Servicing my Hamilton 992B Railway Special - Model 2 - 1947

This goes back to: cheap service on vintage watches ain't really cheap.

It's an assumption the service was cheap, all we know for certain that it was serviced. 😉

Cheap and crap service aint cheap...😡

By hand? Surprised to hear this. I've never wound a spring myself so I don't have direct experience, but I thought the spring would have so much energy even in the unwound state in the barrel that winding it in this manner would be a dangerous endeavour.

I would have thought that the new spring would come wound in a size so one can simply drop it in the barrel.

You should get a set of bigger winders - there are Watchcraft branded winders for pocket watches that you can get cheap. Winding in by hand is...err...not the best way...


Well, since this appears to be newer white alloy spring....none. Mainsprings made recently are coated with a dry lubricant, so the only time I oil a mainspring is if I'm using it again, which almost never happens. But if you are oiling it, please don't use a lot - they often look like someone used this to oil it:



So this is too much...actually enough for maybe 100 watches...



You can tell because it's enough that it could not be contained in the barrel, so it leaked onto the dial side of the movement through the barrel arbor hole in the main plate:



So here is the procedure I recommend for cleaning/oiling a mainspring. First run the spring through your normal cleaning process (so through the cleaning machine if you have one). Then using watchmaker's tissue paper, tear the corner off a sheet and dip that into a solvent of some type - naphtha, hexane, One-Dip etc. - personally I use 99% alcohol. Then starting at the outer end of the spring, fold the paper over the spring so there is paper on both sides, grip that paper with your thumb and finger for the first clean, then pull the spring through the paper. As you are pulling the spring through, pay attention to how the spring feels - if it has kinks, nicks, or feels wavy, discard it and get a new spring. Look at the paper that was in contact with the spring - it will likely be dirty, so take a fresh piece of paper and repeat (this time you can use tweezers to hold the paper if you prefer) over and over until the paper comes up perfectly clean - this can take several times.

Then take another corner of the paper, and apply a small drop of oil to it - I keep some Moebius 8200 on hand for this. Again wrap the paper over the spring and pull it through to coat the spring. Then take a clean, dry piece of paper and pull the spring through that while gripping the paper very lightly with your tweezers - you only want a film of oil left behind. Then proceed to wind the spring into the winder, and insert it into the barrel.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Al

Hi Jim,

In the spirit of improvement, I would suggest not putting Rodico or any similar material anywhere near clean parts. In fact I would now clean at least the wheels again after that test, as Rodico at the best of times will leave a film on parts, even when it hasn't been rolled up in your fingers. Rodico and similar materials will also absorb oils from your fingers and contaminants from other things it touches, which is why It's use is prohibited by most brands. I do use a similar product made by A*F called Rub-Off, but only on parts that will be subsequently cleaned in the cleaning machine. I also use it for cleaning out O-ring grooves in cases, etc.

The only time I use it on a movement part is when servicing a quartz watch where the rotor (permanent magnet and fragile) is cleaned, and mostly to remove magnetic particles that have typically gathered on the rotor.

I also refrain from using it to clean dials or the inside of crystals - again it will leave a residue, and on shiny dials in particular it can be a real problem. I use small urethane tipped sticks for picking off lint and dust.

You actually don't need to block the train to perform the backlash test - you simply have to give the crown a quick wind to put a few clicks on the ratchet wheel, and the test will still work fine. Note that this test is usually done before oiling all the pivots.

I'm not sure if you use epilame on the escapement, but if so the escape wheel in particular should be cleaned and treated again after contact with Rodico. Any residue left on the escape wheel teeth can cause the oil to migrate away from the working surfaces to the sides of the teeth. Cleanliness in watch servicing/repairs is not so much about making sure that there isn't debris in the movement, although that's certainly part of it. The biggest thing is making sure that the plates and jewels are free of anything that will cause the oils to migrate away from where they belong.

Cheers, Al