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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/19/18 in all areas

  1. I recently got a bag of 10 watches from the antique store, I recognize the Seiko Panda (the case is in horrible condition) but not so sure about the others. If you see anything you recognize feel free to let me know but either way they're mainly swiss and I'm happy to have them in my collection.
    2 points
  2. Ok the HS is the most likely culprit it is either too strong our not long enough. If I remember correctly the test for a HS strength is as follows. Put the balance bridge on a tack the HS should then suspend the balance by no more than 1/2 inch. If it is less than this it is too strong if it hangs lower than 1/2 inch it is too weak.
    2 points
  3. A few months ago I spotted what I considered to be, a rather nice looking chronograph watch for sale. On the dial, the name was, Ravisa. Inside, the movement was a Harley Ronda 726. I bought it as non working and soon got busy, stripping it down. There was no strap fitted, but that didn't matter for now............one thing at a time. This watch incorporates two coils and, when checked, one of them proved to be open circuit. With the use of a stereo microscope, I was able to see the breaks. Yes, breaks.............both of them! Somehow, both ends had both become disconnected. Using my soldering iron, I was able to pick up the ends and successfully reconnect them........which my ohm-meter confirmed. After that, it was cleaned and reassemble/oiled. Once done, the battery was fitted and let's see what we have. Unfortunately, the chronograph section didn't work, but the watch did. At first, this wasn't apparent because the coil pulses for the watch section are spaced about ten seconds apart. After thinking carefully, I could only think of one thing being responsible for the chronograph section not working...............the circuit. Now, for some curious reason, I never checked the circuit when the watch was stripped and I had the chance to. Whenever I strip a quartz watch down, I always check the circuit to make sure that it is working. Why, then, didn't I do so with this one? (Murphy's law!) Well, it's my own fault and now I had to strip it down again to get at the circuit which, in this watch, is buried a few layers down and takes quite a bit of getting at. I got the circuit out and checked it for pulses. Yes, one section was 'pulsing' (The watch section) but the chronograph section was emitting nothing, apart from a high pitched whine. Damn! After a long search, I found a firm in San Francisco ( S.T. Supply) that had the the circuit and got busy ordering it. It took about three weeks to arrive and, once it did, I eagerly fitted it to the watch. It's a tricky business assembling this watch, but it got done. Right, I fitted the battery again and this time the chronograph section sprang to life................success! Everything was working, so I left it to 'soak test' for a while. A couple of days passed by and the watch was working fine. I saw a really nice, shiny S/S bracelet with black ceramic sections and immediately thought how nice that would compliment the black bezel on the watch. The only problem was that the watch measured 19mm across the lugs and the strap was 20mm across. I couldn't find the same bracelet with 19mm and I just had to have that bracelet. A long story cut short, I very carefully altered the watch case and the bracelet and, voila, job done. With its new glass and shiny bracelet, the watch looks absolutely smashing. I just love this watch and I intend to keep it. I wear it daily now, while giving my mid 1960's Valjoux 72 a well earned rest.
    1 point
  4. I just finished completely taking apart this nice little Rockford 16s P/W Mod.#2 made in 1903. Mostly it was very dirty & the mainspring was broken. (and no hands)It only has 11jewels , but I really like Rockfords. It is also a private label "Chronometer Nacional" Has anyone heard of that. It is a pendent set & wind model. The guy who sold it broke or lost the winding return spring. So he made one out of a paper clip. Well, you can imagine how well that worked. So I took one from an old movement and its up and running and pretty as a picture. In fact here are some pictures.
    1 point
  5. Some times the button will screw down that tiny bit due to winding and turning the hands. Normally caused by a poor finish to the end of the stem when cut off and the button made of soft metal.
    1 point
  6. Thanks for this Duncan, it's going to be very helpful and will remove the excuse I've been mentally making to myself to keep this project on the back burner. This will supplement an article I was able to find by Henry Fried, entitled "The Verge Fusee Watch - Part II, How to make a Verge for a Watch", which is available for download from the NAWCC library for members. I like your idea about splitting out the text from the illustrations so don't need to keep flipping between pages, something I've always found frustrating and time wasting. Richard Watkins website is a treasure trove of excellent info on pocket watches, which I find I'm increasingly drawn to as I have a few friends who have purchased old British and American pocket watches over the years and have foolishly chosen to hand them over to me for repair and maintenance. Again, many thanks. I'll let you know how the fabrication of the verge goes. Best Regards Roger
    1 point
  7. It is a nice classic , clean looking watch . I agree with your thoughts on becoming a throw away society . I feel that so many quartz watches that end up in dresser draws are an example and victim of that attitude . I vote that you find a new crystal for that puppy .
    1 point
  8. Hi david, Visit the site eternaltools.com, there pix of all eta parts along with corresponding names are shown, helps for a common vocabulary. Regards joe
    1 point
  9. Cheers Anilv, I don’t think he’ll mind, he was quite happy when I told him I wouldn’t work in the fusse, to be honest I think he bought them off eBay and thought he’d give them to me to fix up on the cheap ( ie I’m not a pro watch smith with overheads etc ) and sell them on for a profit, so I’m quite happy to let him know it’s not going, it’s more down to personal pride that I find out what’s wrong and rectify it. It needs no more parts now ( fingers crossed ) so hopefully with fresh eyes I might sort this out.
    1 point
  10. You might be on to something. Turdor watches.. no worse than Virgin cola and FCUK fashionware, thought the colour might not be entirely authentic for a Turdor watch. ~insert toilet humour joke here ~
    1 point
  11. That’s a great tip to remember for the future! Margolisd - have you taken a good look to check that the second coil on the h/s isn’t touching the curb pin on the regulator? It’s all a bit cosy in there on these I could take a couple of pictures of balances I have for these so you can compare the number of coils if that helps
    1 point
  12. A very 80s Citizen 21 automatic (August 1982), keeping good company (and so far good time) with my white Seiko 5. The Citizen is much cleaner and more hygienic than it was this morning, and running quite nicely too after a little TLC and a good polish. I resisted the temptation to try to hide the marks on the dial as I am pretty certain I would "fix it worse". I did remove about a metric ton of grime from the thing though. Both are members of the 404 club (see elsewhere for an explanation). EDIT: I've just noticed I've set the Citizen 5 minutes slow, due to the rather confusing dial markers.
    1 point
  13. how are the pallet jewels? are they properly seated?
    1 point
  14. ll I took a few pictures during the strip and rebuild.. First the automatic weight comes off.. Then the automatic module.. simple enough. Note below that tone of the screws holding down the autowinding mechanism also holds the winding wheel in place. With the automatic weight off the watch tries to run.. Now I flip it over to work on the dial side.. Everything comes apart well. The set lever bridges is intact. The quickset lever is also present, this can go missing as its not immediately recognizable in the parts tray! Back to the other side to get the train and barrel off.. A naked mainplate I didn't get a picture of the wheels.. sorry. Here's a picture of the movement re-assembled. In this case theres not much difference before and after as the case did a good job keeping crud out!. And here's a video.. happily ticking away! Anilv
    1 point
  15. Thanks for that colditz its a case on caveat emptor( buyer beware) I use a Horotec unit, Often thought about The Timegrapher. If I go down that route I will look for an English supplier, although its not to say the result would be any better
    1 point
  16. G’day all, Here’s my little collection of watches. Some are complete, some are not Some years ago, with saved up birthday and Christmas money, i bought an 1877, key wind, American Watch Co. Full Hunter; Stirling silver English case (that’s a few years older than the workings), engraved balance cock and 9ct gold balance wheel. This is my everyday watch, when it’s not too hot to wear a waistcoat A Swiss Acurex, 17 jewels, bought for a few dollars from an Op Shop (Ozzie version of a Thrift Store). This has seen service for when the above mentioned temperatures arrive. Unreliable now, so probably needs a service. Not worth paying for one, so will wait until my knowledge and skills are high enough. A Smiths pocket watch, pin lever, some of the wheels are just stamped out. Bought it a couple of years ago figuring that it might be a, non precious, watch to learn on. Plastic lens was all scuffed. 40mins of sanding and polishing cream fixed that. Balance wheel was sloppy as all else, and my dad said that one of the balance pivots was probably a screw. The one up under the dial was, so I fine tuned it. Within a week it had come loose again, so I put a dot of Lock Tight on the thread, re-fine tuned it, and left the dial off in case of recurrence (the dial’s only held on with bent tabs). Sits on my desk in a wire stand as my desk clock. Recently my Wife and I found a little shop in a nearby town that has the remains of retired watchmaker’s stock, both working watches and parts ones. I’ve been raiding his $5 tub. So far I have two fusee works, both missing the balance wheel and pallets, and a couple of other bits on each. One is by John Anderton of Huddersfield (found him on a list and he had his shop there in the 1820’s), and the other one is R. Cunningham of Liverpool, with an older style of regulator. No dials. Hope to tinker, and make parts and dials for them over time, but even if I can’t get them going, just having watch works that were made 200 years ago, and at $5 each I love hand work and engraving. The next 4 watches and works, also from the $5 tub, started ticking when given a gentle rock. In fact the first one, the workings of a Lombard Vernon & Co. pocket watch, that were sitting in a zip lock bag, started ticking away when I turned the bag over. I haven’t been able to find anything so far on the ‘net about them, and the main brass chassis, with the regular ‘works in it, has a white metal 1/2 plate on top with a collection of damaged springs and cams on it. Wondering whether it was a chimer or something. Missing winding stem (and anyway it’s grotty so running it is probably a bad idea in it’s present state). Quite a few jewels. The Odd Ball watch of the lot: A wind up ‘digital’ pocket watch! I had not seen this sort of thing before (though have now looked them up on the ‘net and seen some Very expensive versions, mostly wrist watches. ‘Liga’ brand, Swiss made. Pin lever. Ticked when rocked in the shop, but wouldn’t wind (no resistance or click). Thought it might be a broken mainspring, but $5 what’s to lose In the car I popped off the back with a screwdriver to find the clickspring rattling around loose. Found where it was supposed to be, fitted it, and, hey presto, winds and runs under certain circumstances. Have largely cleaned it, including the grotty celluloid window, and hope to get it going properly soon. A nice watch to learn on as it doesn’t have as many wheels as a conventional hands watch. Love watching the hour wheel flick over (a pip at the ’30’ position on the Minute dial engages a star wheel under the Hour disk). Have, since the photo, put the front watch case on my lathe and finished it with a fine grit, leaving a nice, subtle, radial polish. Heuer stop watch. Will run for a few seconds at a time. Very clean inside. No winder or crystal. Missing movement restraining screws (what’s the official name for those?) Generic Swiss made watch. The hour hand was bent around the minute hand, and once dis-entangled the watch spontaneously ran for a 1/4 Hour. Hour hand didn’t survive No winder, but apart from that, a new crystal and making an hour hand, it may be a goer without much work. Marathon over. Hope you enjoyed it. Cheers Duncan
    1 point
  17. Quartron? My research indicates the name was copyrighted in 1969 by Timex. But, I've never seen the name on any watch dial other the 5 I have in my collection. I acquired these some years back via a large lot of watches and parts from the estate of a former Timex engineer that worked in the "Electric" watch division. Once I got around to opening one up the first issue was how to find a button battery that would fit. It wasn't until a year or two ago that I learned the size was a 355, which of course is no longer available. The second issue was that the electronic circuit board had no components on it. After some closer inspection I had saw that the board design was very similar to that of those used in the model 85 electronics of the same era. With a little bit if fiddling and the use of a micro soldering iron I was able to refit a 85 board into one of these prototypes. ( I will get around in another post oh how this was done) As for the battery, it just took some Rodico the fill in the gaps and off it when running for the very first time. The case is very large at 46.5 MM and I've matched it with an NOS 1970's bracelet as well.
    1 point
  18. Finally finished my Vostok Generalskie extensive overhaul: No other watch have I serviced, cleaned, polished, and lubricated as meticulously as this Vostok Generalskie; the movement, case, dial, hands, and crystal. Case and crown gaskets were of course replaced and silicone greased. I even cleaned and polished all train wheels by hand (a bit over the top, I know, but I just couldn’t help myself). I had many good reasons to be thorough though; This Generalskie was a spontaneous gift to me from someone who made a deep impression on me (I’ll always remember you T). I think it’s one of the most impressive looking Vostoks I’ve seen, and I just love that dolphin case back lid. And, it was my first serious attempt to (somewhat) understand and successfully service a 31 jewel automatic watch. The service spawned some pretty interesting discussions on WUS and watchrepairtalk.com. First, it was established by our "comrade" experts over at WUS in the “Q&A Expertise thread: Is this watch legit or a Franken?” that it is indeed legit. The first and major challenge for me was to understand how to service the automatic mainspring barrel. As I learned, this is not entirely trivial when it comes to automatic watches (thank you all!). Secondly, I was puzzled by the state of the reversing wheels and how to lubricate them. This too was eventually sorted out. For my personal use, I made a "reassembly plan" using pictures from the disassembly. It was only meant for me personally, but for anyone interested click here. I should mention that during the assembly I figured out that it would be most convenient to assemble the parts for the automatic winding as late as possible, so this does not show in my "reassembly plan". The quality of the movement and the entire watch is the best I’ve seen in any Vostok, Raketa, or Poljot so far. The movement contained some surprising details I haven’t seen before. The centre wheel held a very small (micro) brass cylinder right in the centre of the arbor to hold or guide the seconds hand pivot (see the picture below). Let me tell you, it was not easy to handle, not even with my finest tweezers. Most shims, like under the balance cock, were gilded, and so on. I believe this watch was meant for export and made to impress. It was sold in Stockholm, Sweden sometime in the early 90-ties. I wear it with pride!
    1 point
  19. Hi guys.. Sharing some pics of my latest purchase. An early Seiko 5. This was for sale on local facebook page and I got it for MYR177 plus MYR10 for shipping. That's less than USD50 all in. I'm not a fan of these ridged bezels but I was drawn to the clean face as these are getting harder to find. The case back is from Nov '67. Seiko went from the seven digit serial numbers to the six digit ones sometime in '67 so this would be an early one. Oh and a 'proof' case back is always nice! It's a snap back.. Not a front loader. Case looks like its been polished but it's not too bad. Another view of the dial... On most older Seiko's you would find the lume has blackened and this affects an otherwise perfect dial but since this model didn't come with lume it's pretty much perfect. Inside is a 6119 movement... I'm particularly find if this movement and despite the bezel I think this one is a keeper. Anilv
    1 point
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