REPAIRING ESCAPE WHEEL TEETH
There is a way to repair escape wheel teeth if there are some that are bent
or broken. This is intended at a last resort if there are no other viable options. This
will not always work; only if the teeth aren’t too far gone. Chuck the wheel up in the
lathe and be certain it is spinning as true as possible. Very carefully take a fine file
and file the teeth down until they are of a uniform length. This will work if the amount needed to file off does not exceed the amount of depth adjustment available. After the
teeth have been trimmed reshape them to as close as possible to the original shape.
Spin the wheel at as high a rpm; as possible and be sure that the teeth are trimmed to be
true with respect to the pivots on the front and back. The file must be held firmly on
the steady rest or it will file the inconsistancies of the wheel and the new teeth will
not be true enough to keep the clock in beat; and it will not run.