"Lock-Down" Project - 1890's Waltham Pocket Watch (Part 4)
- by Darren Thomson
- •
- 23 May, 2020
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Part Four - Test Fitting the Main Bridge & Centre Wheel
With the barrel and winding system now in place, we would normally secure them with a bridge. In this case, though, it looks like the main bridge has to go on after the rest of the gear train is assembled. So, for now will just make sure that the centre wheel is properly secured into the bridge and test fit the whole thing.
Having inspected the main bridge and centre wheel.. I've found out where that little pinion gear referenced in part 3 lives..
Having inspected the main bridge and centre wheel.. I've found out where that little pinion gear referenced in part 3 lives..

It's the pinion for the centre wheel. Here it is installed..

Everything is looking good here. The quality of components in these old pocket watches is outstanding. As an example, look at the teeth on the centre wheel (above). No imperfections, dents, wear and tear after well over 100 years of use. Most modern watches would have worn these gear teeth down a long time ago.
Here's the main bridge on and the centre wheel interacting with the barrel...
Here's the main bridge on and the centre wheel interacting with the barrel...
So far so good, that's it for this instalment. In the next part, we'll get the entire gear train installed and check its interaction with the centre wheel and barrel. We'll also secure everything with the watches bridges.
Onwards..
Onwards..