BE FEARLESS IN REPAIRS, IF SURE YOU ARE RIGHT.

Hence the importance of the workman being perfectly posted on such matters and, knowing that he is right, can go ahead and make the watch as it should be.  The writer had an experience of this kind years ago in Chicago.  A Jules Jurgensen watch had been in the hands of several good workmen in that city, but it would stop.  It was then brought to him with a statement of facts given above.  He knew there must be a fault somewhere and searched for it, and found it in the exit pallet—­a certain tooth of the escape wheel under the right conditions would sometimes not escape.  It might go through a great many thousand times and yet it might, and did sometimes, hold enough to stop the watch.

Now probably most of my fellow-workmen in this instance would have been afraid to alter a “Jurgensen,” or even hint to the owner that such a thing could exist as a fault in construction in a watch of this justly-celebrated maker.  The writer removed the stone, ground a little from the base of the offending pallet stone, replaced it, and all trouble ended—­no stops from that on.

STUDY OF AN ESCAPEMENT ERROR.

[Illustration:  Fig. 64]

Now let us suppose a case, and imagine a full-plate American movement in which the ingress or entrance pallet extends out too far, and in order to have it escape, the banking on that side is opened too wide.  We show at Fig. 64 a drawing of the parts in their proper relations under the conditions named.  It will be seen by careful inspection that the jewel pin D will not enter the fork, which is absolutely necessary.  This condition very frequently exists in watches where a new pallet stone has been put in by an inexperienced workman.  Now this is one of the instances in which workmen complain of hearing a “scraping” sound when the watch is placed to the ear.  The remedy, of course, lies in warming up the pallet arms and pushing the stone in a trifle, “But how much?” say some of our readers.  There is no definite rule, but we will tell such querists how they can test the matter.

Remove the hairspring, and after putting the train in place and securing the plates together, give the winding arbor a turn or two to put power on the train; close the bankings well in so the watch cannot escape on either pallet.  Put the balance in place and screw down the cock.  Carefully turn back the banking on one side so the jewel pin will just pass out of the slot in the fork.  Repeat this process with the opposite banking; the jewel pin will now pass out on each side.  Be sure the guard pin does not interfere with the fork action in any way.  The fork is now in position to conform to the conditions required.

HOW TO ADJUST THE PALLETS TO MATCH THE FORK.