On My Bench - Waltham Automatic Problem Child

Some time ago, one of our members found a Waltham automatic he'd picked up at a garage sale. Following some intervention by @STANDY, the little Waltham ended up in my project drawer.

And there it rested, alone and forgotten.

Now, 678 days later it has made it to the bench.



First thing is to align the hands for removal.



And then open it up.



Now that it's open we can see the movement. An FHF 95-4 with an unusual "peripheral rotor".

We can already see that one of the rotor group screws is missing.



The rotor was able to be lifted straight out, which isn't normal. However, if it's missing the rotor bearings (72 of them) it makes it very easy.

We can see on the underside of the rotor that there are no bearings peeping out from the edge of the rotor ring.



Here is the breakdown of the automatic rotor, the "rotor group" parts are assembled into the rotor track in sequence from right to left. As I see it, the first ring is placed in the track, then the bearing cage, then 72 ball bearings are dropped in, then the next ring is fitted and screwed down, finally the rotor weight is fitted and screwed down. I think it has to be done in-situ as the three tabs that hold the assembly to the movement are covered by the assembled rotor. The whole rotor group is held in the rotor track by the bearings protruding into an angular groove or race in the bearing track.

EDIT: Even with the picture in front of me I couldn't see it 🤦. The rotor has a cutout opposite the weight, this allows you to access the tab screws for the rotor assembly which can be removed in one piece after the three screws are removed.



The bearings are extremely small, I measured the one I found by placing a spot of grease on the anvil of a micrometer, then used an oiler to place the bearing on the anvil so that I could measure it.



So unless I can find seventy one 0.5mm ball bearings (one fell out of the movement later) the chances of having an operational rotor are looking slim.

With the idea of bringing the rotor back to life now on the back burner, we turn to the movement. First we need to uncase it by removing the crown and case tabs (note rotor track is still fitted here).



Then we can uncase the movement.



and remove the hands.



The dial is then removed and we can see the dial side. Nothing unusual, just a daily standard layout. This is where the single ball bearing fell out.



Not really much to see here so lets have a look at the rest of the movement.

With the rotor removed I can lift the automatic bridge revealing the auto winding system.



The winding system is a nice solution to provide bi-directional winding. The teeth of the rotor ring engage with the small pinion you can see on the lever going up from the centre. As the rotor turn ACW, it turns the pinion ACW, which in turn, turns the next wheel CW and so on along the train, finally turning the ratchet wheel.

As the rotor turns in a CW direction, the pinion on the lever is pushed to the right engaging in the light grey wheel and the process continues.
Reverse winding is prevented by the click riding on the solid wheel. This all works fine, but with no rotor to drive it, off it comes so we can investigate further.

Removing the auto parts revealed the balance cock, train bridge and barrel bridge. The balance assembly was removed, followed by the train bridge and wheels and the barrel bridge and winding parts. The last part to come out is the centre wheel bridge and centre wheel.



Then all parts a ready to be inspected.



And that's where we find the cause of the "not working".

The pivots (both of them) on the third wheel are broken off!



Checking the 3rd wheel jewels in the plate and bridge for damage reveals a missing pivot. I pushed it out of the jewel slightly so it can be seen.



Now we know why the watch didn't run, and we know what is needed to fix it.

But before I rush off and try to find bearings and a third wheel for an obscure sixty year old movement, I have to apply the "Is It Worth It" decision process.

1 - Is it repairable? YES
2 - Does it have sentimental value? NO
3 - Is it a rare or unusual watch? NO
4 - Will the cost of parts outweigh the value of the watch? YES

Applying that logic, it seems that it would be a folly to continue with this intervention unless I can source a third wheel at reasonable cost, so until that eventuates, the parts go back into the project drawer to rest in peace.

Was getting ready for my next post. I have one on my bench too! as I am sorting through the 'generic' junk I have collected over the last 30 years.

I may have a bunch of these in the junk I was sorting through today.

I need to start downsizing some of this 'stuff.' If you are interested PM me as I am still new here. I have no use for it.

-j

PM sent Julie.

Hey Brian, a glimmer of hope on the horizon?

What a great result Jiminoz. Just goes to show the wonders of modern communications.
Well done Julie.
Cheers
Les

You know when you put all of the parts in a box and into a drawer, and then make a mental note to create an eBay search for Fontainemelon FHF 65 movement and parts.

And you know when you get sidetracked by something new and shiny..............

However, I'm back on track after a polite prod.

Update.
After some background discussion, I now have a complete Waltham Fontomatic thanks to @sheepdoll.
All the way from Californieyaye to Oz, and packed so that even the combined efforts of USPS and AusPost couldn't damage it!



While the donor watch is in good condition, I'll use it and the original to come up with a nice "complete" example.

However, the project will be on hold once again as I start radiation treatment again on Monday, so we'll see how I go with that before I get into tasks that require concentration and steady hands.