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9 points
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I put the minute wheel on and see the height of the cannon pinion leaves with the teeth of the minute wheel, which gives a good indication the cannon pinion is sitting correctly or not. Lovely looking watch! I've just finished this JLC Futurematic for the mid 1950s. They say if you gave an engineer an unlimited amount of funds, they would come up with this movement. I have to admit it is over-engineered! It has a manual mainspring in an automatic movement, that when it gets to full wind the bumper rotor hooks onto a pin that is eccentrically pushed over when full wind is achieved, so the mainspring doesn't break. The mainspring is also pretensioned by 1 1/4 turns to create a stop-work, so the spring never comes to be fully unwound and when the watch is picked up after stopping, it will kick into life instantly. The spring also never gets to be fully wound as well, so there is a more even and linear torque over the 33 hours of running. The hands a set by sliding that winder across at the back of the monocoque case, It also has a hack which stops the balance when the winder is slid across. You can see that in the third photo. The second from last photo shows the power reserve rack and that hook that hooks onto the pin to stop the rotor turning and breaking the mainspring. The last photo shows a good timegrapher reading. A little problematic fourth wheel as you can see from the trace, but not bad fro a 70 year old lady. This has been one of the most looked after JLCs to date. Absolutely gorgeous unstated watches! I've got another JLC bumper auto to service this week. I'm spoilt!8 points
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7 points
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As here the conversation is about matching hairsprings/balances in russian watches, I have some information that will help to understand what is happening. The supplier of material for hairsprings is only one for USSR/Russia watch factories and they are not able to reproduce it with small enough tolerances. The batches of coils with the profiled wire (may be it is called ribbon or tape?) every time have slightly different thickness and other parameters. The hairsprings always are produced from the wire with same shape - length, diameter, number of coils and angle between beginning/end. Thus, when the wire parameters change with the next batch, the 'strength' of the new hairsprings changes too. To solve this problem, the balance wheels are turned with different moment of inertia to meat the different hairsprings strength for every new batch. Further, within every batch, the hairspring manufactured are tested and separated to 20 groups of strength, the balances again separated in 20 groups of moment of inertia and every group of hairsprings is matched to related group of balances. As the balance wheels are easier to manufacture with desired and predictable parameters, and the hairsprings is harder to make with desired strength, they first make the hairsprings with whatever strength will be and then make balance wheels to match the hairsprings.7 points
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I recently serviced my first Sellita movement, the SW 200-1 calibre. It was my very first Sellita movement, so it was a bit more exciting, especially since I could compare it with my experience of servicing and repairing several ETA movements, including the famous 2824-2. The first time I heard about this movement, it was describedāand still isāas an ETA clone. The impression I got back then was that the SW 200-1 was a fairly decent and relatively inexpensive copy, though it didnāt quite reach the same level of quality as the original. After servicing it, however, Iām pleased to say that my overall impression is that Sellita's movement is at least as good and, in some aspects, even better than ETAās. When I disassembled the movement, the only unexpected thing was that the cap jewels and pallet stones were somewhat overoiled. Whether Sellita or someone else was responsible for this, I donāt know. Regardless, the movement performed well, but after seven years of 24/7 use by the previous owner, it was time for a service. One thing I really appreciate about the Sellita SW 200-1 is how easy it is to pull the crown to its second position to set the date. Thereās absolutely no risk of accidentally pulling the crown too far out. This, I believe, is an improvement introduced by Sellita. My memory of the corresponding function in ETA's movements is that itās far too easy to overshoot, inadvertently stopping the watch when you only intend to set the date. In fact, it works about as well as on the Rolex calibre 3135, which is perfect in this regard. ETAās 2824-2 has 25 jewels, while Sellitaās SW 200-1 has 26 jewels. Iāve long been curious whether this difference was simply a way for Sellita to outdo ETA in the jewel-counting competition. To my delight, this turned out not to be the case. The extra jewel is placed exactly where, in my opinion, it does the best: as a bearing for the barrel arbor on the barrel bridge. Very nice! Itās also my impression that the click spring is stronger in Sellitaās movements, to the point where it became a bit fiddly to fit the click itself. I think thereās a good reason for this. When the cogs of the winding pinion and sliding pinion begin to wear (which only happens when you manually wind the watch), the pressure from the click on the crown wheel (which can move sideways away from the ratchet wheel) needs to be high enough to prevent the teeth of the crown wheel from slipping over those of the ratchet wheel. This could result in the ratchet wheel losing grip on the mainspring (not good!). This issue only manifests when you wind the watch manually. Iāve written about this issue in this thread/post. In short, I believe Sellita has solved this problem by making the click spring stiffer. Another sign of good manufacturing precision is the wonderful feeling when setting the time. The play you almost always feel in the crown of ETA movements is almost completely eliminated. Itās not at all stiff, just very precise. What unfortunately doesnāt impress me is Sellitaās assembly instructions. However, the documentation, unlike ETAās, includes several exploded diagrams with part measurements. Personally, I donāt find this particularly useful, although itās a nice touch. As for the assembly instructions themselves, thereās certainly room for improvement. The documentation is not particularly easy to understand and contain a few outright mistakes, such as showing that the escape wheel bearing on the main plate should first be oiled with 9010 and then with HP-1300. ETA isnāt entirely free from this issue, but their documentation is significantly more useful. And, of course, thereās nothing stopping you from using ETAās documentation, as both movements are built in exactly the same way. This is something I actually recommend if youāre not experienced enough to not need the documentation. All in all, I would recommend the Sellita SW 200-1 over the ETA 2824-2. Not least because spare parts are readily available for independent watchmakers, meaning owners of watches with Sellita movements can generally expect faster and cheaper service and repairs. This also means theyāre not dependent on the Swatch Group, which owns ETA, as well as brands like Hamilton, Tissot, Omega, Longines, Rado, Certina, Mido, and others, and doesnāt sell parts to independent watchmakers. In this respect itās better to choose a watch housing a Sellita movement from brands like Christopher Ward, Stowa, or Maurice Lacroix, just to name a few. Additionally, ETA has started using plastic in some of its movements, which, for me at least, is a red flag and something I struggle to associate with high-quality Swiss movements. Thankfully, as far as I know, Sellita's movements are entirely free of plastic. Thanks for reading!7 points
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7 points
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Hi all, so, for the fist time, I'm going to be repairing a pallet fork. Specifically, repositioning a pallet stone that has come off and then applying new shellac. In order to do so comfortably, I created this tool. I tested it once with a spare fork and it seems to be useful. Ingredients: - 1mm thick brass sheet: https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/sheet-brass?code=B55335 - a cheap saw : https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/saw-frames-fixed?code=P33903 - ..and blades: https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/value-premium-saw-blade-set - a cheap set of M2 screws and nuts like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Screws-230pcs-Stainless-Assortment-Storage/dp/B08T8BB1YN - a spare chunk of 2cm thick, heavy multi-layer wood panel - non-watchmaking electric drill with a 2mm drill bit Building steps: I don't have many tools, so I free-hand cut a piece of the brass sheet, approx 8x5cm. I then drilled a few holes in it. - No 1: a 2mm hole to then cut a slit (No 5) with the saw to fit the pivots of pallet forks. After taking the below picture, I used thin strips of sanding paper to taper the slit (to accommodate different sizes of pivots). - No 2 and 3: I drilled this hole and again used the saw to create a 2mm wide slot. - No 4 is also a 2mm hole. - now I sew out a piece No 6. Let's call it "holding bar". Wide enough at the ends to accommodate 2mm screw holes and tapered in the middle to accommodate different sizes of pallet fork levers. - I loosely attach piece No6 with 2mm screws and nuts. - two additional holes though brass and a hand-cut piece of 20x5cm wood. Then fix the brass to the wood. The brass place over-hangs the wood so that screw holes 1-4 are still free from below. - the heavy and large piece of wood creates a solid and flat base that keeps the brass sheet nice and stable when working on the fork. Of course, it's not too heavy to be picked up and held over a sprit lamp. Operation: - loosen the screws No 3 and 4 and lift the "holding bar" (no 6). [For additional positions, one can also use the holes No 1 and 2 (in case you were already wondering...)] - insert the pallet fork pivot in an appropriately sized section of the tapered slot. - position the holding bar (carefully!) over the lever section of the fork. The slot No3 allows different positions. The "holding bar can also be turned around/upside down for more flexibility. - Carefully secure the screws to hold the "holding bar", keeping a close eye on the fork and pivots. -> now the fork is secured and ready to be worked on. Advantage of the slit and the fork position as below: this allows to separate entry and exit stones for separate cleaning and heating. By the way, I tested using a soldering iron (15 bucks on Amazon) to heat only specific areas of the brass plate or fork. Played around with shellac for the first time. I found it very useful! E.g. if I set the iron to 400 CĀ°, I would just slowly come near the fork (like 1-2mm distance) and the shellac would gently melt. Alternatively, setting to 180Ā°C (minimum on that soldering iron), I could just touch the pallet for slots from the outside (not touching the shellac) and that would also slowly melt the shellac. I found that this gave me a lot of control. I wonder what you think of my tool7 points
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So, this project is finally complete, and to wrap up this thread, hereās a brief description of how I reattached the second hand to the fourth wheel pivot. Normally, I just press the second hand on, but this time, I thought it would require quite a bit of force since it was firmly in place when I removed it. I figured that if I didnāt manage to push the hand down far enough, it would end up touching the underside of the crystal. Keeping this in mind, I realized there was a significant risk of disturbing the jewel on the barrel bridgeāor, in the worst case, even pushing it out. My first thought was to order a movement holder with hand-setting support, but impatience and budget constraints put an end to that idea. Instead, I used my Seitz jewelling tool in screw press mode to support the jewel properly. Initially, I was a bit worried that I wouldnāt be able to keep the movement level enough, but fortunately, that concern turned out to be unfounded. When the pressure becomes high enough, the movement naturally settles into a flat positionājust like when adjusting end-shake on a jewel. Isnāt it amazing how versatile a jewelling tool can be!? Looking back, I think I could have just pressed the second hand back on without supporting the jewel, but at least Iāve gained some experience from it. Hereās a picture of my freshly serviced "Royal Oak." More pictures are available here if anyone is interested.7 points
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7 points
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This could be cracks in the shellac only. It is not clear from the picture. If so, heating will make it melt and the cracks to disappear. If after all the stone is broken, then if the shellac holds it tight, still can work fine for many years6 points
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Thanks everyone. Progress update. I've repinned the hairspring to the stud (lost the brass pin - no idea how or where it went - but had some replacements) and rotated the collet by the same amount. It now can run fast or slow depending on the position of the regulator, and in the middle it's keeping good time. Beat error is 4ms so I'll need to adjust the collet a bit more, but apart from that I think it's solved.6 points
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Explaining to a customer that what they have is utter crap. Trying hard to be tactful about it. This is something these days I couldn't do I'm not very tactful these days it's my age.6 points
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OK, it is good to understand the maths, but this is of no big use when real poising needs to be done. The others in the thread give good advices, but I will try to summarize all shortly. You don't need to fill all this tables with the rate data in 8 positions. Finding the heavy spot is easy - by slowly rotating the movement together with the microphone, You find the exact position where the rate is fastest while amplitude is about 150. You don't care if it is crown up or half-norhteast or whatever. Then You stop the balance, bring it to neutral position and the heavy spot is down, under the balance staff. If You are afraid to forget where the heavy is, then put a dot with marker. Of course, You have already seen how big the rate differences are, so with the experience gained, You will be able to suggest how mush material You have to remove or add. In beginning You will make small changes and checks. Knowing the rate in horizontals, You decide to remove or add material. Now, If You deal with some Patek or Vasheron with golden screws, this is another business. Here You have simple and not expensive movement, so filing the screws is not a crime. But better choice is to drill holes in the heads with half smaller drill bit than the screw. No timing washers - use timing wire. Simply untighten the screw, make a wind of thin copper wire under it as the beginning and end are on the bottom side, then tighten the screw and cut the excess with office knife. Static poising helps to shorten the process when the differences are big. No poising scale - use tweezers. Of course, You can skip static poising. Have in mind that when differences are not big, the dynamic poising can be done by bending internal curve of the hairspring only, thus moving the center of mass of the spring relatively balance wheel .6 points
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This is going to be a long one... First, You don't need to close the hole with domed punch, as this is a hole in narrow strip. There is no enough 'meat' on both sides near the hole, so this thin places will elongate, and the thinner one will elongate more thus bending the part. Buying tap and die and making the part is good point, but in this modern world the tools are made to sell them, but it is not sure that they will be able to do the job. My attempts to buy new dies once ended with conclusion that one has to make taps and dies by himself. Now, the watcmaker's die not always look like the normal ones. Often dies are used that are just like a nut made of hard steel. They don't have holes around with cutting edges formed. Actually, making thread there is not by cutting, but rather by moving metal. The rod that You need to make thread on is to be soft as possible and with a little smaller diameter than the thread. So if You need 0.8 thread, then use 0.75 rod. I will try to explain what to do and thus shorten the whole 'theory', then if needed, will explain more about what is needed. You get new stem with long piece of thread 0.9. May be several stems, as some may break in experiments. No mater what, just the thread part is needed. Then You harden the thread part and temper it just to 170 degr (just to beginning of appearance of slight srtaw color) to reduce it being so brittle, but keep it as hard as possible. Then You form by grinding a tap out of it. Will show pictures at the end. Then You use the tap to carefully cut new thread in the setting lever hole. Apply oil. If it doesn't cut, then anneal the lever, if needed resharpen the tap. You must cut good well looking thread. When done, You harden the lever and temper it to blue. Now You need to make a die. You need a flat piece (about 1mm) of soft tool steel. Drill a 0.8 hole, then cut thread in it with the tap. Then You make small champfer on one side like funnel, the other side grind flat, then repeat the thread with the tap to be sure it is clean. Harden the die the same manner as the tap. Now, You have to make new setting lever screw. The material needed is tool steel rod, soft (annealed) state. On the lathe, You begin with the threaded part. You turn cylindrical part with 0.85 diam, then form the thread by the die. Start with the champfered side. Use oil, go ahead slowly by forward-back rotations of the spindle by hand. If it doesn't want to go easy, then the rod is thick. Then it will break in the die and You will have to make new one. If the rod is thinner than needed, the thread will not be full sized. When the thread is ready and looks fine, turn the other side of the die and finish the thread to the end (to the shoulder). Then continue turning the screw, when ready, cut the slot with thin jeweler's saw. Harden the screw, then temper it to blue. Then You can polish the screw or at least the head that is seen on back side of the movement Of course, if You lathe can cut threads, You can make the tap needed and make new lever keeping the existing screw, but making the lever is for me the longer way6 points
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6 points
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6 points
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Hi Mehmood, and welcome to the forum! There are some misunderstandings in what youāve written, I hope that the information below is helpful. It is considered bad practice to let down the power in the mainspring by removing the balance and pallet fork. This releases the power in an uncontrolled manner, and it can cause damage to the watch. The train of wheels is not designed cope with a sudden release of power, and the rapid acceleration of the escape wheel as you remove the pallet fork can cause a destructive collision between the pallet jewels and the escape wheel teeth. Sometimes the pallet fork will move as you lift the pallet fork bridge, unlocking the escape wheel with the pallet fork still in close proximity, which can chip the pallet stones or damage the escape wheel. A watch with excessive amplitude can result in the roller jewel hitting the outside of the fork horns as you describe, which is known as rebanking or knocking. A shock to a watch that accelerates the balance wheel can also cause the roller jewel to knock, but this behaviour will stop once the shock stops, the amplitude will return to normal and the watch should run properly again unless the shock was strong enough to cause physical damage, such as a broken roller jewel. Overbanking, or the escapement going āout of actionā is a different condition, and occurs when the roller jewel ends up stuck on the wrong side of the pallet fork. A watch that is out of action will only start running again after the balance is removed and replaced in the watch with the roller jewel on the correct side of the pallet fork. A shock should not cause a watch to go out of action as the result of a shock unless the safety action of the escapement is set up incorrectly. Finally, you cannot overwind a watch, unless you wind it to the point that it is fully wound, the winding crown comes to a hard stop and you apply brute force to the crown in an attempt to wind the watch further. Overwinding in the sense that the word is usually used doesnāt exist. Best Regards, Mark6 points
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I figured I should actually post my tool builds here. I like making tools almost as much as I like watchmaking. I'll post new tools I make below and label them. First up, my cleaning machine. You can see my other post on it. Next up. Some parts I make for the cleaning machine. Baskets and such. Then I made a toolpost grinder setup for my flex tool. This will be used for precision grinding, and also for wheel and pinion cutting. Then we have the lapping table for the lathe. The is a simple build. Next is a 2 axis polishing vise. I'll add more later on5 points
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If the barrel is really moving, then the rivetting of the center pinion to center wheel has given up (could be the third wheel/pinion, but would be strange). Usually this is a dramatic thing and you can't wind any real tension on the spring without the pinion slipping in the wheel, so a little odd in your case. Basically, the barrel can only move as much as the escapement allows it to move; if it moves more, then something is slipping in the gear train.5 points
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I recently replaced the elabore grade 2824-2 in one of my dailies with a top grade SW200-2. The 2824 turned out to be modified in an unknown/unpublished way (extra long hand shafts) that required moving some parts around between movements. Zero (non-self-imposed) issues. The only difference between grades, as I recall, is in the escapement. Balance wheel and balance jewels. There's a middle grade, which I think has 100% to do with finishing, but I'm not certain about that off the top of my head. I knew that Sellita made ETA's movements for a long time, and wasn't at all concerned with there being any degradation in quality. The extra jewel was expected and appreciated. There's a difference in one of the plates, as I recall (a locating pin in lieu of a screw hole or something like that) as well. Mostly, I didn't want to throw any more money at ETA. Sellita will sell me parts, so I'll buy their movements (even if their parts will work on the ETA just fine). I'm all about right to repair, and Swatch is firmly affiliated with the dark side on that.5 points
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You could do that. Most would use a slide rest for this work; quite often it would be used to put a step on a setting, modify the diameter/s seat height etc. Also useful when making new settings. All depends of course on how true it runs (the ones I've encountered haven't been great).5 points
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As I lost trust to this new balance, decided to take a different route. Removed roller jewel from new roller, made liquid shellac, installed new jewel into old roller with liquid shellac, heated by touching soldering iron to other side of roller. Works just fine, no rate or regulation problems.5 points
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Seiko QZ from April 1975 Just finished this morning. Had an issue with no end shake on the centre wheel that was causing the second hand to just twitch. Turned out that I hadn't pushed the canon pinion fully home. After adding the hour wheel and calendar plates everything was just getting clamped together. All fixed now after giving the canon pinion a satisfying click into place.5 points
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I recently purchased some tools from a Chinese store on Alibaba, detailed review of the items below: 1. Kwong Yuen 12pc screwdriver set with ball bearing. Ever since I tried my watchmaker's old style Horotec 12pc screwdriver set I wanted the ball bearing ones. This set is one of the more expensive offerings from the brand but worth it. I think the black cap with the logo is an improvement over the Horotec design with the open top. Even the tolerances seem better since the ball bearings are more concealed than Horotec. The base is comparable to Horotec. Blades are hardened steel and stock finishing is quite good, even the slotted system to create a stopper is implemented. Some might not like the stepped nature of the blades as the screwdrivers are made to fit 1.2 and 2mm shafts. 2. Oil pot from Ruihua Highlight being actual ceramic reservoirs and all metal solid build quality at the price. Also comes in a 5 pot variant, Which in retrospect would be a better buy for the longer run. 3. Oilers from Kwong Yuen: Feels solid, stock finishing is quite good. Caps a bit flimsy compared to the metal body. Better polished tips in person, camera is making it look worse. 4. Generic tweezers with plastic tips. Body is not well finished but the tips are nice and the stock calibration is quite good. 5&6. Generic Rolex movement Holder and plastic stick. No complaints, works as it should. 7. Kwong Yuen Bronze tweezers. Another high end offering from the brand. I used these for some time but they felt too soft (less force to pick up parts) and had a very low attack angle where the ends meet. Eventually, I modified it a bit by bending the ends inwards using pliers and opening it to compensate for the closed tips. This increased the attack angle and made them a bit firm. These tweezers are my personal favorite because of how they feel and handle. The quality is top notch. However I do feel that most people will need to modify it in order to get the best out of the tool.5 points
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Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. We really do have a great community of helpful people on this forum. This did turn out to be a 2-part mainspring as described in JohnR725's post. The "slipping attachment" had become nearly welded in place by dried up grease and corrosion, which is why I thought it was part of the barrel. Once I felt emboldened by the info you all provided to be a bit more persuasive I was able to remove it. I will now order the appropriate modern style automatic mainspring and be able to proceed with reassembly. Many thanks!5 points
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I went through a similar exercise with each of my children. When they were born, I found a watch that I would wear during their childhood, build memories and association, and hand down to them. Had to be of good quality (speaks for itself), something someone would want to wear whenever (not a fashion exercise), and have something for them to play with (extra crowns, pushers, etc.). My daughter is now 5, and she has a (doesn't matter what brand because brands don't matter) with dual rotating inner bezels. She has spent many hours in my lap turning those crowns and playing with the bezels. It's 2824-2 powered, and when it was due a service, I upgraded to a top grade Sellita movement (notably, not ETA). My son is only 6 months old, and he got a parts chronograph (doesn't even have a brand) with a top grade 7750 (yes, ETA, but I got it for a good price, and can swap in a Sellita down the road when I eventually find a vendor selling them in top grade). He grabs at it during diaper changes, and the shininess seems to do a good enough job at keeping him from alligator rolling off the changing table. He's just getting started with his watch. I've explained the deal to my daughter, and she's very excited about it. She has a butterfly Timex child's watch that she wears for "practice". I'll probably give it to her when she goes off to college or something. The thing about branding in this exercise is that it SO doesn't matter. DADDY is the brand. Memories and association are the brand. If I do my job(s) right, monetary value is 0% consideration. Both of these intentionally have the most broadly available workhorse movements where, even with Swatch's cartel-like practices, parts will ALWAYS be available forever and ever by way of donor movements if nothing else. The price of a Rolex is about 10% watch, 90% marketing. If you took the name off the dial, and just assumed it wasn't a fly-by-night outfit that stood behind the product like most manufacturers do, a $50,000 Rolex stainless dive watch would probably go for about $5K. They're good, don't get me wrong, just not 10X better than reality. Ads in magazines and manufactured scarcity don't actually mean anything. If you're into watchmaking, you can look at watches with a less marketer influenced eye, and see what watches are really worth the time and money. Rolex never makes the cut for me, because branding carries $0 value in my world, and the street price makes them far too expensive for what they are. Add in the fact that Rolex won't sell parts to repairers, and you get a pretty steep reduction in value. Given a brand new Rolex, I would immediately turn around and sell it while it's "worth" maximum dollars, because to me the watch has a negative valuation, and every day I wear it is a day's worth of wear that I can't repair. There are a lot of extremely excellent watches to be had for your purpose in your price range. If I sound anti-Rolex, know that I'm not. I'm equally anti-(anything Swatch) right now, and that's most of what's been suggested. What I am is very pro-craftsmanship and engineering. Good engineering extends beyond blueprints though, and into things like maintainability, which the owner of a design can ruin by refusing to allow the end user to keep them going. Which is a bummer, because I REALLY like Omega's Co-Axial escapement. Right now, I'm pro-anything that I can "keep on the road". For $2500 if you're looking for new (which you aren't currently, but should the tides change), look for something with a Sellita movement. If you're looking for something used, keep an open mind, and do your homework on a per opportunity basis.5 points
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Ā”Bienvenido y gracias por tu publicaciĆ³n! Sin embargo, ten en cuenta que este es un sitio en inglĆ©s. Por favor, publica futuros mensajes en inglĆ©s. Si prefieres escribir en espaƱol, utiliza, por ejemplo, Google Translate, Deepl.com o ChatGPT antes de publicar. "Welcome and thank you for your post. However, please note that this is an English site. Kindly post future messages in English. If you prefer to write in Spanish, please use tools like Google Translate, Deepl.com, or ChatGPT before posting."5 points
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I just won an auction on a Webster Whitcomb lathe . Headstock, tailstock, tip over toolrest and a Borel base. I'll have to get a motor. And gravers. And collets (comes with a couple). And books. And. And. And. This wasn't particularly expensive, but I am expecting I'll be sinking a good chunk into completing and accessorizing it from now on... And I have all of you to thank for egging me on.5 points
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For let's say 1950s, absolutely Longines or IWC. Omega was also doing amazing stuff, but not the same level. Definitely there technically, but not on the finishing. IWC was often called "the poor man's Patek". I hold that mid 20th century and some decades before, Longines was at least Patek level and more likely over. So Rolex, it was good, but not even close to IWC, Longines and Omega. I've worked on enough of all the above brands to say before Rolex came out with its famous purple inversers for their automatics (60s? a bit later?) they didn't hold a candle to those others.5 points
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Hi @arron, The Air King and Oyster Precision models are usually 34mm in diameter. Some find it too small. Honestly speaking, I think you can see in the design that they are the cheapest Rolex. I don't think they're particularly appealing. If you can stretch the budget to the low-mid 3000s, you might be able to find a Datejust 36mm (even though both automatic and with date..). Maybe not on eBay, but local sellers, local classifieds. For most Datejust calibres, you can get generic parts, e.g. from Cousins. Have you considered vintage Omega? You could get a spectacular 1960s Omega Constellation for that price -- or even significantly below. In my opinion they are better value for money than the entry level Rolexes. One example here:5 points
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The military used carrier pigeons during the war to deliver messages, kind of like spy pigeons. The bigger birds..they would strap clocks to those ones.... most often when the phone lines were down and folk couldnāt ring up for the speaking clock. The idea was to entice the bird down with a few seeds..get your time reading to set your watch and clock by...then send big bird on his way to help someone else.5 points
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"I'm sorry sir, but a real Rolex ends with x and not with cks"5 points
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I got a new Sherline--not to replace my WW lathes--but to complement them. I wanted something that could handle bigger stock as well as have access to many inexpensive accessories. Had to make a mental leap from hand turning to cross slide turning. So far, I am having fun. My first project is a WW tailstock runner that supports a 1/8" carbide bit. The first attempt was a fail. I got too aggressive and removed too much material. My second attempt appears to be a success. I only needed to remove about 300 um from this 1144 steel rod. Then drill a near perfect 1/8" hole. I turned the rod between a 3-jaw chuck and a live center. I may follow up with a set screw to hold the bit. Stay tuned for other cool projects. Here is my Sherline setup5 points
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Changing batteries of a dead quartz watch. You never know what you'll find inside. It could be a straightforward battery change, to a complete disassembly, clean and oil. Or even a total movement replacement. It becomes even harder when it's an expensive watch and the owner never expected anything other than a simple battery change.5 points
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In the process of laser engraving the plate, it is crucial to set the correct engraving depth. If the depth is too deep, it may result in a murky pad printing effect, while if it is too shallow, the lines may become disconnected, leading to broken lines. On flat dials without texture, using a harder silicone pad for pad printing will yield better results. The hardness of the silicone pad directly affects the thickness of the lines, and adjusting the hardness appropriately is key to achieving precise printing. Additionally, the ink ratio is another critical factor in successful pad printing. Adding too much thinner will cause the lines to become unclear, while too little thinner may cause the ink to cure too quickly, resulting in broken lines during printing. In summary, laser engraving, silicone pad hardness, and ink ratio are all interrelated, and each step can affect the final result. These steps require extensive practice and experimentation to find the most suitable formula. I hope these insights can provide some useful reference and help!5 points
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Update: I think I have the balance oscillating freely at last. It's not always one thing. I adjusted the angle between spring and stud without unpinning the spring and did minor adjustments to the curve of the overcoil then put it back in the watch. It looked better, but didn't swing any better. I discovered the angled section of the spring where it transitions from overcoil to the flat coil was sitting too high and rubbing on the cock. After half an hour or so of patiently tweaking the spring and I was happy with how it was sitting. But it still failed the free oscillation test . I'm just about to leave it for a bit when I notice a tiny black fibre on the balance. I go to lift it out and find it is actually anchored at one end under the barrel bridge and I have to give it a decent tug with the tweezers to get it out. But such a tiny fibre, it's not even visible without the microscope. How much difference could it make? How about the difference between 40-ish oscillations and almost 140 oscillations from a 180Āŗ start! I need to make sure it's still good with the pallet bridge back in place, then I can get back to aligning the impulse jewel and hopefully getting it running with decent beat error and a modicum of regularity.5 points
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I just remembered I made a video showing how to perform the test I'm talking about. I hope it helps!5 points
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probably the problem or having is that simple doesn't apply to a balance wheel. There are lots of things going on with extremely complicated math just as a guess. For instance on the website on dynamic poising there is a reference to why would you have to poise a screwless balance wheel? then he explained why they exist but? I also have a PDF attached from Omega why they have a screwless balance wheel. I bring this up because while he does explain the main points he doesn't include all of the points probably because he may not actually know them. For instance here's something interesting Omega has so as a general guess the problem with a balance wheel and hairspring is it is dreadfully complicated at a theoretical level. But still it's quite amazing how good of timekeeping they can keep if they haven't been screwed around with too much. Omega technical guide number 12 June 1959 Omega have adopt the screwless balance.pdf thinking about poise maybe this might help.5 points
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5 points
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Good morning! My next walk-through. This time of an Universal Geneve 2-66 calibre in a "White Shadow" watch. With less than 2.5mm thickness, the movement was one of the thinnest automatic movements at its introduction in 1966 and for decades to come. Some say it was the thinnest of all, but I found the Piaget 12P was 2.3mm and introduced in 1960. That would make the Universal 66 the second-thinnest automatic movement unitl 1985 when the Frederic Piquet 71 came in with 2.4mm. ANYWAY, it's very thin! Another cool story is that no other than Patek Philippe poaches the movement engineer of Universal and let him basically copy the UG 66. They then introduced the Patek calibre 240 in 1977. They looks strikingly alike. Apparently, Universal sued Patek, but settled out of court and then went bankrupt during the quartz crisis. (see my post here for a picture comparison of the UG and the Patek: https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/3470-which-watch-have-you-got-coming-in-the-mail-show-us/?do=findComment&comment=270754 ) As usual, I'll share the walk-through in several posts. Today: disassembly. Hands and dial off reveals the keyless works (two dial screws) Note: the dial washer doesn't fit too well. I'll look for another one for assembly. NOTE on letting the power down! The power is held by TWO clicks. One directly at the ratchet wheel (dial side) and one in the automatic works. I first completely removed the click at the ratchet wheel and then held back the click of the automatic works. It worked ok, BUT is not ideal. It lets the rotor spin to release the power in that direction (instead of the crown). I therefore suggest to first remove the automatic works completely (rotor, wheels and click). THEN proceed as usual by holding back the ratchet click and releasing power gently by holding/slipping the crown. To show the (supposed) better practice, I'll post my pictures in a different order from my actual disassembly. This is how I think it SHOULD be done (in retrospect), 0. Remove the balance 1. Automatic works: remove the rotor The automatic bridge (please ignore that the barrel bridge is already off and don't remove it before releasing the power!) VERY gently with this spring on the click! It's insanely thin. The end of the spring rests in a small hole in the mainplate. I'll show that in my pictures for assembly. Note that the wig-wag winding wheels for the rotor can stay in place. They are riveted to the movement. A total of three ball bearings here! Two are visible, and the backside of it (that wigs and wags) also has a ball bearing. The rotor also has one. So four ball bearings in the movement!! 2. Turn movement over and release the power with the usual method (hold back click and gently let the crown slip through your fingers) The click is here: Then disassembly the click I also took the hour wheel of (no picture, but obvious). NOW, IMPORTANT. The apparent cannon pinion here, is not a real cannon pinion!! It should be completely free. The movement doesn't have a central centre wheel and therefore the "true cannon pinion" also isn't in the centre of the movement. This "false cannon pinion" is just a reduction wheel for the minute hand. DO NOT have the stupid idea of tightening this "false cannon pinion".... like I did ... But ok, onwards. 3. After letting the power down, I go back to the train side. Note on pallet fork: the lock is very heavy. If amplitude turns out to be very low after service, I may have to push the pallets in a bit. Note that there a two different screws for the train bridge!! The one on the edge is a bit shorter. Barrel bridge. Again, note that there are two different screws! The one at the crown is longer. Now, the larger wheel next to the barrel is the decentralized centre wheel with cannon pinion. I will show how to disassemble it in a later post. The ratchet wheel is under the barrel 4. Dial side cover plate Watch out, under this wheel is basically the crown wheel. There's an outer crown and also a seat around the post. the downwards bent side goes down on the setting lever careful, very strong spring here this lever engages and disengages the integrated wheel directly with the ratchet wheel for manual winding Now again very careful with the spring under the lever! It is very thin and very springy. I actually lost it and couldn't find it even after 1.5h on the floor... and since I managed to buy one, there are now only very few left in the world! finally the stem with the pinions removing lower balance jewel for cleaning barrel open. NOTE that the square bit of the barrel arbor points up from this perspective (not pictured). This is important to remember for assembly. This concludes today's post of disassembly. Next post will show the disassembly of the integrated decentralized centre wheel and true cannon pinion -- and tightening it (because it was slipping).5 points
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Update. Success. SW500 bearing fitted to original CW C60 SH21 Automatic rotor. Using original bearing retaining/lock shim. (Using bearing shim lock tool (From Cousins UK / Modified (Filed down) to suit this bearing + Shim). All went well. Small spacer/washer mentioned in earlier photo goes on after the rotor, under the rotor retaining screw. It is recessed for screw head on one side only. Rotor spins perfectly, without vertical deflection in any position. And the 42 tooth gear which is the underside of the bearing meshes perfectly with the winding gear of the movement. I think I just fixed my own watch myself for the first time. Dont know why i didnt think of it earlier. CanĀ“t do everything right... But better that a 10-12 Wk wait, each service return. Twice in one year (2023), all under warranty, but still vexing. Now as far a rotor bearings go, i am self sufficient. And we now all know that a Sellita SW500 Rotor bearing (7-Ball) is a valid fitment, and as far as i am concerned, a valid upgrade, to the original (possibly older, and now no longer fitted by CW), 5-Ball item. Cool.5 points
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An update got a new crown and indicator wheel spring which I promptly sent into space when trying to install. Still looking for it and ordered another and got that one in. So looks like maybe some stem broke in the lost crown (was not one when purchased) and so the jump day date quickset doesn't work when cased up as just a little too short So new stem on the way. But the crystal arrived as have the aftermarket pushers as placeholders until I can fix the old bent ones or aquire originals.5 points
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4 points
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4 points
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Let me guess: it's running very fast? I am no expert at adjusting hairsprings, but I have a little experience. I think the issue is a combination of the incorrect position of the stud carrier (it should be about 45 degrees further anticlockwise, looking at it with the balance installed) and too much bend in the hairspring just after it emerges from the cock. I would move the stud holder like this: Then, depending on how the spring looks after making that change, I would adjust this bend: See how the spring goes through the regulator pins at an angle? That should be straight across, and fixing that will move the whole spring towards the centre. One wonders why the stud holder was so far around. If that was done to adjust beat error it may be necessary to adjust the hairspring collet so the impulse jewel sits in the right place with the stud holder where it should be. But you'll need to get the spring properly centred first. I recommend moving the stud holder around, then posting some more pics from below showing how the spring sits then, and hopefully one of the more experienced members will direct you from there.4 points
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Balance wheels and hairsprings cannot be manufactured to <0.07% tolerance (=1min/day)! So the factory will measure hairspring (elastic moment) and balance wheels (moment of inertia) separate, sort them into classes and combine matching ones. @Knebo mixed parts from different classes and logically got a huge error. Frank4 points
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4 points