Another pocketwatch project..

[HAC]

or.. the joys of parts..

I found this:


A 12S 19J Illinois model 5 from the 1920's

and this:


A nearly mint 12S gold filled case with a new glass crystal

And thus should end up with something like this Photoshop mix of the two..


Of course, there will be the usual fettling, and a servicing, but that's all part of the fun.. Total cost? $42.50

Cheers
Harold

[rogue_designer]

That's a good looking movement. Is that corrosion, or just gunk, on the swans neck spring on the regulator?

Lovely case too. It does appear to be nearly perfect condition. Nice find. 

What are the possible pitfalls in the fitting/fettling process?

[HAC]

The regulator neck is gold plated on that model, so its most likely some pitting in the plating, or with luck, simply dirt..

As far as fitting ges, the bigg thing is that the depth of the stem in the case is correct.. On American pocket watches, the stem is actually held in by a screwed-in sleeve in the case tube. You ened the stem to have the correct depth into the movement so that it will fit the keyless works properly and thus both wnd, and set the watch. Its fussy wrok at times.. The Stems look like this:



You use a sleeve wrench to install/adjuts and remove the sleeves..

The case fit should not be a problem, but often you need to do a tiny bit of filing for clearances..

Cheers
Harold

[rogue_designer]

Is there pretty good documentation for the various movements to determine which stem depth and size is required? or was there some standardization?

[HAC]

I suppose there was once a service sheet with depth info, but in most cases, you "adjust as needed".. Generally speaking, if the stem depth works for one movement, it usuallu (although not always) will work for another..
Cheers
Harold