Figure i8. — Tag Displaying Directions for Use of the Auburndale Timer. 

 (In author's collection.) 



same dial was used on ni()\einenls indicatina; quarters 

 and eighths of seconds, all being graduated in eighths. 

 A dial without provision for indicating the fractions of 

 a second on a separate small dial may be seen in 

 figure 17. This last has been made into a stand for 

 hair spring work and is shown with balance and spring 

 just as it came from the .Xuburndale factory with 

 balance spring and wheel for a timer still in place. 



The sweep second hand and the minute register 

 hand are attached to heart-shaped cams friction 

 driven from their respective staffs. They are reset by 

 a bar pivoted beneath the dial and actuated by the 

 stem through pressure on the crown. An original 

 instruction tag as sent from the factory with these 

 timers is seen in figure 18. 



Figure 19 shows the mechanism of the split-second 

 model as represented in U. S. patent 220195 of 

 September 30, 1879, issued to William A. Wales and 

 assigned to William B. Fowle.^° A split-second mech- 

 anism is used to time the finish of two horses in the 

 same race or any other similar event. In usual 

 watches of this nature the watch will run along 

 indefinitely with the extra or split second hand 

 stopped although this hand will not record more than 

 a difference of one minute from the main sweep hand. 

 This was not true of the Auburndale, as pointed 



*" The mechanism was al.so covered by British patent 3893, 

 issued .September 27, 1 879, to Philip .Syng Justice on behalf of 

 William B. I'owle. 



out in the instructions. The reason for this is that 

 motion is conveyed to this hand through a hair spring 

 which would be damaged if allowed to overwind. To 

 prevent this a stop is interposed which will h.ih the 

 entire watch unless directions are followed. The 

 serrated wheel /•■, of hardened steel, driving the second 

 sweep hand, is cut on the edge with 120 serrations; 

 stopping of this hand therefore is only to the nearest 

 half second regardless of how minutely the escapement 

 is dividing tiine. This is rather a serious defect as, 

 if timing a horse race as an exainple, the time of the 

 fastest horse is taken on this hand which registers a 

 lesser degree of accuracy than the time recorded on 

 the second and less important horse. A general view 

 of one of these watches is seen in figure 20. 



Success and Failure- 

 It would be pleasant to report that after the fiasco 

 of the rotary model these timers were a financial 

 success, but the facts indicate otherwise. They were 

 well built and reliable, so that the trade was pleased 

 to stock and promote them. The public responded 

 well when in the market for a timer, as might be 

 expected, since no other stop watch with fractional 

 second dial or split-second hand was made in the 

 country. Those imported from abroad were many 

 times as expensixe. I'nfortunately the demand was 

 seasonal. Soinetime.s. during the racing season, 



64 



BULLETIN 218: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY .AND TECHNOLOGY 



