Calling all Watchmakers!!!!

[ieezitin]

Gentlemen.

I have here a nice little item that I could resist purchasing on the Flea-Bays total financial damage was $10.00

It’s a Jaquets Speed Indicator, a nice precision made instrument and it was intended to be my tool for telling me if my spindle speed without keep referring to the tables. But this pesky thing does not work, so I decided to open it up and fixit. Well its keeping its secrets as I cannot figure out how to get into it.

The pictures will show you how far I can get to start breaking it down. Now let me say I have tried wrapping the housing in a rag and clamping it in a vice then trying to twist the basel glass housing, its on there tight and I am afraid if I apply too much pressure I will damage it

So! All you watchmakers on here hook a brother up and give me a clue as to get inside my little toy.

[Bernd]

Third picture down. Looks like there's a place to stick a screw driver blade under the brass part that sticks out. The bezel might not twist off but will need to be pop off. I have a cheap pocket watch and that's how you get into it.

Bernd

[75Plus]

You will probably need to find a watch maker to repair this as there is a clock works that controls the measuring interval. There is a balance wheel like is found in a watch. The ones we had at work were prone to suffering broken balance staffs if handled too harshly or dropped.

In the mean time check this one out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Digital-Laser-Photo-Tachometer-Non-Contact-RPM-Tach_W0QQitemZ180434621930QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a02bdd5ea

Joe

[Stilldrillin]

I`ve got one of those!




Cost less than a tenner....... Works a treat! 

David D

[andyf]

I use the £10 cycle speedometer which boatmadman mentioned. It reads up to 199.9 in mph or kph (some pedalling!). With an actuating magnet on the rotating spindle, and the readout set so it thinks it's showing the speed in kph of a bike with 1667mm circumference wheels, 100.0 on the display = 100 rpm, 199.9 = 1999 rpm. No good over 2000 rpm, though.

The 1947 Lea Francis sports car I owned when I got married but not for long thereafter  had a Jaeger clockwork speedo and similar rev counter. The rev counter worked but the speedo didn't, and all my attempts to fix it failed.

Andy

[75Plus]

After thinking about my previous post I realized that the subject of this thread will measure surface speed not RPM. The one in the link will only show RPM so it is back to looking for a watchmaker or instrument repairman to service the this one.

You might look in the yellow pages for "Instrument Repair".

BTW: The measuring wheel is 6" in circumference and makes 2 revolutions per foot. A point contact attachment to press against a shaft would tell the RPM by doubling the FPM reading.

Joe

[ieezitin]

Bernd.
Great eyes you have I did not notice that I will check that out tomorrow.

75 plus. No problem on the mistake, you say you used them before tell me your opinion on this little tool?

Stilldrilin. Glad you like the rpm meter, since you like it I may look into buying one cant beat the price.

Andy. if you had that clock now even tho It was not working you would have no less than 500 pounds in your back pocket.

All the best    Anthony.

[75Plus]

Anthony,

My use of this type speed indicator predated digital readouts. (Biddle does/did make one that was digital) I was involved in plant maintenance including several miles of conveyor systems. The indicators we had were made by Biddle. They were very accurate and easy to use. The way they used a time interval to record the speed meant that you did not need to watch the dial during measuring. Some of the rollers we had to measure were not completely accessible so it was easy to just reach in/over and get the measurement blindly. The way it works is, you push the plunger which winds the mechanism and resets the pointer. With the plunger depressed place the wheel on the part to be measured. Releasing the plunger starts the clock and measurement. After the time interval the pointer stops and you read the speed. The ones we had had FPM and RPM scales and several adapters for different types of turning surfaces.

This may be more information than you were asking for but you can use it as needed.
Joe

[DICKEYBIRD]

Can't help with fixing that nifty Swiss instrument you found but here's a good deal on a Tach/Surface speed meter.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66400

I got one a while back and it works great!

[SKIPRAT]

I too have a mechancial speed indicator made by smiths industries about 50 years ago and still works ok.
measurement of surface speed is taken using the wheel and revolutions measured using the contact point
or by using the cup on the end of small spindles.




Cheers Paul

[ieezitin]

75 plus.
Great information thank you. I done my apprenticeship in a paper mill and we too had miles of machinery running at high speeds and feeds, I remember using hand held speed indicators to check repairs we made on the machinery but they were expressed in RPM. As you know FPM is more applicable to a machinist and I saw this tool for sale and just could not resist. I will take this to a watchmaker for repair and pay his price. Its worth it.

DICKEYBIRD. Great you like your purchase and probably a useful tool, but I am really more into the mechanical side, no offence but mechanics to me do not tell lies, electronics are quirky and I don’t trust them, and I feel there is no substitute for a well made piece of instrumentation tailor made for the task at hand. I thank you for your response.

Skip/ Paul. Great to know you are using a fifty year old piece of instrumentation and glad to know its functional for you. This too is my end goal.

Thank you all.   Anthony.

[DICKEYBIRD]

DICKEYBIRD. Great you like your purchase and probably a useful tool, but I am really more into the mechanical side, no offence but mechanics to me do not tell lies, electronics are quirky and I don’t trust them, and I feel there is no substitute for a well made piece of instrumentation tailor made for the task at hand. I thank you for your response

I hear you Anthony.  I lust for quality mechanical things as well.  They are like works of art to me! 

I posted that link just in case someone else needed a direct reading tach or S.F.M. meter and (like me) couldn't find a really nice one like yours.