. Appleton's dictionary of machines, mechanics, engine-work, and engineering. ce. To show theperfection at which clockmaking has arrived, it may be mentioned that several clocks are now going,Whose errors are less than l-10th of a second daily. Watch escapements.—As in the clock it is desirable to remove the pendulum as much as possibletrom the constant influence of the moving power, so is it desirable in the watch to withdraw the balancetrom the same influence, slight variations of which (such as must be continually occurring from variouscauses) must otherwise greatly affect its regularity. I
. Appleton's dictionary of machines, mechanics, engine-work, and engineering. ce. To show theperfection at which clockmaking has arrived, it may be mentioned that several clocks are now going,Whose errors are less than l-10th of a second daily. Watch escapements.—As in the clock it is desirable to remove the pendulum as much as possibletrom the constant influence of the moving power, so is it desirable in the watch to withdraw the balancetrom the same influence, slight variations of which (such as must be continually occurring from variouscauses) must otherwise greatly affect its regularity. In order to effect this, various kinds of escape-ments havfc been devised. The vertical escapement is the oldest escapement of all, which, after having first been adopted inc ocks, was applied in the construction of watches. Its nature is explained by Fig. 3754, (a contrate-wncel, fi escape or wheel, c the verge, d the balance.) That which is here called the balance-wheelwas, wnen originally applied in a horizontal position to the primitive clocks, termed the crown-wheel;. WATCHMAKING. 829 evidently from its resemblance to a crown: this same wheel, when employed in the watch, (supposingthe latter to be placed on its face or back,) obviously revolves vertically to the plane of the horizon;hence, watches made with this escapement are termed vertical. Watches are still manufactured onthis principle, which has its conveniences, as it is understood in every part of the world where a manpretends to repair watches, and is the cheapest of all movements, and perhaps for this reason willnever be wholly superseded. In this escapement, as in the common recoil escapement of clocks, the teeth of the balance-wheel arecontinually pressing on the pallets, in such a manner as to be exercising a constant influence over thevibrations of the balance ; and a fresh impulse is communicated at each vibration. In all the improvedescapements, the balance is so detached from the train of wheels, that it
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectmechanicalengineering, bookyear1861
