oken cylinders. Out of this number probably two
could be pivoted to advantage and make the watches as good as ever. As
to the pivoting of a cylinder, we will deal with this later on. The
first thing to do is to make an examination of the cylinder, not only to
see if it is broken, but also to determine if pivoting is going to bring
it out all right. Let us imagine that some workman has, at some previous
time, put in a new cylinder, and instead of putting in one of the proper
size he has put one in too large or too small. Now, in either case he
would have to remove a portion of the escape-wheel tooth, that is,
shorten the tooth: because, if the cylinder was too large it would not
go in between the teeth, and consequently the teeth would have to be cut
or stoned away. If the cylinder was too small, again the teeth would
have to be cut away to allow them to enter the cylinder. All workmen
have traditions, rules some call them, that they go by in relation to
the right way to dress a cylinder tooth; some insisting that the toe or
point of the tooth is the only place which should be tampered with.
Other workmen insist that the heel of the tooth is the proper place.
Now, with all due consideration, we would say that in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred the proper thing to do is to let the escape-wheel teeth
entirely alone. As we can understand, after a moment's thought, that it
is impossible to have the teeth of the escape wheel too long and have
the watch run at all; hence, the idea of stoning a cylinder escape-wheel
tooth should not be tolerated.

ESCAPE-WHEEL TEETH _vs._ CYLINDER.

It will not do, however, to accept, and take it for granted that the
escape-wheel teeth are all right, because in many instances they have
been stoned away and made too short; but if we accept this condition as
being the case, that is, that the escape-wheel teeth are too short, what
is the workman going to do about it? The owner of the watch will not pay
for a new escape wheel as well as a new cylinder. The situation can be
summed up about in this way, that we will have to make the best we can
out of a bad job, and pick out and fit a cylinder on a compromise idea.

In regard to picking out a new cylinder, it may not do to select one of
the same size as the old one, from the fact that the old one may not
have been of the proper size for the escape wheel, because, even in new,
cheap watches, the workmen who "run in" the escapement knew very well