They resorted to electroplating the arbors with hard chromium which resulted in a practical long wearing small diameter pivot needed to produce inexpensive but highly efficient clock movements. Free machining steels are cannot be hardened and tempered to the hardness required to produce a highly polished hard pivot end. "Free machining" steel began to be used by many clock parts manufacturers. A faster and less expensive process was sought after about 1960 when demand for clock movements increased.Ī different steel alloy was developed especially for high speed lathes to reduce tool wear. The process is and was expensive in terms of material and most important wear on the machine cutting tools. Traditionally, the shafts or arbors were made of a good grade of carbon steel and the pivot ends were carefully polished after first being hardened to resist wear. The key to the "plated pivots" wear issue is to know about the steel used in making mass produced clock parts and especially the arbors and pivot ends.
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