This beefy thing showed uo today. It was, as usual, sold as not running, they said the balance wheel moved freely but the second hand wouldn't advance.
It was... gummy. I may have to use hexane on this one if the racing oil and persuasion doesn't work. Old oil tends to get gummy and collect sludge that puts drag on the geartrain. I got it to run badly after five or six minutes, but the oil needs to soak in.
It seems to be missing its setting lever. That might require surgery.
Philadelphia Watch Case made some nice pieces 125 years ago. This case has flawless fitting, the threads on the back and bezel are clean and smooth. It will no doubt polish up to a mirror, because the nickel plating they used was heavy. The WATCH is heavy. It deserves its Big Pig status.
It's actually a 16s aperture, but weird in size. I don't think any of the 16s Elgin movements kicking around here will fit it correctly.
I have no idea where to look for a setting lever for an 1899 big pig.
It's already settling in. It'll run for at least four or five minutes with a quick flip of the wrist. It's still running on the most recent start. The more they run, the more they like running as the racing oil gets down and cuts the old gummy oil and cleans it out like putting engine flush in an old Volvo. The oil I use is a full-synthetic Swiss oil that is the equivalent of around $5000 a gallon.
Nobody uses a gallon.
There's a story that at Hamilton, assemblers got one DROP of oil per day.
One drop. And they might assemble 60 or 80 watches a shift! These things did not ask for much, so when I see old movements that have been dry for decades, or gummed up by old whale oil that was often used until the 1940s, and I am appreciative that I can buy "non-running" watches in great shape otherwise... cheap. This one was $40 and came with a nice case.
Oil, I got.
I haven't completely used the one drop of oil I put in my oil tray two months ago.
20 minutes running so far.
The Turtle