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Thought you guys may be interested in my latest project. full write up on my blog, but a few pics below Started from this.. to this.....

I've had this Grand Seiko 5641 - 7000 for about a year , but today is the first time I have worn it . I gained a renewed appreciation for it after a couple of hours .

here is my watch collection. most of them are having stories behind... 1) Breitling Chrono Avenger on Pro1 Ti bracelet. this is my daily watch. one year ago it suddenly started loose 25sec/day. I de-magnetize it and it came back to COSC... 2) JLC auto caliber P812 bumper style. Sometime ago, weight oscillator pivot was broken. I bought a movement for parts and replaced the weight oscillator. 3) Omega caliber 620 ultra thin 6.5mm, manual wind. My 1st fully serviced watch following Mark's amazing videos. 4) Oris 44mm Day Date 300m water resistant, my daily watch prior to the Breitling. No special story just a nice and chunky watch. 5) Baume et Mercier quartz purchased only since I like its shape and looking - the case shape, the roman dial, the band and the flat glass. If it was a mechanical watch I would rank it as 10. 6) Atmos clock: I will post the picture and the full story later in the Clock forum. This clock deserve a dedicated thread! Hope you like this, uzi.

Well this has been a very interesting and educational process for me. I learned a lot of stuff I didn't know thanks to all your excellent feedback and suggestions. As I had actually suspected up front, the solution was to add additional weight to the balance wheel, but I never envisaged having to add 6 of them. Obviously these have been placed in less than ideal locations on the rim of the balance wheel, positions that are normally reserved for temperature compensation, and compensations for different positions, however as I will be happy if this watch is accurate in just the dial up position, I will be happy. As it stands now, with the regulator in the centre position, and the timing screws at the balance arms unscrewed just a couple of turns, it gains just a few seconds an hour, something I will further improve over the next few days. I'm guessing that this watch, which I bought on EBay, was cobbled together by the seller just to get it in a going condition, irrespective of whether or not the balance/hairspring, etc, were the correct ones for the movement. Perhaps as long as it ticked, he could legitimately state that is was working. Oh well, we live and learn, and I have actually enjoyed this despite the frustration. As always, I really appreciate your help with this, and hope that one day I'll be able to reciprocate with some suggestions for someone else's problems, but don't hold you breath waiting for this to happen because i'm a long way from having enough expertise to be able to do this at the moment.

Here is the after photo waiting for the dome

Not too expensive from here, direct from Japan.. http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/agogonus/item/ago_c02022/ Unsure how secure that site his though, counsinsuk don't stock them sadly, only esslinger

Hello all Im a newbie to watch repair as a hobby. Ive just been gathering up some basic tools and now I've jumped in head first on my first project. Its a poor divers watch that got water damaged, its got a Mitoya 8215 in it and its rather sad, with a rusty old balance wheel. Baptism by fire.....what could possibly go wrong?? Stoo

very fine steel wool for surface rust, that's all I did to mine. I like the racing strips idea though...

Looks fantastic and I would do nothing more with it, except using it. Remember that the proper look talks to the connoisseur and all the rest (bling being the first giveaway) to the ignorant masses

Haha think I'll pass on the one-dip then.. Yeah it's just a Chinese clone movement I bought from eBay to practice on. As you say, it's dry as a bone. I don't think it has any oil on it! It's just a little grubby now because I've man handled it for the last week or so. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dear friends, Thank you for so many comments, I'll try to refer as much as possible. BTW, please keep in mind that English is not my native language so I might not always fully understand your comments Hi jdm regarding the Breitling, since I didn't know why the watch start loosing time, I asked one of the watchmakers online and he advised me that magnetized movement is the root cause, and it turned to be that he was right! This "character" from the other room is probably one of those persons that doesn't like to be confused with real facts...:) regarding my 1st watch service, indeed the very small movement was very very difficult for me and took me to the edge. I wouldn't repeat this drill so soon. And, this kind of statements such as "ohh you don't have a chance...." doubles and eaven triples my motivation...(BTW, this is what also push me to fix my Atmos by myself) I'm planing to share my notes of the service but I have no pictures since the work is done. Hi JC, THX! yes, the Omega is my 1st full watch service. Hi WileyDave thx, it took me ~18 years to collect these timepieces, most of them bought online. As I said, Atmos is deserved a dedicated thread promise to post, stay tuned. just one word about it: this is a real art, I can stand and look hours on its beauty. Yup, different styles and brands. I love them all! thx, uzi.

Awesome! Great job. Sent from my XT1064 using Tapatalk

Just a plain Poljot on green shark strap.

I use these . They were not available in the 16mm size for a long time . 16mm is what I have used on most of my Seiko deployment clasps . I just ordered 4 ea.

You can use various types. Check http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/4324-greiner-cleaning-solution

Thank you all for the warm welcome ,and vinn " let watchmaking be a relaxing hobby " in greek is like " Άσε την ωρολογοποιία να γίνει ένα χαλαρωτικό χόμπι " and you are right it is a relaxing hobby ,until i loose a tiny part and make upside down the whole place to find it haha.

Another eBay bargain... http://www.ebay.com/itm/From-Watchmakers-Bench-Vintage-Cas-Ker-Co-Workstation-Mat-Watch-Repair-Tool/262506036470?_trksid=p2045573.c100034.m2102&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D38530%26meid%3D865fb13177b84e73b6b63e1784a10a19%26pid%3D100034%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D111869254555 http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Z-sAAOSwGIRXaYfe/s-l1600.jpg

First you need one of these screwdriver looking thingys to open the case.

http://raulhorology.com/2012/12/the-mark-of-a-true-watchmaker-forming-hairsprings-part-4-pinning-to-the-stud-final-adjustments/ about hs position în the regulator

just thinking out loud: maybe the regulator pins are not paralel and when You turn the watch, because of the end shake of balance, the hair spring will modify its position in-between the regulator pins. these things have more effect when You have low amplitude

It;s been almost a month since this little journey with this Germinal Voltaire and the AS 1746/47 began , and I am pleased to announce that this little gem is still running properly and keeping good time . Since finishing the repair i ordered a new watchband for it and it arrived today . I choose a Hirsch Wild Boar leather band in a very nice Honey Brown color with White contrasting stitching . I proceeded to sand and polish the crystal , gave the crystal and case a spa treatment in the ultra-sonic , re-assembled the watch and installed the new band . I can honestly say that it's looking pretty spiffy . Once again , Mahalos to all that helped me through this one . I did learn from the experience .

Thanks Don, I'm happy to hear you found it useful.

On American balance wheel hairsprings like this there is no additional spring. They are permanently pinned in position. On older watches semi-handmade watches quite a few times there is extra spring but not on these. Then unfortunately there is always the chance that somebody has re-pinned it shorter. Then anything off eBay everything is possible usually undesirable possibilities. I have a friend who is buying broken watches to fix at least one of them I think became the everything bad the person had went into one watch Sold as unknown condition as opposed to everything evil and bad is in one watch you're never going to fix this. Then swapping hairsprings becomes challenging unless you read the data book parts book whatever there is additional specifications that apply. So for waltham their hairsprings come in two different type steel and Conal. Then strengths light, medium and heavy. There is a note that you can send your balance to the factory To have it vibrated for you unfortunately the factory went out of business some time ago. So light hairspring is for 10 screw balances. Medium for 12 to 14 screws. Heavy for 16 screws. So ideally you need to get the right hairspring for your balance wheel and you're still going to have to do some screw swapping adding weight removing weight.

Gee, thanks I think... Point taken. If anyone knows where I can get a E15 movement form then that works, that would be great as all the searching I am doing is coming up fruitless. Kind regards

I believe you are correct about the pins, jdm. Also the material is kind of slippery at certain tensions or so it seems. The trick is to "push" down on the case as the fixture is tightened. I particularly haven't have much trouble with divers or any other cases...there is still the exception though.

Being made of metal is a big improvement already and that's the one I'm buying next. The main reason why the pins or posts slip out in plastic holder is because when tightened they them open up at the top, at which point the force by the case is not perpendicular anymore and pushes them out. At least I think so.

The Seiko holder will "stick" to the bench quite securely, for more tough jobs, i.e. rusted and set in backs, a different holder is required and yes, a bench vice that will hold the (different type) holder. Something like this: Which will "grab" this other type: But then we are back to where we started! In any case, notice the bottom part of the holder how it conforms to adapt to the vise pictured above. My understanding is that the pins (for some brands) can be had in different heights but this is not confirmed. Cheers, Bob

Yes, as dadaistic said, it's not always necessary to to use the holder in a vice, or even use the holder at all. I also don't keep the vice on the working desk all the time, for various reasons.

Oh we're way off the original topic guys, time to change direction.

Weeell, here's what I do. Start with case in hand and sticky ball. Works for me more often than not. Very safe. If I have trouble holding the case, put it in the case vise, lets me get a better grip. If ball doesn't work, grab and adjust the jaxa wrench. If it seems that significant force will be needed, mount the case holder in a vise. Still most likely to have a problem from a slipping wrench, but two hands can keep things aligned better. Since that is the extent of my equipment, if it still doesn't work, smash the watch with a hammer I don't start with the vise because my wife would be quite perturbed if I screwed one of my vices to the dining room table, which is where I usually work on watches. And really, I've only got to the smashing part once. Was quite frustrated

Wait a second, some people use case vices without securing the case vice to a bench vice??? That is absolutely what you need to do, how is the case vice helping you if the case vice itself is not secure? That's like trying to use a bench vice without having it secured to the bench. Most case vices (other than this interesting seiko one) are designed and intended for use in a bench vice.

They usually shot out. So be careful if you don't want to be on the floor searching for both the the spring and the pushers

Cousins stock this one.. https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/bench-top-af-swiss-king-size?code=C40286 Also this one which is interesting, vice secured though. https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/unifix-case-vice

I know it is pricey but, have you tried this one? I do and I'm very satisfied...it is one of my "big" guns so to speak, it provides for individual adjustments...

What is being said here is that the case holder pins or nylon cover can slip. Not the case opener itself.

case holders: they still make wooden ones. or you can make them as ssteel sugests. those plastic ones are just mvt. holders (no matter what ebay says) and will not servive the tourk of removing a screw back case. as mentioned above, "place the case holder in the bench vise" so you will have both hands free. another good thing about the wood ones is you can "carve" on them to try to get 100 % contact with the watch case. vinn

The pins are always the problem with these things. Can't say I've ever had the main body of the case vice break in anyway, though. My only advice is sometimes throwing over a piece of chamois cloth over the case vice before securing the watch often helps a great deal in stopping watches that don't fit perfectly from moving around.

O have been experiencing the same problems, and have both of those you have there. I'm actually considering making different sizes from wood to accommodate regular watches I have in for servicing, but interested to hear others experiences..

It is a well guarded secret, Dave. Even the name is deceiving and a great mystery for, why would a cow herder be messing with watches? Are the company employees bewitched so as to look like cows and therefore the name? Was a cow actually teaching its herder the watchmaking art?! Animals have been known to equal or exceed human intelligence...check out the dolphins. Although I haven't found a dolphin watchmaker yet. No matter, the search continues! Oh, but I digress from your original question. Pardon me, I tend to get off track easily, it is common in my species...err, myself actually. (I'm shy to disclose what kind of an animal I am!... but if my watches could talk, they will surely tell you out of aggravation!) So no cow videos! What a shame, I love cows and their milk! I was wondering, maybe, just maybe, you can find a video of a "parent" movement? Just post a picture and the mystery might be resolved pending someone identifying it. You know, sometimes the name doesn't really means they actually designed/manufactured the whole movement in house! Let's take a chance an pretend for now that this specific movement has its roots somewhere else where documentation is available. Anyway, it's been a long time and I was missing your posts! Maybe it was me I was away for a spell either way, welcome back! Cheers, Bob PS. Maybe Constantin is the name of the bull? Instead of a cow teaching...oh well...

There's many case back opening knives but once again it depends on quality of the blade cheap ones dent and bend I've got a bergeon one somewhere but to be honest I prefer my grandads old one that must be at least 70 years old the blades thinner and as tough as old boots and sharpens up lovely.

Another great vid from Steffen Pahlow. A very skilled watchmaker of the highest caliber.

Because some watch repairers think watch repair is for the chosen few and not to be meddled with by us mear mortals. Post your pics oh wait a minute will it upset people if we help naaa who gives a @#$¥.

Focus on that red white and blue splendour and keep a level head Dave.

Welcome Labelle I suppose I started tinkering seriously with watches with the purchase of my first Waltham pocket watch. As for tools think most of us have made the mistake of buying cheap tools ! You probably will never stop buying tools in this game but the best advice is to buy a basic set of Bergeon screwdrivers or similar. A decent set of tweezers but far more important, learn how to "Dress them" (Shape them) Tony Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Sorry here is the link.