Adjusting a 1941 Hamilton 987A “Bagley” to 6 Positions
I found this little watch—a Hamilton “Bagley”—in a local shop. The shop owner’s big passion is coins, but he’s also a NAWCC member and a pocket watch collector, and some… Read more »
Dynamic Poising, 4: An Extended “How To” Example
After reading the earlier posts in this series, you should understand the basic reasons why watches can have different rates across positions. But like everything else in life, you really… Read more »
Dynamic Poising, 3: Why the 4 Vertical Rates Differ
The second task in dynamic poising is to align the 4 vertical rates. For vintage watches, the vertical rates usually differ by a lot. My trusty 12s Illinois, for example,… Read more »
Tools for Removing Weight
In dynamic poising, we add weight to the balance wheel’s lightest spot or remove weight from the wheel’s heaviest spot. What tools work well for removing weight? The amount of… Read more »
Tools for Adding Weight
To put a balance wheel in poise, we add weight to the lightest spot or remove weight from the heaviest spot. What are good tools for adding weight? Balance Screw… Read more »
Dynamic Poising, 2: Why Dial Up and Dial Down Rates Differ
The first step in adjusting to 5 positions is aligning the dial up (DU) and dial down (DD) rates. It doesn’t make sense to align the 3 vertical positions unless… Read more »
Dynamic Poising, 1: The 3 Basic Tasks
How do we go about adjusting a watch? This series of posts explains dynamic poising, an approach to positional adjustment that is nothing short of a watchmaking marvel. In this… Read more »
What Watches Can (or Shouldn’t) Be Adjusted?
We can make almost any watch tick and keep good time when it’s left dial-up on a shelf, but not all watches can or should be adjusted to keep close… Read more »
How “Near” is “Near Zero”? Accuracy Standards for Watch Adjustment
We often repeat Jendritzki’s definition of adjustment to alter the period of the balance and spring so that the daily rate of the watch comes as near to zero as… Read more »
Our “Textbooks” for Adjusting Vintage Watches
You can only learn so much on the Internet. As old as it makes me sound to say this, you need to read some books—bound, physical, used-to-be-a-tree books—to get good… Read more »