The first task in watch adjusting to positions is aligning the two horizontal rates: dial up and dial down. In our “Dial Up, Dial Down” series, we’ve explored some of the many reasons why a watch runs faster in one horizontal position than another.

Recall that “rare things happen rarely,” so in most cases your DU/DD difference will be fixed by cleaning the balance jewels, cleaning and polishing the balance staff’s pivots, and reoiling the jewels evenly.

Nevertheless, you run across some weird stuff when you work on old watches, so in this running post, we’ll add some of the more obscure and quirky causes of DU/DD differences as we come across examples of them.

Balance Wheel Scrapes Against Bridges and Center Wheel

Normally, of course, the balance wheel should not touch the various bridges or any of the wheels. Occasionally, however, the wheel swings freely in one horizontal position but scrapes something in the other, causing a DU/DD difference.

Here’s a quirky example from a Hamilton 987A wrist watch movement. Someone added HUGE timing washers to slow it down. The diameter of the washer larger than the width of the balance wheel, so the washer extends beyond the wheel. This is a bad use of timing washers.

Here’s another look at the oversized washers and how they jut out. When dial up, some of the washers would lightly scuff the center wheel.

When your timing machine suggests rubbing or scraping, it helps to remove the hairspring, as in the photo above. You can observe the escapement more clearly and rule out some hairspring problems.