CHAPTER XXIV.
SOME HINTS ON MAKING A REGULATOR.
Of all the instruments used by a watchmaker in the prosecution of his business, there is probably none more important than his regulator. Its purpose is to divide time into seconds, and it is the standard by which the practical results of his labors are tested; the guide which all the other timekeepers in his possession are made to follow and the arbitrator which settles all disputes regarding the performance of his watches.
No regulator has yet been constructed that contains within itself every element for producing absolutely accurate timekeeping. At intervals they must all be corrected from some external source, such as comparison with another timekeeper, the error of which is known, or by the motion of the heavenly bodies, when instruments for that purpose are available. Before beginning to make a regulator, the prudent watchmaker will first reflect on the various plans of constructing all the various details of an accurate timekeeper, and select the plan which, in his opinion, or in the opinion of those whom he may consult on the subject, will best accomplish the object he has in view.
In former years a regulator case was made with the sole object of accommodating the requirements of the regulator, and every detail in the construction of the case was made subservient to the necessities of the clock. The plain, well made cases of former years are now almost discarded for those of more pretentious design. If the general change in the public taste demands so much display, there can be no objection. It is perfectly harmless to the clock, if the designers and makers of the cases would only remember that narrow waists or narrow necks on a case, although part of an elegant design, do not afford the necessary room for the weight and freedom of the pendulum; that the doors and other openings in the case must be constructed with a view to exclude dust; and that the back should be made of thick, well-seasoned hardwood, such as oak or maple, so as to afford the means of obtaining as firm a support for the pendulum as possible.
When a regulator case is known to have been made by an inexperienced person, which sometimes happens, or when we already have a case, it is always the safest course for those who make the clock to examine the case personally and see the exact accommodation there is for the clock. Sometimes, when we know beforehand, we can, without violating any principle, vary the construction a little, so as to make the weight clear the woodwork of the inside of the case, and in other respects complete the regulator in a more workmanlike manner by making the necessary alterations in the clock at the beginning of its construction, instead of after it has been once finished agreeably to some stereotyped arrangement.
The arrangement of the mechanism of an ordinary regulator is a simple operation compared with some other horological instruments of a more complex character. We are not limited in room to the same extent as in a watch, and the parts being few in number a regulator is more easily planned than timekeepers having striking or automatic mechanism for other purposes combined with them; yet it often happens that the inexperienced make serious blunders in planning a regulator, and, as the clock approaches completion, many errors make themselves visible, which might have been avoided by the exercise of a little more forethought. It may be that, when the dial is being engraved, the circles do not come in the right position, or the weight comes too close to the pendulum, or the case, or the cord comes against a pillar, or other faults of greater or less importance appear, all of which might have been obviated by taking a more comprehensive view of the subject before beginning to make the clock. The best way to do this is to draw a plan and side and front elevations to a scale.
