17: The Pin-Pallet Escapement

         You will recognize this drawing from chapter 9 of the Clock section. In order to avoid repetition, I will discuss only how it differs from the modern Swiss Lever Escapement.

         In the club-tooth design, the escape circle radius of each tooth meets the impulse face and the locking face at the entrance corner. In the pin-pallet wheel, however, the escape circle radius of each tooth bisects the impulse face. The method used for the pin-pallet wheel is the correct approach, and it must be used here. I used the other method for the club-tooth escape wheel because it enabled me to place the entry pallet in line with the tooth's impulse face at the mid-point of the impulse: in other words, to create a better-looking drawing. The tooth's impulse face was less important because the relationship between the angles changed during impulse, (see chapter 3). In fact, the last drawing of the Swiss Lever showed tooth and pallet impulse faces that were not parallel. The important criteria in the Swiss Lever are the angles of the pallet's impulse and locking faces, and that the pallet's impulse face always be bisected by the pallet circle's radius line.