Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1898-04-27
MAKING WATCHES.
A Business that Requires the Greatest
Care AMI Accuracy.

SaEC UNI oNys
matchmaking has frequently and
not lnaptly been called profession be-
cause in Its present state Of perfection
ii is based entirely upon scientific prin-
ciples," said an old New York watch
maker to a writer for the Star recently.
1.-THE field OF practical application of
science from the correct calculation of
the vibration of the hairspring 10 the
demagnetiZati ton of the watch Is so
vast that Ii can hardly be comprehend
ed BY any one not of mechanical turn
of mind. From the first pocket time
piece made-called from its peculiar
shape a Nuremberg egg-to the mod
ern stem-w winding watch is such de-
yelopment that one can scarcely recon
ellie the two as belonging TO the same
class of mechanical work
"A watch is now composed Of ninety
eight separate pieces, and over two
thousand operations are used In It's
manufacture. 1t takes just 30S,O00 of
the small screws which are used by
watchmakers to weigh one pound. The
fourth jewel wheel screw Is the next
thing 10 being invisible, and to the
naked eye 1t looks like dust. With a
glass; however, 1t Is seen to be a tiny
screw with 26O threads to the inch, and
with very fine glass the threads may
be seen quite clearly. These minute
screws are 1000 of an inch In diane
ter, and the heads are double. The
hair-spr1ng is strip of steel about 9k
inches long. A Dol ,000th part of an
inch difference In the thickness of the
strip makes a difference In the running
of watch of about six minutes an
hour.
Very few OF the millions of people
who carry watches realize to what u
wonderful extent fabrication is deyel-
oped, and what an extraordinary num-
Der of turns the balance wheel makes
with one oiling
"A watch will run on one oiling from
one year to year and half. Every
minute the balance wheel turns on its
axis 400 times, or ~ 900 times an hour.
The balance should not vary second
week, and in order that 1t and other
important moving parts should work
accurately every fine watch IS now
tested and its rate registered not only
every day, but hourly for a week be-
fore 1t Is sold. 1t Is hung up by its
pendant, hung upside down, hung on
each side. placed dial down, and back
down, and finally is baked in an oven
and frozen In an ice pail, to make sure
that Its going will not be affected by
any ordinary climatic influences,
whether hot or cold.
When 1t Is considered that a quar-
ter of the time screws'-meanlng a
milllOnth of an inch--will make a diff
ference of twenty seconds day, the
delicacy Of Its adjustments may be ap-
preciated, as also the risk of intrusting
Its repair to any but sklllful hands.
The two essentials Of keeping watch
In good condition are winding and
cleaning.
The majority of people wind their
watches before going to bed. The
right time Is the morning. A watch
always goes faster when the spring is
tightly coiled and when laid down
| over night Is sure to gain little. In
the daytime the shaking of the body
oscillates the spring and retards the
movement. If, however, the watch mas
been wound in the morning the effort
of the coiled spring to send the hands
faster is equalized by the shaking of
the body, and thus the watch goes nell
ther too fast nor too slow.
Unless the watch case is an unus-
ually tight fitting one dust is certain to
find its way to the delicate and intri-
cate works, and interfere into the
movement. The watch will go slowly
and eyince a determination to stop
only when half run down. This is its
method of showing it needs a clean
Ing, and cleaning should be given as
often as once year IL the watch is val
ued and expected to keep good time.
With these two points In mind watch
used with ordinary care should last
several lifetimes.