126 



HOROLOGY. 



Relative 

 position of 

 the balance 

 wheel and 

 contrate 

 wheel ar- 

 bors. 



On the pen- 

 dulum 

 spring col- 

 let. 



since the old fashion of half timing has been left off, 

 that is, making the watch go without the pendulum 

 spring, if it goes slow 30, 32, or 33 minutes in the 

 hour, the balance may be considered of such a weight 

 as to be in no danger of knocking on the hanking from 

 any external motion the watch may meet with in fair 

 wearing. When the pallets of the verge are banked on 

 pins in the potence, tlu-y should, to prevent straining, 

 both bank at the same time, alternately the face of one 

 pallet on a pin, when the back of the other is on its pin; 

 or the banking may be done by a pin in the rim of the 

 balance, but not near the edge of it. Which of the two 

 is preferable, we shall not stop to determine. 



The verge watch, as has been already said, when pro- 

 perly executed, will perform extremely well. Aboutthir- 

 ty years ago or more, the writer of this article had some of 

 them made up in such a way, that they went fully as well 

 as any horizontal 'scapement, and for a longer time ; this 

 last requiring oil to the cylinder, after going ten or twelve 

 months. Oil, however, should never be allowed to 

 come near the wheel teeth or pallets of a verge. 

 , Verge or contrate wheel watches have, of late years, 

 been very much overlooked and neglected in many 

 respects, and in none more so than in th relative 

 position of the balance wheel, and contrate wheel ar- 

 bors. They are rarely seen but at a considerable dis- 

 tance from one another, which gives a very oblique 

 direction in the pitching of the contrate wheel with the 

 balance wheel pinion. It is well known, that where 

 force is indirectly or obliquely applied, it will work 

 under great disadvantage. These arbors ought to be 

 placed as near to each other as can be. In order to ob- 

 tain this, reduce the balance wheel pinion arbor towards 

 the end to the smallest size it mill bear, and turning a 

 hollow out of that of the contrate wheel, will allow 

 them to come very near the line of their centres. To 

 get this pitching to the greatest advantage, some place 

 the counter potence within the arbor of the contrate 

 wheel, so as to have the line of the balance wheel pi- 

 nion direct to the centre of the contrate wheel, as may be 

 seen in Plate CCCH. Fig. 1. 



It has been recommended by a very celebrated ar- 

 tist, that the movement wheels should be placed in such 

 a manner as to act at equal distances from the pivots of 

 those pinions which they drive, in order to divide the 

 pressure or action of the wheel between the pivots, and 

 that one should not bear more than the other. This is ap- 

 parently sound reasoning; but having put it in execution, 

 the pivots unexpectedly seemed to wear very fast, even 

 more so than in the common barred movement ; the 

 pivots, it is true, were small, and the motive force ra- 

 ther great. It is to be wished that it were again tried 

 by others to bring it to the test. No pivots have 

 been found to stand so well as those in movements of 

 the double barred sort. 



A pendulum spring collet, made as it ought to be, 

 is as seldom to be met with, as that which we have no- 

 ticed regarding the position of the contrate and balance- 

 wheel arbors. Yet simple as the thing is, it seems to 

 require a rule to shew hon it should be done, there 

 appearing to be none, if we may judge by the greatest 

 part of those which have hitherto been made. The 

 ring of the collet should be no broader than to al- 

 low a hole to receive the pendulum spring, and the 

 pin which fixes it. The *//'/ in the collet, for the pur- 

 pose of its being always spring tight on the inside taper 

 of a cylinder or verge collet, should be put close to 

 where the small end of the pin comes, when the spring 



is pinned in. The pendulum spring, in this case, will 

 have the first or inner coil at such a distance, as to al- 

 low the point of a small screw-driver to get into the slit 

 without any danger to the spring, when it is wanted to 

 set the collet and spring to any required place. If the 

 slit is put at the other end of the pin, where it is oftener 

 than anywhere else, it is evident that the workman can- 

 not get into it without danger. The outer end of the 

 pendulum spring ought to be pinned or fixed into a 

 brass stud or cock, in performing which operation it 

 goes easily on ; whereas with steel cocks or studs, there 

 is a kind of crossness and trouble, which shews that 

 they should never be used. 



Studs are, in general, very improperly placed, being Pendulum- 

 at a greater distance from the curb pins than is requi- spting stud*, 

 site. We have seen this distance so great, that the mo- 

 tion of the pendulum-spring between the stud and the 

 pins was such, as to take away a part from every vibra- 

 tion of the balance ; which is something like a pendu- 

 lum when suspended to a vibratory cock, where it would 

 not be allowed to have half the motion it would other- 

 wise have acquired. 



A few years ago, our modern improvers would 

 have the joint transferred from the pillar plate to the 

 brass edge, than which nothing worse could have been 

 proposed. In the old way, the whole of the move- 

 ment was kept in its place by the united assistance of 

 the joint, and of the bolt and its spring ; whereas, in 

 the other way, the movement had its sole dependence 

 on the pins of the braes edge feet, from which it would 

 be disengaged by violent exercise on horseback, &c. 



From what has been said of the imperfections in 

 watches, it may be seen, that they are inevitable, ari- 

 sing from a want of energy of mind in workmen, of 

 which not one in a hundred is possessed. Can it be 

 supposed, that every new watch, which is purchased, 

 is complete, and requires no assistance ? Whoever 

 thinks so, must be disappointed. Persons of this de- 

 scription, on finding it not to go as they expected, bring 

 it to a watchmaker, many of whom cannot put it in a 

 better state than that in which the workman left it. But 

 it is not brought to him with the view of any thing 

 being done to it, but to see what is the matter w ith it ; 

 never considering, that any irregular going or stopping 

 must imply some fault or other,and is the very cause that 

 brings them to the watchmaker. It does not follow, 

 however, from this, that every watch which stops is 

 badly executed ; this will happen sometimes with those 

 of the very best execution, and frequently from an over- 

 nicety of execution. On its being left with him, he 

 takes it down, to examine what is wanting to make it 

 keep time. The owner, on being told afterwards that 

 it will cost so much to make it do what is required, 

 strongly suspects, though he is polite enough not to 

 say it, that there must be some imposition on the 

 part of the watchmaker. Much is the trouble which 

 many have of rectifying the faults of work given 

 in to them, and thought to be complete, and much 

 money is paid to others to have them rectified. We 

 have known four guineas paid to a workman for do- 

 ing a particular branch ; and not being executed 

 to the satisfaction of the watchmaker, he has given 

 half as much more to another to have it corrected. 

 There are as few excel in this art as in those of sculp- 

 ture, painting, and engraving, which are called the 

 fine arts, a name to which the other is equally enti- 

 tled, but which labours under the great misfortune that 

 few or none are able to appreciate its merits. 



