Abbott's American Watchmaker and Jeweler

How to true a balance, repair a chipped dial, temper a spring or test a stone — the working bench-book of the American watch trade, arranged A to Z.

F

18 entries in this part of American Watchmaker and Jeweler.

Fictitious Silver

No. I: Silver, I oz.; nickel, I oz., II dwts.; copper, 2 oz. 9 dwts.; No. 2, silver 3 oz.; nickel, I oz. II dwts.; copper, 2 oz 9 dwts…

Fireproof Cement

A very tenacious and fireproof cement for metals is said to be made by mixing pulverized asbestos with waterglass, to be had in any drug…

Female Centers

These very useful adjuncts to a lathe are easily made by any watchmaker. He should have at least six pairs, the largest being one-fourth of…

Ferric Oxide

This material is used in its natural state and also prepared artificially under various names, such as crocus, red stuff and rouge It is…

Fitting New Cylinder and Plugs

In most cases of broken cylinders the upper half is left while the lower and most important part is missing. Take total length over all…

Ferrule

The small pulley or wheel around which the string of a bow is wound when giving motion to a piece of work. See also Collet. FETIL, PIERRE…

Files

Files for watchmakers' use are made in every conceivable shape, and in sizes from that of a fine cambric needle to 1 x 1/3 in. The various…

Filing Block

A contrivance made to take the place of the filing rest, which was made of boxwood or bone. It consists of a cylinder of hardened steel…

Filing Fixture or Rest

These rests will be found very convenient in squaring winding arbors, center squares, etc. There are several makes of these tools, but they…

Fly or Fan

A fan having two blades, used for preserving the uniformity of motion, as in music-boxes and the striking mechanism of clocks. The…

Follower

Where two wheels are toothed together the one that imparts the power is known as the driver, and the one receiving the power is called the…

Foot Wheel

In the selection of a foot wheel the workman must be governed by his own experience and taste, for, like cigars, the variety that exactly…

Friction

The resistance which a moving body meets with from the surface of the body on which it moves; is caused by the unevenness of the surfaces…

Frictional Escapements

Those escapements in which the balance is never free or detached from the escapement. In contra-distinction to the detached escapement. The…

Frosting

The matted or rough surface sometimes given to work before gilding or silvering. See Electro Plating, Bronzing and Staining. The gray…

Fuzee

A brass cone, as shown in Figure 136, having a spiral groove cut on it to hold the chain, and interposed between the barrel and center…

French Lines

1 25.39954 11.25951 2 50.79908 22.51903 3 76.19862 33.77854 4 101.59816 45.03806 5 126.99771 56.29757 6 152.39725 67.55709 7 177.79679…

Flux, Fourth Wheel & Full Plate

A mixture or compound to promote the fusion of metals; used in assaying, refining and soldering, as alkalies, borax, etc. The wheel that…

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of Abbott's American Watchmaker and Jeweler (1892) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.