The polishing of the leaves is the next step, and this is effected by means precisely the same as grinding. In each stage the pinions are thoroughly cleansed before entering on another. The polisher is made precisely like the grinder; but instead of oil-stone dust, crocus mixed with oil is substituted. Owing to the less cutting quality of the material used, the polisher loses its form sooner than the grinder, and has to be more frequently reshaped. In very fine work the crocus is succeeded by fine well-levigated rouge to bring up that jet black polish, which is considered a mark of quality by chronometer and watch makers.
With the exception of turning up the staff and pivots, all the work hitherto described has been expended on the leaves—a very tedious process, yet done, when the tools and materials are in proper order, with marvellous rapidity; but tedious as these have been, there are two others quite as much so before the leaves are finished.
The ends are to be faced—they must be flat (that is a true plane) and receive the same finish that the leaves took, and is effected by the wig-wag; only the pinion revolves between centres, at a high speed, the grinder being brought up to the turned face. Two motions operate—one rectilinear, the other circular—the result being a compound motion which prevents the grinder from touching the same spot twice in succession. To effect this more surely, the operator gives the grinder a slight vibratory vertical motion. The polishing of the two faces is effected in the same manner as the grinding; in all cases the cutting face of the grinders and polishers being kept in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the pinion, both vertical and horizontal.
The staff and pivots being in the same condition they came from the lathe, the next step is to grind and polish them. Before, however, we treat on this process, it may not be amiss to give the general watch repairer a process by which the facing may be done on a small scale.
As a rule, when the watch repairer has to replace a pinion he selects one from the material dealer, finished in the leaves, but not on the ends or faces. The following operations are simple, and any one may finish these faces with little trouble. Having turned up your pivots and squared down the face of the leaves with the turning tool, grind it in the lathe by means of a ring of metal, the inside diameter being somewhat larger than the diameter of the staff. This ring is held between two centres, thus allowing it a vibratory motion, so that when it comes up to the face it accommodates itself to its plane, and thus has no tendency to force it out of a true flat; the ring, being larger than the staff or pivot, admits a small lateral motion, enough to effect a continuous change of surface. The same little tool may be used for polishing by substituting another polisher and using crocus and rouge. For the repairer, perhaps on general work the rouge would be superfluous. Vienna lime, used with a little slip of boxwood, brings up a very fine and brilliant polish, and in replacing new work in an injured time-piece, the steel may always be polished with great rapidity by using the lime on the gray surface left from the oil-stone dust; being quickly done and affording a very handsome finish.
To resume the consideration of the pinion, the last stage is the polishing of the circular portions. Here again the wig-wag is the most useful tool, but it operates somewhat differently, for the grinder or polisher is pressed down by the finger of the operator, the pinion being held between the centres of a small lathe attached to the wig-wag; the staff is first ground and polished as the leaves have been before, and this is the last operation performed with the pinion between centres. From this stage it is chucked in a lathe very peculiarly fitted, the mandrel being hollow; and in it is fitted what is called a pump-centre, which is movable in direction of the axis of the mandrel, and capable of being securely fastened at any desired point. On the nose of the mandrel is secured a hollow steel chuck, the two sides of which have been filed out, thus leaving an open space between the end of the pump-centre and the end of the chuck. On this end a small steel plate, extremely thin, is fastened by means of shellac, and a hole drilled in the plate capable of taking in the chamfer on the shoulder of the pivot. The pump-centre being drawn back, the pinion is introduced into the chuck, the pivot placed in the hole in the steel plate, and the pump centre is drawn forward until it forces the chamfer to fill the hole; the pivot projecting from the chuck is now ready for all the grinding and polishing processes. Here the wig-wag steps in again, and from the delicacy of the pivots is modified to suit the case; this is done by having a polisher hung in the wig-wag on centres, so it may revolve; when in operation one side of the polisher rests on the pivot, the other on a ruby placed in a screw, and which screw enables the operative to insure the parallelism of the pivot. The ends of the pivots are next rounded off and finished in another set of tools. The pinion is now ready for use, assuming it to be of the proper gauge. In the American watches the scape and fourth wheels are generally staked on the staff pinch tight; the third and centre are staked on the pinion leaves, a rebate having been turned down on the ends, the wheel set on the shoulder, and the projecting ends of the leaves riveted down. This has not been designed as an exhaustive article on pinions; it is merely intended to open the subject as pursued in the factories. There is much more to be said; and the various processes on the small scale, as performed by the Swiss and English, together with their tools, will bear more than a general description, as they are applicable at any watch bench.
The subject will be continued, in the effort to give a full and useful article.
New Three-Pin Escapement.
A contributor to the London Horological Journal gives the following description of his invention: