How to Repair an Old Illinois Pocket Watch From 1888

Taking out the Movement

• 1

  Open the back of the watch. Most pocket watches open on a hinge, and you can use your fingernail or anther type of lever to pop open the back.

• 2

  Wind the open watch to locate the click. The click will make a clicking sound every time it passes over a gear.

• 3

  Hold the watch in one hand with your thumb and index finger firmly holding the crown, or the button used to wind the watch, in place. Wind the watch slightly to move the click out of the way of the gears. Use the loupe or magnifying glass if the parts are too tiny to see.

• 4

  Use a toothpick to move the click so that it is completely out of the way of the gears, then let go of the crown. This action unwinds the watch. Allow the watch to unwind completely.

• 5

  Many pocket watch movements are held in place by just two screws. Loosen these just enough so that they clear the movement.

• 6

  Remove the face by unscrewing it or popping it out of place. Then carefully remove the movement from the case.

Removing Parts

• 7

  Place a little bit of paper around the hands on the watch face to protect it from the hand remover tool. Use the tool to remove the hands. Gently place them in the parts tray.

• 8

  Loosen the screws that hold the dial in place; they will be on the side or at the back of the watch. Do not force the dial if it does not come off easily because that will damage it. Instead, loosen the screws a little more. Place the dial in your parts tray next to the hands.

• 9

  Located in the center under the dial is the hour wheel. Remove it with the tweezers and place it in order in your parts tray.

• 10

  Under the hour wheel is the cannon pinion. Carefully remove this with your tweezers and place it in your parts tray.

• 11

  Put the watch in a safe location while you work on the back. To avoid snapping off the hand posts, you will need to construct a platform. Drilling a tiny hole into a small plank of wood will ensure that you can place your watch face down and the hand post does not touch anything. The hole should be bigger than the hand post, but smaller than the watch itself.

The Back of the Watch

• 12

  The back of the watch will look like it has different sections. Remove the sections and gears one by one, placing the parts in your parts tray. Be sure to remember, write down, or sketch where the parts go so that you can reassemble them later.

• 13

  The tiny coiled spring in the center is the balance wheel. Remove this wheel by removing the screw, then grabbing the underside of the balance wheel with the tweezers and holding the upper-side of the balance. The two parts must be removed together otherwise they will be damaged. You must set them upside down in your parts tray.

• 14

  Located under the balance bridge and shaped like a T is the pallet fork. Remove this with your tweezers and place in the parts tray.

• 15

  Begin cleaning the parts one by one, so as not to get them confused, with a small amount of the watch cleaning solution. Place the wet parts on the watch paper and dry them with the blower. While the parts are drying, take the watch oil and lightly lubricate the pivot holes - the spaces where the gears rest and rotate.

• 16

  Working backwards, place all of the parts back in the watch and wind it. It should begin working as normal.