Leaderboard

So found another scrapper ,I put the mainspring and parts together assembled the watch chucked a bit of oil at it and it actually ran, so I'm feeling a bit better now. So I decided to clean and service the movement, scrape the verdigris off and do a proper job and see what it all looks like when it's running properly. OI had quite a bit of work to do when i took it to pieces, screws with out any thread, no minute hand, and it was really dirty , but unbleavable it keeps time ( purley luck ), the dial is`nt the origianl but for the moment i`m not too fussed, i`m sure i will find one eventually. The case has`nt turned out too badly either, i had a few goes & its turned out all right, ive found its best to keep these cases oiled, as they go brown if just left alone. Not too bad really considering it only took a week to do it with the limited time i had.

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Then finally tonight I pulled a nice Seiko 7A48-7000 with moonphase complication, which correctly showed the moon on Waning Gibbous position

So today I started the day wearing my trusty Hema Landeron 248 Chronograph, which showed you many times... Then in the office I decided to take out the very first watch that started it all: my late father's Seiko 7A34-7010...

Well, I was board just looking for any thing to do, so I start looking in the back at all my rubbish , an there it was , a box of bits too far gone to even think about doing up, but well beggers can't be choosers plus the fact is i will only get a hour or so each day to do it. Where do we start I ask myself, case or the movement, the fact that the mainspring and the mainspring slip piece was missing was another reason it had been thrown in a drawer by someone. The case was covered in oil at some time and turned into a hard green crust and the movement was covered in verdigris, the blueing on the steel case had all but been wiped off, so it was really scrapping the botton of the barrel with this one. There are various sorts of steel blueing agents out there so I'm sure I've got something that would do, and no I'm not going down the road of heating the case and re blueing it, it's just not worth it .

Couldn't help myself, always fancied a gold 7750. Gold 7750 Inbound by Micky Aldridge, on Flickr I'm still yet to disassemble that ETA with several complications, but having done some more research, it turns out the ETA 2836-2 movement has a module on the dial side, this add on part houses many gears allowing the ETA movement to have manually adjustable complications, what I haven't figured out is, how do those complications register automatically each day at midnight.

You are a lucky italian. Thats the minimum damage it could happen . Maybe looks easy to put the dial on,even you maybe think to put just glue on it and thats it but its easy to leak the glue on the dial and ruin the watches face. I say that if you do something wrong you will see it on the watches face every time you look the hour

It only gets better AP, we don't make fun of cheap tool, only cheap and Chinese! Just kidding! Some Chinese tools are not cheap and some cheap tools are not bad and....OH Gosh! did I make it worst?! Now, seriously, some of us --- me for example --- started using sub standard tools and at some point, -- because we learned how to dress/prepare them -- became "proficient" with them...until this special watch/movement/task came along. Then we felt the need for something better and learned the difference between the quality stuff and what we used to have. At that point, and I'm talking more about my experience, we became obsessed with buying only quality tools...bad news for the wallet and the wife! Then, there came a period of "temperance" where you, having more quality stuff than what you really need, weight your needs vs. wants...and reach a middle ground. I suppose, in the end, the whole thing repeats itself when you progress one more step from where you are...since we are all perfectionists but perfection is hard to achieve: how many times we reach our goal to realize there is still more to it, another dimension or degree to achieve, and set ourselves a new goal, quality speaking! It all comes with the knowledge and experience gained through previous work. My recommendation to everyone is, if you have too much quality stuff, keep it even if you don't see an application at this point. If your equipment is not quite there, make a plan to upgrade according to budget, work and other factors...dictated mainly by the ease of use and quality of the work you are doing or trying to achieve....In my mind, there is no joy keeping a hobby you do not enjoy because your tools do not let you enjoy it. OH well, this last part came out weird but you guys can figure it out! Cheers, Bob

Congratulations for losing your roller jewel replacing virginity Did not do such a job myself yet, but already have shellac and need to fix someday that ellipsenstein in the Nachtigall movement. An old watchmaker told me however that shellac can be dissolved in polar solvents like isopropylalcohol and a small drop on the jewel of this solution will leave shellac there after drying as hard as with melting method.

Totally agree, I am a member of a few forums for the different interests I have and this is definitely one of the best. The experienced members here prove there worth by sharing their invaluable knowledge not by belittling new members, unlike some forums I have been on. There is a very good atmosphere here from what I have experienced so far.

Tell me about it! We all have done it, mostly because we don't want to appear stupid and ask what we think are amateur questions. These folks are all very patient and non judgemental. I hope that in the future I will be able to give back, by helping other lost souls>

Look closely at the ends of the bridge screws (which screw in from the dial side) there should be a short one which goes where the yoke/ spring fits. if they're in the wrong place , the longer screw will stick up and interfere with the movement if the yoke. HTH Anil

Ah! I relief and a disappointment. I've always wished I could meet Groot! Nice watch and movement! Cheers, Bob

You will be hard pushed to find one being sold on its own.

A genuine one? pretty sure no one will be able to direct you to that. Unless I'm very much mistaken that's only going to come from the manufacturer who i'd be surprised if they supply to anyone at all. (no personal experience with the brand but going by other brands that operate in that price range...)

1) Carefully remove the spring from the barrel. 2) Grip the spring arbour with a large pin vice or pair of pliers. 3) Using the winding key unscrew the arbour being very careful not to damage the hook. Here's a photo of all the parts disassembled.

Here's one off my Boley lathe. You adjust the clamps until they gently grip the part that you wish to machine. Once you have positioned the part correctly, you tighten the knurled nuts at the back of the plate to grip the part really tightly.

I love the watch! Good choice Micky! It has everything I would wish. It is complicated but not over complicated, reads well and is ready for most situations, not just for dress! Very classy! BTW, about how do complications register each day....my take on this, -- knowing much less about this of course -- I'd venture that they call the Atomic Clock in the area!!! Oh, well, bad joke. I sincerely wish I could help on that one! Enjoy this great watch! Cheers, Bob

Yeah I can totally agree with this now. Before I started buying tools I kept on reading 'don't buy cheap stuff, you'll end up buying twice replacing will quality' etc etc I bought a basic set of tools and all the Chinese stuff was terrible so I was so annoyed I'd not just bought decent stuff in the first place as advised. Now I think I've gone too far the other way. Hopefully I'll find a happy middle ground. I guess if I look after them they'll last forever or there's always eBay for the ones I don't need.

Auto oilers can be helpful but not ideal for every oiling situation, sometimes you need to use a simple oiler for a task, try not to rely on them too much. Brian

If the ratchet screw and wheel are not removed, the barrel arbor cannot be lubricated to the plate. Not a good idea.

you can service the main spring and leave the barrel attached to the plate. it looks like the cover will lift off. vinn

Sorry AP, I don't use auto oilers. The regular ones (I use Bergeon all right), are all I need for that size and even smaller size movements. Since I observe carefully and under the lens the amount of oil I am taking in the oiler, an automatic one seems to be in my way. Of course, they are supposed to be more consistent but I can't simply get myself to "trust" them....or spend that kind of money... Cheers, Bob PS. It is said that one single drop of oil should be enough for the whole watch!