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I purchased a Tourneau 7750 a while back on eBay. The watch was a mess. For one thing, the dial was glued to the main plate - missing the dial feet and it has some discoloration. Here's how it started. I finally got around to having the dial restored by International Dial. They didn't have the exact die, but they did find a suitable substitute. While they could have created a die to match the original I didn't want to incur the expense. Some pics of the dirty movement... The watch also had a Rolex crown (I think it's a fake) and the stem was soldered to the crown. You can see it in the following pic: Here it is on reassembly - preparing to attach the hands in my Bergeon movement holder: And the finished product - note I have a new crown on order - so the fake Rolex is still on there for the time being. This watch is a gift for my son.

I had nothing better to do today, so I thought I'd make a pair of watch hand levers. I had some 3 mm tool steel rod and cut off two pieces 80 mm long. I then reduced the diameter to 2.2 mm at one end of both. One end of each was ground flat and level to just about 1/3rd of the diameter. Then, on the side that goes up against the dial, I ground the ends flat again to about 1/13rd but tapered them down to 0.2 mm at the tip. Using the round file handle as a mandrel, I heated up the ends and gently hammered the tapered side over to make them slightly rounded and also cut in a small 'V' notch, then left them to cool. When they had cooled down, I heated them up again slightly to temper them. I'll put some heat shrink tubing over the handles to finish them off.

This is very interesting! Where does the gauge live when it's not being used? Any chance of a picture? By the way, I've been doing electronics and computers most of my life, but with the ever increasing levels of integration, both have lost a lot of their attraction. Thus the relatively recent fascination with all things mechanical

To me the answer is easy. Mod away! Just carefully mark and store the parts that you replace, so that you can restore the watch to original condition if you want to. Even if you sell the watch, you can offer the parts to the buyer, or if they are not interested, then you have parts to restore other watches!

More progress today, getting close to finish line ...... Make the case back ... fit rubber o-ring This is not finished, but getting close, so just laid things together to see roughly what end result will look like Cubic zircona finish

It is an airplane. My two real passions, watches and antique aviation. My 1941 Taylorcraft I restored a few years ago.

Now looking better after I finished them. I used some 3mm ID aluminium tube and secured the tips in place with epoxy resin. Then finished off by covering the handles and part of the tips with heatshrink tubing. I'm well chuffed with the result. Hint: another alternative steel for the levers is to use a small allen keys ground into shape, and make some suitable handles.

A little off topic, but since you mentioned dining tables - here are a few shots of mine - which I crafted from this reclaimed 9 foot section of bowling lane. 2.5 inches of solid maples for the first 7 feet. On the left you can see the "splice" where it transitions to pine. The arrows are inlaid walnut. The engine crane I needed to lift this -- the wood weights about 350 pounds. Lots of sanding and finishing: The extruded aluminum base - weights 120 pounds And the finished product:

Hi all. I recently acquired a really lovely Molnija pocket watch in great shape overall. I have dismantled it and already cleaned it and have noticed that all the parts appear to be highly magnetized as evidenced by all the parts sticking to each other like that nasty stuff to a blanket. I don't have a demagnetizer but will have to get one without question, which leads to a couple of questions; hopefully I'm not repeating something that's already been answered in the forums. First question is should I go for the Etic demagnetizer that Marc mentions in one of his videos, or get the cheap Chinese equivalent - or is it not equivalent, or would it be better to get the more expensive tunnel type that you pass the whole watch through? Sorry, that's three questions in one, but they are related. Second question is, can I still assemble the pocket watch while I wait for the demagnetizer to arrive then demagnetize the assembled watch in one fell swoop - or should I wait for it to arrive then individually demagnetize the parts first before assembly? Third question is how on earth did the parts become so magnetized in the first place; Is Russia now a hot-bed of magnetic activity? BTW, I can't afford a nice Bergeon demagnetizer, or more correctly I can afford it just, but can't afford the divorce that would shortly follow its arrival. Thanks, I'll await your collective wisdom before doing anything else with the watch. Cheers from sunny Edmonton

Awesome and I have no words! I looove that demagnetizer! Had I known that before, I might have saved a lot of money! Yes, that oilers news are bad news. Any reason they didn't make it? Cheers, Bob PS. I'll be interested in the demagnetizer comparison!

You could put all your parts in some kind of container then de magnatize the whole lot it once.