We have spoken of paper being employed for drawings, but for very accurate delineations we would recommend the horological student to make drawings on a flat metal plate, after perfectly smoothing the surface and blackening it by oxidizing.

PALLET-AND-FORK ACTION.

By adopting eight and one-half degrees pallet-and-fork action we can utilize ten and one-half degrees of escape-wheel action.  We show at A A’, Fig. 9, two teeth of a ratchet-tooth escape wheel reduced one-half; that is, the original drawing was made for an escape wheel ten inches in diameter.  We shall make a radical departure from the usual practice in making cuts on an enlarged scale, for only such parts as we are talking about.  To explain, we show at Fig. 10 about one-half of an escape wheel one eighth the size of our large drawing; and when we wish to show some portion of such drawing on a larger scale we will designate such enlargement by saying one-fourth, one-half or full size.

[Illustration:  Fig. 9]

At Fig. 9 we show at half size that portion of our escapement embraced by the dotted lines d, Fig. 10.  This plan enables us to show very minutely such parts as we have under consideration, and yet occupy but little space.  The arc a, Fig. 9, represents the periphery of the escape wheel.  On this line, ten and one-half degrees from the point of the tooth A, we establish the point c and draw the radial line c c’.  It is to be borne in mind that the arc embraced between the points b and c represents the duration of contact between the tooth A and the entrance pallet of the lever.  The space or short arc c n represents the “drop” of the tooth.

This arc of one and one-half degrees of escape-wheel movement is a complete loss of six and one-fourth per cent. of the entire power of the mainspring, as brought down to the escapement; still, up to the present time, no remedy has been devised to overcome it.  All the other escapements, including the chronometer, duplex and cylinder, are quite as wasteful of power, if not more so.  It is usual to construct ratchet-tooth pallets so as to utilize but ten degrees of escape-wheel action; but we shall show that half a degree more can be utilized by adopting the eight and one-half degree fork action and employing a double-roller safety action to prevent over-banking.

[Illustration:  Fig. 10]

From the point e, which represents the center of the pallet staff, we draw through b the line e f.  At one degree below e f we draw the line e g, and seven and one-half degrees below the line e g we draw the line e h.  For delineating the lines e g, etc., correctly, we employ a degree-arc; that is, on the large drawing we are making we first draw the line e b f, Fig. 10, and then, with our dividers set at five inches, sweep the short arc i, and on this lay off first one degree from the intersection of f e with the arc i, and through this point draw the line e g.