Vanessa's Parts Insp. #1... Cal. 3135 Pallet

[Tools]

Vanessa has kindly provided some Rolex parts that she has inspected and found need replacing.......

This is the first in a dozen or more installments of movement parts that have worn or broken, and were replaced...... Let us know if you like this sort of review !!

Now, let's see if we can find the issue with this part by the end of the post..

Most parts inside a watch movement are very small... Here the pallet in question sits, along side Lincoln's nose on a US Penny:
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas%20Tech/Ref3135%20Pallet/3135Palletcopy.jpg

The Pallet is the key piece that allows the balance and mainspring to work together and unwind the mainspring at a measureable rate...... 60 seconds per minute. Here is where it fits in the movement:

59221

The Pallet with it's jewels at each end is a beautiful piece of work:
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas%20Tech/Ref3135%20Pallet/3135Pallet2.jpg
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas Tech/Ref3135 Pallet/3135Pallet3.jpg

You can see that the Jewels that lock and unlock the escapement wheel are angled differently to properly catch each tooth at a corresponding angle:
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas%20Tech/Ref3135%20Pallet/3135Pallet8jpg.jpg

So, looking at a part that is small enough to fly away on the back of a fly, how do we decide if it is broken or out of tolerance..
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas%20Tech/Ref3135%20Pallet/3135Pallet7.jpg

Maybe we need to get it in the right light........
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas%20Tech/Ref3135%20Pallet/3135Pallet9.jpg

Here is another try....... Do you see it ??
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas%20Tech/Ref3135%20Pallet/3135Pallet6.jpg

This very tiny part has wear and a groove in the flat of the jewel. Here it is again, flipped over and marked......This tiny blemish can cause the escapement to hang-up and not keep time as perfectly as you want:
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr202/WatchWorkshop/Vanessas%20Tech/Ref3135%20Pallet/3135Pallet5copy.jpg


Stay tuned for some more of these great insights and inspections from Vanessa

...............:cheers:

[JF23]

Fantastic tutorial, look forward to reading and learning more. Thanks guys. :thumbsup:

[JJ Irani]

Very interesting......thanks for sharing as always!!

JJ :thumbsup:

[tudorman8276]

...GREAT stuff!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Stan.:dummy:

[Bisquitlips]

Great insight!!!!!

I love this stuff!

[cody p]

just wondering what gets replaced - the one jewel or the whole lever?

[Nods]

Very interesting. The little piece is quite beautiful.

[gregdolley]

Wow! That's cool! Keep 'em coming. :thumbsup:

[MrRetep]

That thing is TINY! Thanks for the pics:cheers:

[shaggy]

great post:thumbsup:
keep them coming please

i just wonder how hard a job it is to cut those jewels and then fix them into that tiny frame

WOW!

[Skutt50]

I just love this kind of information.

Please keep posting. I can't get enough.

And many thanks......

[Gasoil4ever]

Very interesting !

Great review

Thanks

[ni5l]

Very good! Looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks Vanessa!! :thumbsup: :cheers:

[acce1999]

Great post! I like these kind of posts.

Best,

A

[Lol-x]

Thank you Larry very much, fascinating stuff.

Thank you also to Vanessa for assisting with the subject matter.

Is there any way to get a more macro shot of that jewel tip?

:cheers:

[buz-lh]

Thanks. I really like posts like this as they are very informative. I gave myself a pat on the back as my thoughts as to what was wrong were correct. Keep this sort of thing coming please.

[Vanessa]

Great explanation Larry! :thumbsup: Couldn't have done that any better myself!
Thanks for your willingness, time and cooperation! :cheers:

[Vanessa]

just wondering what gets replaced - the one jewel or the whole lever?

The whole pallet fork gets replaced. These pallet jewels are not seperately sold, plus it wouldn't be cost effective to replace only that.

[wanasub]

Excellent! So, does it oscillate (one complete cycle) four times per second to cause 8 tics of the seconds hand per second? Thanks.

[cody p]

The whole pallet fork gets replaced. These pallet jewels are not seperately sold, plus it wouldn't be cost effective to replace only that.

thanks for clarifying.

[JJ Irani]

The whole pallet fork gets replaced. These pallet jewels are not seperately sold, plus it wouldn't be cost effective to replace only that.

Good to know, Vanessa.....and thanks for the clarification.

JJ :thumbsup:

[karmatp]

Great post, thanks. :thumbsup:

[blackjacker2]

what a great post - most appreciated

[Latrodectus]

:cheers:Outstanding information....:clap:Thank you so much:thumbsup:

[Marrk]

Stunning write-up and photos. :thumbsup: Interesting and informative. :cheers:

[goduke1]

Wow! Amazing pic's. Please tell us what kind of camera was used?

[Tools]

Wow! Amazing pic's. Please tell us what kind of camera was used?

Thank You...

These were all taken with a Canon 5D and 100mm Macro. However, most of the shots in this series will be taken with a Canon 300D (the mainspring spread was shot with this), or a 30D. I have moved the 5D over to my backpack for the spring and summer hiking season..
:cheers:

[fjpikul]

Excellent posts. Please keep them coming.

[Dom]

Excellent thread. THANKS!

[Boopie]

Very cool. Keep the information coming!