This time a very obscure watch on the bench. I couldn’t find any info about Marchal La Haye.
All I know is that it’s a 1940s dress watch with an AS 984 movement, a lovely dial with a railroad minute track, luminous sword hands, and hooded lugs.
It did run but only intermittently, so it’s in need of a service.
Here we go.
Disassembly
As always, remove all power from the mainspring before you start working on the movement. This is to prevent damaging the escapement while working on the wheel train.
Move the click away from the ratchet wheel while slowly letting the crown slip between your thumb and index finger. Move the click with a sharp peg wood or a watchmaker’s pick.
Remove the balance and the pallet fork with the pallet cock and store them somewhere safe.
As you can see, this movement has a separate escape wheel cock. Some movements, like the Buren 140 look like they have separate bridges but actually, it’s one piece with multiple screws.
Remove the escape wheel cock and lift the escape wheel.
Lift the wheel-train bridge and remove the fourth wheel, the third wheel, and the center wheel.
Remove the ratchet wheel and the crown wheel and lift the barrel bridge.
Please note that this movement has TWO left-handed screws. Normally, a left-handed screw has three grooves but these screws only have one groove like a normal right-handed screw.
I have a bag of donor movements and various parts for the AS 984 and it’s full of broken screws and bits of screw stuck in the barrel arbor. So, be careful!
Take out the barrel.
Flip the movement around to work on the bottom plate.
Remove the motion works and the keyless works.
Pre-clean the pivot holes and bearing jewels with some peg wood.
Clean all the parts in the watch cleaning machine.
Assembly
Fit the barrel, the escape wheel, and the escape wheel cock.
Place the fourth wheel, the third wheel, and the center wheel in position.
Install the wheel train bridge.
Install the barrel bridge, the crown wheel, and the ratchet wheel. Don’t forget the bushing for the crown wheel.
At this point, it’s a good idea to test if everything works and if the wheel train spins freely without any friction.
Turn the movement around and fit the motion works and the keyless works.
Flip the movement to the top plate and reinstall the pallets. Wind the watch a couple of times to check the pallet fork. If the wheel train spins freely, the pallet fork will snap to the other position with the lightest touch.
The movement should come alive immediately when you place the balance in position.
Now it’s time to clean and lubricate the Incabloc shock protection system. Use a peg wood or cocktail stick to clean the capstone before you clean it with One Dip or something similar.
Lubricate the capstones with a tiny bit of Moebius 9010 and reassemble the shock protection system on both sides of the movement.
Place the hour wheel and washer in position, fit the dial and continue with casing the movement.
I always slightly lubricate the tube with KT-22 grease. Winding the movement and setting the time will be much smoother and it also provides a little bit of water resistance.
What do you think of this Marchal La Haye? Let me know in the comments below.
