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Thought you might be interested in this.... A few of the causalities. All done

I bought a selection of stems. It's a massive pain trying to find one that fits - you have to make several measurements on lots of stems to find something that works. There are several dimensions which have to be correct - I don't think I've ever managed to find one to do the job. So I always try to buy a new stem if I can get one (Cousins, ebay). If not, it's working through the pile. Look up the movement parts on Cousins, it will list the stem if available.

I would use Loctite 648. It's specifically for locking cylindrical fits, basically permanent unless significant heat is applied. Clean with acetone first!

Hi all, check these animated disassembley and assembly videos. Great for educational purposes.

Search eBay for "Komandirskie" and you’re bound to find several copies having the Paratrooper dial. It’s definitely one of the most common, and if you ask me, there’s a very good reason for it. I bought my copy in December (2017), but it’s not until now that I’ve had the time to service it, give it a new strap, and start to wear it. As the rest of the watch, the movement was in great condition, although all oil and lubricants had dried up. For some reason, the calendar cam spring was missing. Of course, being a Russian watch designed for military use that can take a beating like few, that won’t stop the calendar mechanism from functioning, but it will make the date rollover slow rather than click. Fortunately, I have several Vostok calibre 2414 scrap movements to scavenge for spares. As can be seen below 6 o’clock, this copy has the "ЗАКАЗ МО СССР" (ORDER OF MO USSR) marking meaning it’s from the Soviet era. According to this blog post, it means "By Order of the Ministry of Defense of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic". I paid $62.50 for my copy on eBay (seller tdn74-2008), and although you can find working Komandirskies for $20 including shipping I was more than happy to pay the price (I usually am when I find these IMO more than affordable Russian watches in great condition). I always promote this video to anyone who's curious about Russian watches, Vostok Amphibians in particular, which is the "big brother" of the Komandirskie!

Winding watches - isn't that what ones' Butler is for??

Wouldn't it be nice if any brands that treat their customers as cash machines run out of customers and those brands that treat their customers with respect thrive? I've never understood brand loyalty!

Don't know, but there is no such thing as a reasonably priced Bergeon item

I became aware of the parts supply issue through a posting on this site. It seems a bit short-sighted for any manufacturer to assume only they will be capable of servicing the products they make! Fine if you only produce in low volumes but some of the high end watches are manufactured in very high volume. I know interest in mechanical watches is in the ascendancy right now, judging by the amount of video channels on the subject. I think it's a good thing too but I do think that there are a lot of watch enthusiasts out there who are unaware of the servicing requirements of their recent purchases? That could be a good thing for those with the requisite skills who will be able to buy up all the non-running (name-your-brand) watches that will flood internet marketplaces at a fraction of the price in about ten years time?

I have taken a stem with the correct tap and correct key and turned it on a lathe to resolve the other dimensions

Agree it has to come all apart. If you have no experience in repairing a chime it is best you take it to someone who knows about them. You need to check the teeth and the wheels on the side that has the mainspring problem, if the spring has broken it can rip teeth of wheels and the barrel, even bend wheels and pivots. You are going to need a Mainspring winder tool, putting a spring in by hand will damage the spring.

I just had to set the date on a watch without a quickset. Wind, wind, wind by hand until my thumb got sore. So I dug out the manual winder that looks like a pin vise, and that helped. I would have been delighted to have a battery powered version, but I doubt that I'm going to spring for a Bergeon priced tool like this, but I might see if I can modify a battery powered screwdriver to do the same job. Depends on how often I end up doing this and how painful it gets. I'm am sure that there are vintage watch collectors that run in to this, and have enough money that whatever Bergeon charges is not an issue. Not me, though.

It's a double edged sword though, isn't it? If it's commoditized, that means something (tools, manufacturing practices, etc.) has improved to the point where commoditization is truly possible. It also means that there's been a renewal of appreciation for the art and science of horology, and a return to the golden age. There was a time when watchmaking was a commodity, and all that changed was the advancement of technology. Things can come back. On the one hand, you have things like bellbottom jeans. Fashion is... Dumb. I don't know. Not my bag. On the other hand, vinyl records have come back. With streaming the norm, if you want to own your music and listen to it on demand (easy for people where there's some form of telecommunications easy to hand, not so easy for others), vinyl has proven to be a superior medium in terms of quality. It has staying power due to quality and relative simplicity. I can't say for sure mechanical watches would fall into one camp or the other, but it's not impossible. If it were to happen, would it really be a bad thing? Sure, we'd get a flood of jeweless full plate pin lever movements, but there'd be a renaissance of mid-tier, quality movements (2824, Newton, and there was a third I read about recently) that would be reliable and beloved workhorses. Maybe watchmaking wouldn't be as "special", but again I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Love. It. Very familiar with the concept, and I know I learned it in B-school, but like many things from school it had faded. I love words like that.

Howdy, Welcome to WRT forum .

Hi Individual packets of three are supplied quoting the make and caliber of the movement , assortments are just that a lucky dip and you have to measure the stem or compare it with the broken bit. The site "windingstems.com" are useful for finding stems and sizes. well worth a look, There is also the Ronda winding stem catalogue, again a handy reference. Buying assortments is ok but you must gave access to a Vernier gauge and reference chart/book.

Hello Kevin and welcome to the forum, we never stop learning and its a bad day when you think you know everything.

In my opinion wrist watches (including quartz) are still the most practical way to tell the time, unless there's a clock in the room, in or near the field of your vision. Checking the time when interacting with other people, such as in a meeting, is considered very rude. In those situations smartphones as well as wrist computers (aka Apple watches and the like) are extremely inconvenient as they need to be interacted with and activated to tell the time. Using a real wrist watch most people have the skill to tell time discreetly. That is, unless you happen to be the president of the USA. US President Biden as he attends the "dignified" transfer of the remains of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base.

I always find it's nice to have a picture of the entire watch if there's anything interesting about it or a link to the site below so I can see a picture of it. The problem with more unusual watches will be to find the parts. you can go to cousins and download the 69 in the 68 parts list and get parts numbers if you can figure out which part is yours? another source of information would be the best fit books. So I snipped out the relevant pages where if you could identify a part that looks like yours at least it give you part number. the second and third link have your watch parts. The reverser that were not sure what exactly that is looks like it interchanges with a lot of of their watches like the 215 S. due at the PDF parts list for that maybe you can figure out which part is your mystery part so I'm attaching of the PDF for that. http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&0&2uswk&Universal_69_0 http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?ref=UNI_69SC-C http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?ref=e[]IZD. Universal_Universal 215, 215-07.pdf

I found some instructions, courtesy of the NAWCC forum. The "poising pin" can be used to both find and correct the 'out of true' point on the balance wheel.

I agree but once you're in the 'Veblen' sector of any market it becomes a fact of life. The difference with watches, as opposed to say art or handbags, is that regular servicing becomes a necessity to maintain the price ? (rather than the value?). I don't think any influencer will be able to destroy the market but it could implode through lack of foresight? Personally, I think it is the very archaic nature of the mechanical watch that makes it so appealing - it's a technology that has worked for 150+ years with little change. An [insert brand of smart-watch-of-choice] will be obsolete in two years time whereas a mechanical watch of similar price can be passed on to your kids, still working.

I also noticed that by default I put Vostok on my wrist more often than other watches. It just feels right, it's very accurate and also I am never concerned about humidity, freezing temperatures or extreme heat. I do not have to "be careful" while wearing it ? as this watch can take almost any unintentional abuse ? .

I took a picture without the balance fitted just so you would get a feeling of how it is put together and where wich wheel goes, I would put the regulator in place last of all. If you need any other pictures just ask.