring again, place it on the plate and bold it over the lamp as before. The third blueing of the polished end will leave the spring in proper temper.

Any steel article to which you desire to give a spring temper may be treated in the same way.

Another process said to be good, is to temper the spring as in the first instance; then put it in a small iron ladle, cover it with linseed oil and hold over a lamp till the oil takes fire. Remove the ladle, but let the oil continue to burn until nearly all consumed, when blow out, re-cover with oil and hold over the lamp as before. The third burning out of the oil will leave the spring in the right temper.

How To Temper Clicks, Ratchets, Etc

Clicks, Ratchets, or other steel articles requiring a similar degree of hardness should be tempered in mercurial ointment. The process consists in simply heating to a Cherry red and plunging into the ointment. No other mode will combine toughness and hardness to such an extent.

How To Draw The Temper From Delicate Steel Pieces •Without Springing Them

Place the article from which you desire to draw the temper Into a common iron clock key. Fill around it with brass or iron filings,and then plug up the open end with a steel, iron or brass plug, made to tit closely. Take the handle of the key with your plyers and hold its pipe into the blaze of a lamp till near hot, then let it cool gradually. When sufficiently cold to handle, re-more the plug, and you will find the article with its temper fully drawn, but in all other respects Just as it was before.

You will understand the reason tor having the article thus plugged up while passing it through the beating and cooling pro-. when we tell you thatspringing always results from the action of changeable currents of atmosphere. The temper may be drawn from cylinders, staffs, pinions, or any other delicate pieces by this mode with perfect safety.

How To Temper Staffs, Cylinders Or Pinions, Without Springing Them

Prepare the articles as in the preceding process, using a steel plug. Having heated the key-pipe to a cherry red, plunge it into water; then polish the end of your steel plug, place the key upon a plate of brass or copper, and hold it over your lamp with the blaze immediately under the pipe till the polished part becomes blue. Let cool gradually, then polish again. Blue and cool a second time, and the work will be done.

How To Draw The Temper From Part Of A Small Steel Article

Hold the part from which you wish to draw the temper, with a pair of tweezers, and with your blow-pipe direct the name upon them - not the article - till sufficient heat is communicated to the article to produce the desired effect.

How To Blue Screws Evenly

Take an old watch barrel and drill as many holes into the head of it as you desire to blue screws at a time. Fill it about one-fourth full of brass or iron filings, put in the head, and then fit a wire, long enough to bend over for a handle into the arbor holes - head of the barrel upwards. Brighten the heads of your screws, set them, point downwards, into the holes already drilled, and expose the bottom of the barrel to your lamp till the screws assume the color you wish.

How To Remove Blueing From Steel

Immerse in a pickle com posed of equal parts muriatic acid and elixir vitriol. Rinse in pun water and dry in tissue paper.

How To Make Diamond Broaches

Make your broaches of brass the size and shape you desire; then, having oiled them slightly, roll their points into fine diamond dust till entirely covered. Hold them then on the face of your anvil and tap with a light hammer till the grains disappear in the brass. Great caution will be necessary in this operation. Do not tap heavy enough to flatten the broach. Very light blows are all that will be required; the grains will be driven in much sooner than one would imagine.

Some roll the broach between two smooth pieces of steel to imbed the diamond dust. It is a very good way, but somewhat more wastelul of the dust.

Broaches made on this plan are used for dressing out jewels.

How To Make Polishing Broaches

These are usually made of ivory, and Med with diamond dust, loose, instead of having been driven in. You oil the broach lightly, dip it into the finest diamond dust and proceed to work into the jewel the same as you do the brass broach. Unfortunately, too many watchmakers fail to attach sufficient importance to the polishing broach. The sluggish motion of watches now-a-days, is more often attributable to rough jewels than to any other cause.

How To Make Diamond Files

Shape your file of brass, and charge with diamond dust, as in the case of the mill. Grade the dust In accordance with the coarse or fine character of the file desired.

How To Make Pivot Files

Dress up a piece of wood file-fashion, about an inch brood, and glue a piece of fine emery paper upon it. Shape your file then, os you wish it, of the best cast steel, and before tempering pass your emery paper heavily across it several times, diagonally. Temper by heating to a cherry red, and, plunging into linseed oil. Old worn pivot files may be made over and made new by this process. At first thought one would be led to regard them too slightly cut to work well, but not so. They dress a pivot more rapidly than any other file.

How To Make Burnishers

Proceed the same as in making pivot files, with the exception that you are to use fine flour of emery on a slip of oiled brass or copper, instead of the emery paper. Burnishers which have become too smooth may be improved vastly with the flour of emery as above without drawing the temper.

How To Prepare A Burnisher For Polishing

Molt a little beeswax on the face of your burnisher. Its effect then, on brass or other finer metals, will be equal to the best buff. A small burnisher prepared in this way is the very thins with which to polish up watch wheels. Rest them on a piece of pith while polishing.

How To Clean A Clock

Take the movement of the clock "to-pieces." Brush the wheels and pinions thoroughly with a stiff, coarse brush; also the plates into which the trains work. Clean the pivots well by turning in a piece of cotton cloth held tightly between your thumb and finger, The pivot holes in the plates are generally cleansed by turning a piece of wood in them, but I have always found a strip of cloth or a soft cord drawn lightly through them to act the best. If you use two cords, the first one slightly oiled, and the next dry to clean the oil out, all the better. Do not use salt or acid to clean your clock - it can do no good, but may do a great deal of harm. Boiling the movement in water, as some practice, is also foolishness.

How To Bush

The hole through which the great arbors or winding axles work, are the only ones that usually require bushing. When they have become too much worn the great wheel on the axle before-named strikes too deeply into the pinions above it, and stop the clock. To remedy this bushing is necessary, of course. The most common way of doing it is to drive a steel point or punch into the plate just above the axle hole, lints forcing the brassdown-ward until the hole is reduced to its original size. Another mode is to solder a piece of brass upon the plate in such a position as to hold the axle down to its proper place. If you simply wish your clock to run, and have no ambition to produce a bush that will look workmanlike, about as good a way as any is to fit a piece of hard wood beetween the post which comes through the top of the plate and the axle. Make it long enough to hold the axle to its proper place, and so that the axle will run on the end of the grain. Cut notches where the pivots come through, and secure by wrapping around it and the plate a piece of small wire, or a thread. There is no post coming through above the axle on the striking side. but this will rarely require bushing. I have known clocks to run well on this kind of bushing, botchified as it may appear, for ten years.

How To Remedy Worn Pinions

Turn the leaves or rollers so the worn places upon them will be towards the arbor or shaft, and fasten them in that position. If they are "rolling pinions," and you cannot secure them otherwise, you had better do it with a little soft solder.

How To Oil Properly

Oil only, and very lightly, the pallets of the verge, the steel pin upon which the verge works, and the point where the loop of the verge wire works over the pendulum wire. Use none but the best watch oil. Though you might be working constantly at the clock repairing business, a bottle costing you but 25 cents, would last you two years at least. You can buy it at any watch-furnishing establishment.

How To Make The Clock Strike Correctly

If not very cautious in putting up your clock you will get some of the striking-train wheels in wrong, and thus produce, a derangement in the striking. If this should happen, pry the plates apart on the striking side, slip the pivots of the upper wheels out, and having disconnected them from the train, turn them part around and put them back. If still not right, repeat the experiment. A few efforts at most will get them to working properly.

A Defect To Look After

Always examine the pendulum-wire at the point where the loop of the verge wire works over it. You will generally find a small notch, or at least a rough place worn there. Dress it out perfectly smooth, or your clock will not be likely to work well. Small as this defect may seem, it stops a large number of clocks.