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When fitting new stems to watches I use these tools :- Digital calipers, Fine grade diamond lap Wire cutter Pin vice Now for fitting. (1) Hold the stem in the pin vice and screw on the crown tightly by hand. (2) With the movement fitted correctly in the case, insert the stem until it locks in place. Now measure the gap between the case and the underside of the stem. In this case it is 2.16mm. (3) Subtract 0.2mm from this size and this will give the amount to remove from the stem. In this case it will be 1.96mm which will give 0.2mm clearance below the crown when fitted to the watch. (4) Now remove the crown from the stem and hold the stem very tightly in the pin vice, then place the pin vice and stem between the jaws of the digital calipers then zero the calipers. (5) Remove the calipers and without touching the zero button set them to minus 1.96mm. THEN RE-ZERO THE CALIPERS AT THIS LENGTH The wire cutters are now used cut off the excess thread leaving a small amount to be filed to the exact length. (6) All that is required now is to dress the stem with the diamond lap a little at a time until the calipers read zero. (7) Finally screw the crown on tightly and it should be ready to fit to the watch without further adjustment. I find that this method cuts down on trial and error. FOR SCREW DOWN CROWNS. A) Screw down the crown tightly onto the case without the stem and measure the distance nbetween the bottom of the crown and the case. B ) Screw the new stem tightly into the crown, then insert into the watch until it engages and locks into the movement. C) Press the crown down firmly as far as it will go and hold it there. D) Using the vernier callipers, measure the distance between the bottom of the crown and the case. E) Subtract the size determined in (D) from the size measured in (A) then subtract a further 0.15mm from this size. This is the amount to shorten the stem by. This should allow the crown to screw full home without compressing the stem too tightly between the movement and the inside of the crown. F) Cut the stem leaving it slightly longer than the size determined in (E), and dress down to size using the diamond lap and vernier callipers as described in the original post. G) Screw the crown onto the shortened stem and check fit and function, before using a tiny spot of Loctite 221 to secure. Click here to view the article

No doubt my post will be moved . Any way many years ago i had a nickle plating kit, all bought over the internet. I got pretty good with it, on rough and worn out cases, anything that was made of brass. I was given a Ingersol Yankee pocket watch, not worth anything at all , even the dial was torn, i wish i had done some before pictures. After i cleaned serviced the movement, polished out the worst of the marks, it was starting to look not too shaby. I Copied another dial i had on my scanner, printed it out on sticky backed gloss paper ,i was impressed, dam good even if i say so my self. This was all 10 + years ago & ive still got the pocket watch, picture attached , i hope , what has surprised me is i have never had to polish it, i remember it being a bright nickel plating compound. Has anyone else had any sucsess with there own home plating , i would love to know what you are all using & where to get it nowa days. Does anyone else have any pictures of their pocket watch cases they have restored.

Hi there everyone by no stretch of the imagination would I describe myself as a watchmaker and at my age I never will be able to. However I've been a modest collector for many years. I've recently thrown my lot in with an old friend who has dealt in watches for decades. He has a huge number of "project" watches which have been accumulating and we're sharing the load of reviving and selling them. There are many interesting specimens which over the years have become more and more viable for resuscitation. He's quite comfortable with basic maintenance and minor repairs and I'm quite competent at project management (30 years in media IT and associated technologies.) Here's a snap of some of our stock - lots more to unpack and start categorising. Forgive me if I post the occasional naive question! Roy

I know nothing about these as I'm not into wristwatches but having seen them mention many times I thought that this chart may be of interest.

Demagnetization is recommended part by part

Keep your eye on this auction.. New listing Watchmakers pocket watch Hand sizer tools Nice tools for watch repairer

Welcome and I'm going to guess it's Jos Stephens of London on your fusee: http://www.academia.edu/4132414/LIST_OF_MEMBERS_OF_THE_CLOCKMAKERS_COMPANY_OF_LONDON_FROM_THE_PERIOD_OF_THEIR_INCORPORATION_IN_1631_TO_THE_YEAR_1732.1_By_C._OCTAVIUS_S._MORGAN_F.R.S._F.S.A Just a guess mind you, keep us updated on any unusual finds in your hoard!

I have one of these (Bergeon 30464) However you can use tapered brass/steel rod & just mark where the hand sits snuggly & measure using a vernier.

Welcome Roy, What a collection a real Aladdin's cave. I would be lost with a collection like that for weeks. The pocket watch is really nice. Enjoy the site and do please post pics.

welcome, amazing collection...you will need a second life to get all the projects running again. Enjoy this great site.

Welcome to the forum, Sanitago! Your English is fine. You will love all the friendly, helpful members here. Happy watchmaking! Shirley

nice pocket watch! and nice collection too! If you happen to find some chronographs.... let me know!

And here's my Sturmanskie, which I purchased new, years ago. The plating is worn off the crown and I replaced the pushers, but it still runs very well. Gryf

1 - Yes, for a hobbyist a small ultrasonic cleaner should be fine. 2 - I think most consumer ultrasonic cleaners will come with a basket. Larger more professional models might require that you buy baskets as accessories. 3 - Water, a small amount of dish washing detergent, and just a few drops of ammonia make a great solution for cleaning bracelets and cases. For cleaning the movements, I use Naptha, and then 99% pure (anhydrous) alcohol as a rinse. These I don't put directly in the ultrasonic tank, but in jars. Then the jars are put in the ultrasonic cleaner with water in the tank around the jars. 4 - The above water,detergent, and ammonia solution can go directly in the ultrasonic tank. Just as you would if you were cleaning jewelry. The Naptha that I use is VM&P (varnish makers and painters) naptha. You can also use Ronsonol type lighter fluid, it is almost the same.

Yes, many interesting items and many more in bags. My mate Len hadn't laid eyes on some for up to 25 years but has an amazing memory for where and when he found them. Some fascinating bits and pieces. Much of it could be sold "as is" but we're going to try to revive as many as possible. There are very many so called "trench" watches with lovely movements, many Borgel cases. Commonest problem with these is stems and crowns. I'm going to try to identify all the good movements as a first step toward trying to source replacement parts. It occurs to me that if several identical parts are required it may be possible to have them made by a small precision engineering company rather than paying UK watchmaker prices which push these into the realm of non-viability. Roy Here's an interesting pocket watch

I appreciate it. I will have to try and demag the movement itself and see if that helps, if not I guess I will being doing it by each individual part.

A few days ago I received a little package from Vilnius, Lithuania containing the Luch 3055 I'd ordered a few days prior. This is one of the electro-mechanical "hybrid" movements, and I was fortunate enough to find one on Etsy that's pretty near pristine - photo below. This has become one of my favorite watches. It's a nice chunky one - looks chunkier on my skinny wrist - and I very much like the styling. If you've never sampled one of these, they're a very interesting model. The beat rate is very fast, probably something near 8 or 10 beats per second. The movement has a balance, but is driven electronically vs. with a mainspring. I think I'll be wearing this one a lot. :-) Gryf

Nice looking Angelus! I have a Signal with that same Poljot movement: Gryf

Thank You Watchtime. Working with wood is great, it is very forgiving even if you make a mistake. (not that I ever make mistakes).

Strange the wife is always saying that too

I can think of many times I've had a "spring ping" and I would have been elated had it landed in my mouth. Most of them landed in outer space... in a black hole... in an alternate universe...

Hello and a big welcome Santiago you've found the right place. Look around read the posts ask questions and post pics. Your English is fine btw. Mick

Greetings and Salutations! If you participate here, then you are not all by yourself anymore And, your English is fine. Have Fun!