New 560 Atmos Classic: Unlocking balance required a LOT of force...

[eieio]

As a first time Atmos owner, I was taken aback by the amount of force it required for me to slide the balance lock from right to left to initially unlock the balance after i had made sure the clock was perfectly horizontal via the bubble.

the manual was not specific enough and i really don't know how much leftward force is required?!?

furthermore, the manual said to "...press downwards a little and the slide the lever to the left to unlock..."

i could not feel any difference when i press the lever downwards a little. it was as though nothing changed when i pressed it downwards. as a result, i had to simply slide the lever to the left.

it was not a smooth action at all! it was a great deal of friction, and took a good amount of force. i didn't know if i were doing something wrong or that amount of force required was intentional by design so as to secure the balance??

at almost the far left of the lever's movement (almost to the farthest left part), the balance became "loose" and freed. there was a "CLUNK" sound and the balance sort of became loose with some degree of dropping sound, like as though it was dropped maybe a few millimeters! i was startled as i knew the tiny wire (vertical hairspring) is very delicate so that "CLUNK" was scary. that plus the amount of force required to slide that unlocking lever were totally not described and unknowns to me.

may i ask how much force it requires to slide the lock from lock to unlock (sliding it left) in general?  is it a very smooth action? or is it an action that feels like there's friction as you slide the lever from right to left?   since it then started (after the lever is moved fully to the left) without any further action on my part, and then now at around 3 days later, it is keeping good time (thus far), might you think it is ok or might you think there's damage?

may i ask if my experience is normal? or did i goof and did something wrong and might have hard my brand new 560 Atmos?

the manual is very opaque on this point. also, pressing down is not a very sure thing as i pressed down and i didn't feel much of any flex at all on that lever, so i started moving the lever left without any downward pressure.

i think i might have DRAGGED that rounded hemisphere and might have DUG a groove along the underside where you see that dragged arc in your 2nd picture!

how much harm have i done, may i ask?

my fear is that dragging it might have done some irreparable harm!! 

furthermore, at close to the very end of the leftmost side of the lever's position, i see and hear a "clunk" sound when the balance is "released" and started danging freely. it was a "clunk" sound that is more than what i was hoping for, as i know the fine Elinvar wire is very delicate. May I ask if it is normal for the release at the very end (far left of the lever's position) to include such a release sound and almost abrupt motion? i was hoping that it wouldn't DROP the balance, even for a few millimeters.

the good part is that now at 3 days after the initial setting up, it is keeping very good time.

whether or not there is a groove DUG into the underside of that brass piece as the lever was traveling from right to left is an unknown to me at this point. disappointed at JLC's manual and at myself. 

but still, i'd like to know if i did anything wrong to educate myself.

thank you in advance.

[Geo]

Hello and welcome to the forum eieio.

I have a couple of Atmos clocks,  526 and a 528.  These models have different locking mechanisms, but both are fairly smooth in operation.  The version you has a slightly different mechanism from both of mine, but I don't think it should release in the clunky manner you describe,

If it has released and the clock is working well and keeping good time, I would leave well alone until a service is required as it is too easy to damage these very delicate movements.  I suspect that the locking mechanism is only requiring a slight drop lubrication.   Whatever you do, do not lubricate any of the clock pinions as these are meant to run dry.

[wls1971]

If you had done any damage to the clock it would not be running, any operation on a atmos is usually smooth, the atmos 560 has two ways of locking the pendulum the sliding leaver under the dial and a shipping screw that comes up from the base and locks the balance for shipping did you first loosen this off so it is well free of the balance. You may have loosened this screw off enough to allow the balance to run free but not quite enough to allow the locking mechanism to work unimpeded.

[eieio]

@wls1971  thanks for the thoughts and idea, but please kindly see the attached pictures below.  you'll see that i did indeed follow the instructions carefully and unlocked the bottom screw first and unlocked that screw adequately to fully clear the bottom of the balance.

the other two pictures do show the trench dug by my not applying enough downward pressure while moving the lever from right to left, sadly.  sigh.

 

[wls1971]

I wouldnt worry about your clock if it runs it runs I think if the clock was locked and moved a few times in its normal life the groove would appear anyway, if your clock is new and under warrantie get in touch with Jaeger or the shop you purchased it at and convey your worries to them and see what they think, you have followed the manual supplied to you so if there is a fault on the locking mechanism let them sort it under warrantie.

[oldhippy]

This is one type of clock I have never worked on, but that lock sure doesn't sound right to me.

[eieio]

2 hours ago, wls1971 said:

I wouldnt worry about your clock if it runs it runs I think if the clock was locked and moved a few times in its normal life the groove would appear anyway, if your clock is new and under warrantie get in touch with Jaeger or the shop you purchased it at and convey your worries to them and see what they think, you have followed the manual supplied to you so if there is a fault on the locking mechanism let them sort it under warrantie.

@wls1971Hi and thanks for your practical, useful reply.

How very true:   "...if the clock was locked and moved a few times in its normal life, the groove would appear anyway..."!!!

That's a wake up call to needless worrying.  Ok, fine.  Let the Woody Allen in me go away!

 

[oldhippy]

I didn't realize it was brand new, in that case send the thing back or at least get in touch with Jaeger because it can't be right.

[Everydaymelanie]

Just want to say that the tip of the tool for bottle opening on the Swiss Army knife is the perfect tool for unscrewing the screw to unlock the atmos clock.