Escapement

Notes from a small clock bench

Mostly eight-day mantel movements, a couple of wall regulators, and one stubborn alarm clock that refuses to keep time. Nothing here is advice; it is a record of what worked and, more often, what did not.

Before taking anything apart

Let the mainspring down first. Every time. A let-down key with a good handle and a click you can hold back with a thumbnail is worth more than any cleaning solution. Photograph the movement from both plates and from the side before the first screw comes out; the strike train never goes back together the way memory says it will.

Cleaning

Pegwood for the pivot holes, turned in each hole until it comes out clean, then once more. Pivots get a burnisher rather than abrasive paper. Brass that looks dull is fine; brass that looks green around a pivot hole is telling you the bushing is worn.

Oil, and less of it

A drop the size of a pinhead in each oil sink, none on the wheel teeth, none on the pinions. Too much oil migrates, collects dust, and turns into the grinding paste that wore the holes out in the first place. The escape wheel pallets get the smallest drop of all.

Putting it in beat

Listen with the case on its final shelf, not on the bench. The tick and the tock should be evenly spaced; if they gallop, bend the crutch a fraction toward the side of the longer gap. Small corrections, then a full day of running before deciding anything.