Leaderboard

I decided to attack a slipping mainspring issue on a 19 Jewel Elgin Railroad grade Pocket Watch. Here is the movement. I had to get the barrel out and have a look and much to my surprise to mainspring had a leaf riveted to it similar to automatic watch mainsprings. There was a small tab on one side of the mainspring and an accompanying thin slot on the barrel. What I did was file the tab so it was more like a hook and would better catch the barrel slot; and not slip. I also greased the wall of the barrel with automatic mainspring grease, to give it a bit of grab if the hook were to slip. The result was very successful. Here is the YouTube video I made of the operation. Then I noticed the the screw I had selected as a replacement screw (one of three) holding down the center wheel jewel setting did not looked domed like the other two. So, out came the lathe for some very detailed work to fix the look of the screw. AND AGAIN, I made another YouTube video. I think I like making videos:) That was a good part of my day yesterday and now this beautiful Elgin is completed and keeping perfect time Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hi With this tool the jaws are inserted between the hub of the balance staff and the roller. The chamfered jaws when closed gently push the roller assembly from the staff using the hub as a pressure point. It would be advisable to do this inside a poly bag (large) as the roller can shoot from the staff to become one of the great unfound watch bits hidden in the carpet. If you google balance staff roller remover instructions I am sure you will find some info.

IPA is isopropyl alcohol. A quick rinse (under a minute or two) in 99% is absolutely ok. My cleaning machine (Greiner) uses it as a rinse, the instructions say to rinse the fork and balance for that long; it has always worked fine for me. Some manufacturers call for a final rinse in IPA as well, 99%. It's really OK to do. Take a fork with shellac on it and see how long it takes to dissolve in IPA. You'll be surprised.

This is useful...

Depends what intelligence agency discovers you've been straying into a DMZ to get your water.

Miraculously, I found the two parts that went pinging off. Both were installed inside a ziploc baggie to ensure no repeat pingings! Thank you for the advice @watchweasol

Hello, everybody. I wanted to share my restoration stories that I have done for a long time and thrown into my archive. First I discussed the Atomic Mars 71 Brand using Valjoux 7734. As it was seen, scratch and dial is broken. To begin with, I tried to brush the Case as Brushed and make it the first day. If it is decorated, I polished and re-painted the indexes (with acrylic paint). I usually do this in three layers so that the paint is not deleted in a short time. I replaced the case buttons and tubes with aftermarket buttons. Since the condition of the dial was in very poor condition, I had it re-painted. The quality is not so good. In Turkey, unfortunately, not doing the job well. Caliber 7734 (Valjoux) is a special and robust mechanism for me. With good maintenance and lubrication, you can reduce deflection values up to 3-4 seconds per day. I added a short timelapse video about it :) As a result, such a result came before us. Thank you Taskin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKH6yTKUfpM

I picked this vintage Timex Marlin up from a pawn shop for $10. It began ticking as soon as I wound it up which is always a good sign. The metallic brown dial and hidden lug case caught my eye, but the Crystal was quite rough, thankfully it wasn't cracked. Sadly it's wearing one of those atrocious expansion bracelets, so that will be ditched ASAP! This was my first time decoding the dial numbers, very useful information there. After a thorough sanding and polish the Crystal looks great! According to the catalog page, it looks like it originally came with a mesh band, I'll have to look for one.

Well the rather quirky blue dialled model 41 watch arrived today and as expected it wasn't running. A quick strip down led me to believe that the coil on the balance was at fault. Sadly my only spare balance is from a model 253, which runs at 28,000bph instead of the 21,600bph of the model 40, so I cannibalised one of my other model 40 watches and swapped over the balance assemblies. Diagnosis correct, 'new' watch now runs and 'old' one doesn't. I regulated the new watch and will leave that one as it is, now searching for a 'cosmetically challenged' model 40, with a good balance assembly, to resurrect the watch that donated to this one.

Hi Roland and welcome to the forum. Same here, I ruined watches before the age of ten, lack of tools was a or the reason, don,t you think? Best wishes

Hi Roland and welcome to the happy factory

Thank, yes I spotted those on the lists. There seem to be a set of 10s that are very different. All from them 60s. Mine is from the 20s. It's similar to this: http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&Bulova_10AE Thanks for your advice. I think I'll just leave the machine on the default 52 and see how I go

Should think you will be fine with using 52 degree . I have never seen a movement that has 59 degree lift angle . If you look at the other Bulovas they are around the same . 50 -53 . There would not be much different if you set it to 50 or 52 degree .

End section ( between stud holder and regulator pin) of hairspring is deformed. Possibly hairspring is grabbed in the slot of regulator arm. Move regulator arm and stud apart, this would streigten the said section, you can try to give a shape.

It wasn’t very expensive, not in the grand scheme of things anyway. I paid 215 for it, and it’s running good. Someone’s selling a similar Clebar with a bit more patina that I wanna grab next, though I really want a seamaster, and every other watch I buy just delays that. when I got it I they sent a few extra straps, I’m not a NATO fan so I didn’t own any, but it came with this blue and red one that works perfect with my cubs hoodie and cap, and matches the red in the dial. last night I won a lot of 35 various Swiss movements that are supposedly all together. They’re my practice! This morning was my first ever tear down, a broken Vostok I’ve had for many years now. Turned out the balance spring was broken. Now I’ll try putting it back together. It doesn’t have to work so there’s no pressure lol.

When you talk about naphtha and IPA, do you mean whiskey and Indian Pale Ale?

For those that don't know the Shortt Free Pendulum clocks were made from the 1920s to the late 1950s and were the most accurate clocks made between the 1920s and 1940s. Only 100 of these clocks were made and they were sent around the world to observatories and anywhere else that needed the most precise time keeping. Very simply describing the clock it had a master unit that ran in a vacuum and a slave unit that synchronised to the master free pendulum unit and then could send timing signals to any number of other slave clock units. The Perth Observatory which is now run by volunteers has 2 of these clocks Number 11 that was made in 1926 and after serving time at the Royal Observatory, Greeenwich to 1940, then it went to Edinburgh in 1941 for the duration of the war and then back to Greenwich in 1946 and then to Perth Obervatory in 1960. The other clock Short clock that is at the Perth Observatory is number 94 which was ordered by the observatory in 1956 and delivered in 1957. Besides these 2 clocks the observatory has a number of other significant clocks that they are wanting to get running after decades of static display. The president of my association had been in talks with them for some time to service and repair these clocks and started doing so a few months back, but has only just in the last few weeks started working on the Shortt clock. It had been 'fiddled' with by people he didn't know what they were doing and besides being gummed up solid for reasons only known to the person that did it they had put paint over the ends of the friction plate on the centre wheel so it could no longer slip. On boxing day he got the slave clock ticking after fabricating a new gathering wire and jewel and stripping and cleaning the whole movement, but it still needs some adjusting. I went to visit him yesterday to have a look and bring my reference book 'Synchronome Masters of Electrical Timekeeping' by Brober Miles that was only just published to help him out with some of the items he was a bit lite on with information. Whilst I was there I took some photos which I thought may interest people. Dials of Slave Clock Couple of the inside of the slave unit Apologies for this photo but I couldn't get a good picture with the sun shining through the window, but this is the vaccum chamber for the free pendulum Stand alone slave dial. I've got more photos and a slow mo video showing the pendulum being given its impulse but this is the limit I can upload to one post. This is a very special rare clock, but once it is finished then number 94 will get the same treatment. Number 11 is a type A model whilst 94 is the simpler type B model.

the movement you have is very rare, i believe i see a W&D on there as well which if there is then this makes this a very early WW1 period ROLEX. Rolex purchased Aegler Rebberg movements during the war and the the dial will not have Rolex on it since Great Britain did not allow the names on dials from foreign manufacturers. You would see Rolex or W&D marked on the movement and/or caseback. This is a very rare sweep seconds model which were used in “doctors/Nurses” watches during the war hence the Red Cross on the dial. I would say if its 13 ligne/29.5mm its most likely for a doctor anything smaller than 11 Ligne its a nurses watch. There must have been lume on the dial at one point also a feature in the watches since there was poor lighting at night in the hospitals. Hard to date but it will have to be between 1910-1926. You can read more below. Normally you see UNICORN, RWC, ROLEX, or HANS WILSDORF & CO on the movement, but I know W&D was used a lot on the case backs. Either way Rolex or not you have a nice rare piece of early wristwatch history and if you don’t know what you are doing take it to a professional you will not find replacement parts if you loose or ruin anything crucial. https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/myrolexpage.php Also I don’t think mainspring is “OK” if you winded it fully and you need to add force to the crown which then transfers through the train making it run is a sure sign the mainspring is way too weak or is rubbing or getting stuck on the barrel lid, and a new one is needed. But a new MS is always needed with a service and esp one that is 100+ years old, god only knows the last time it was serviced.

I've used Gimp quite a lot for flat dials, just scan the original and edit out the defects, the beauty of this you can lay the new dial over the top of the old, so if in the future you decide you want a dial restorer to work on it you have preserved it for future restoration. You can print on off white paper or card to make the dial look aged.

I like it. Very 1970s, and I particularly like the layout of the black dial. @JerseyMo may be able to help you there.

Thanks for the suggestion. I liked that '77 Marlin you cleaned up, it looks great. Mind if I ask how you removed the gold tone on the bezel?

GIMP is an image transformation tool with very poor technical drawing features. One needs Illustrator, or Inkscape to work on dial blueprints.

A quick rinse in IPA will not dissolve shellac. 10+ minutes, yes it will.

Sounds like the hairspring has some oil on it and it is sticking to itself. Give it another quick bath. You should be able to regulate it to a few seconds per day if it is running correctly.

Hi, Training data would be Marvelous, valuable addition to relevent thread previously posted on this forum. Thanks also for the links to movements datasheets you keep providing. Very helpful .

There are many phone apps which you can use to help you get it running right. I have Wildspectra on my mobile. It takes some time to set up and a phone is not really the right tool as the magnets in the mic may affect the watch but its better than nothing. Another app I use is watchcheck. Basically you set the watch as close to the phone time and after a few hours you tap the button when the seconds hand hits the 12 marker. I check the watch in the morning and evening.. you will see the variation as well as the average deviation per day. Anilv

My new Princeton chrono w/ Landeron 149 movement, my first vintage chronograph. Working great but the movement isn’t secured well making it hard to set.

Anytime!

Thank you for the advice, that's exactly what I needed to hear, or read rather. The Mercury is still going strong this morning, so strong in fact that it's a good thirty minutes fast with the regulator set as far toward S as it will go. Happy New Year! According to my Timex, it'll be 2021 around teatime.

I guess another way to put it would be : 'This is the most accurate clock any of us could ever hope to work on' As there are no mechanical clocks more accurate than this and you have to move to 'Atomic Clocks' to get more accurate and that requires a very different skill-set to work on. The Shortt clock is accurate to less than a second a year if run in a temperature controlled environment.

If so " impulse jewel is centered in mid banking" then HS or Roller needs to do a 180 degree. Check if balance is a right one. Just put cock back on ( no need to get the stud and HS back in their place) . Once balance is installed you can tell if staff fits and wheel turns good. If it dosen't you got the wrong balance. If balance is the right one, 180 is in the order.

Well used benrus with a q watch ,signed seiko 6619..runs nicely for a watch that's about 50 years old.

Hi When doing serious jobs with the liability of pinging parts it has been advocated doing it in a large plastic bag to limit the pingability of the parts. If the said parts ping they are still encapsulated in the bag and easier to locate. This applies to click springs as well that always look for an escape route.

Think i have a couple of those. Saw one in a container i bought from cousisnuk . With different shock springs . They can be good to have but as they are sorted you never know what you get . They are called Novodiac 221 if that makes it easier to find.

pinging watch parts AND being unable to find "that part" --- is dificult to learn via book or video. try spending a 4 yr. aprentiship. seriosly - look into it. good luck. vin

Largely answered above already and going from a fluid to another hopefully won't get me punished :-)