WATERBURY CLOCKS :
Waterbury made a triple plate self correcting lantern pinion mechanism with
time and strike style shutoff wires. On the left side back plate looking at the unit from
the front , the lever on top of the trip lever is the self correct lever. Stamped on the
back of the movement: Patented 5/24/1910 ; 1/23/1917 ; 1/29//1918 ; 5/21/1918 ; 5/27/1919
6/5/1924 ; 4/14/1925.
The best way to approach this mechanism, if an overhaul is planned , is to
treat it as two separate mechanisms with a common middle plate. As far as bushings
are concerned , this is the least confusing, in my opinion, unless you are fortunate
enough to work in an environment where it is possible to work uninterrupted. I prefer
to do the chime mechanism first, because it is often necessary to rebush the gear
system that winds the mainspring. Those gears are hard steel so be careful. they are
usually somewhat loose on the shaft, and that is not usually a problem, Just be sure
the bushings are as tight as possible. Check the #2 wheel chime bushing on the
long end of the shaft; it is very close to the movement post, and if it is worn too
severely, it may be a problem to get a bushing to fit. Be sure to assemble the chime
silent lever before the mechanism is completely assembled. The trip lever is the one
with the flat blued steel arm that extends into the front mechanism (the front
mechanism being the section that carries the centerpost and the hour tube hand end) .
The self correct lever is directly above the trip lever. The lock pin for the self
correct stop on the 4th wheel must go past the self correct stop on all but the hour; so
that when it releases on the hour it will be clear of the lock pin when it starts the
travel for the hour sequence. The short tab on the bottom of the self correct lever
fits in the small hole in the middle plate.
This mechanism has a rack and snail on the front plate. The gathering pallet
has 2 pins. The chime is tripped by the chime trip cam in the front plate mechanism
on the back of the centerpost. There is a high lift on this cam that is meant to trip the
chiming mechanism at the hour on the self correct. Looking at the back plate fromMAINSPRING END REPAIR
Often it will be necessary to repair the end or a mainspring because it will be
impossible to find a suitable replacement. This can be done by drawing the temper on
the end of the spring after the bad end has been cut off. Heat the end )before the new
hole is drilled) until it is cherry red and then reduce the heat slowly by slowly .
About ½ inch per second or slower will work until the flame is about a foot or so away.
Be careful. The end will still be hot for a few minutes. Put the spring in a vise with the
The information contained in this
the back of the clock the self correcting lever is on the upper right hand corner. It
has a 3 pronged tension washer to hold it in place when it is moved by the pin on
the 3rd wheel. The triple plate design allows for the time gear train and the strike
ear train to be positioned at the front and the chime at the back. The warning wheel
(5th wheel)) in the chime gear train has almost one turn before the lock position;
this allows for the self-correct to function properly. the pin on the 4th wheel is theMAINSPRING END REPAIR
Often it will be necessary to repair the end or a mainspring because it will be
impossible to find a suitable replacement. This can be done by drawing the temper on
the end of the spring after the bad end has been cut off. Heat the end )before the new
hole is drilled) until it is cherry red and then reduce the heat slowly by slowly .
About ½ inch per second or slower will work until the flame is about a foot or so away.
Be careful. The end will still be hot for a few minutes. Put the spring in a vise with the
The information contained in this
self correct pin. It works with the self correct lever; the high lift moves the lever to
clear this pin on the hour. the sequence cam is on the 3rd wheel. the 3rd wheel
o has a pin on the front of the wheel to trip the strike and a pin on the back to set
the self correct lever to grab the pin on the 4th wheel.All of the slots on the 3rd
wheel are the same depth because the self correct is done with the levers, This
mechanism has a through the dial regulator at the 12 o’clock position and a chime
silent lever below that . the rack index arm will move: it is riveted on in the
mechanisms i have seen. The setting of the index arm is critical because the
shutoff arm that rides in the grooves must be adjusted so it will work in conjunction
with the gathering pallet. It must shutoff with the last pin on the gathering pallet
having just cleared the last tooth on the rack. The mainspring measurements are as follows:
Time mainspring:.018in. X .750in. X 96in.
Strike mainspring: .014in. X .874in. X 78in.
Chime mainspring: .0225in. X .874in. X 78in.