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I don't drive the screw all the way home, just enough so I can slide the pivot in jewel hole, Its a game of tightening & loosening the screw just to keep gears in place so to slide the pivots in holes, might take a couple of tries, usually one jumps out of its hole whilst you manage to slide another in. I take the cock& balance off the mainplate to gain better access to gears/ pivots. Good luck

And yet... Here we are in the junk drawer, taking up server space six pages into a thread that no one will get past the second page of. Had to look that up. Was decommissioned back in 1989, and is currently a natural gas power generation facility. I lived in the northeast corner of Longmont, nearly due west a few miles of that facility for a few years. There's also Rocky Flats, a former nuclear weapons manufacturing location that's now just a grassy field and some foreboding signs. Lots of issues with leaks and spills over the years however long ago turns out. I used to live due west of that as well up in Coal Creek Canyon, and drove by one side or another every time I went anywhere. Fortunately in the instance here (for me and other mountain residents, not all the people in the suburbs down there), prevailing winds along the face of the mountains are almost always easterly, and quite strong. I was a few miles away and a few K' higher. Most interesting thing about my current location is that the nearest "town" is the ghost town where Alferd "The Colorado Cannibal" Packer lived his final days. Also, Colorado's "oldest family nudist resort" is within walking distance. Never been. Heard.... things. Funny full circling, when I first moved to Colorado a decade ago, there was a billboard advertising said nudist resort on my way into Boulder... Right in front of Rocky Flats! Had no idea where it was, and never gave it another thought until we bought our current house and learned that it was up the road.

I would put a pair of timing washers on, opposing screws, this is exactly what they are made for.

Or add some timing washers.

I have poor eye site so for the real delicate fittings such as the pallet folk I use my microscope. It’s all about being absolutely confident that the pinions are in their jewel holes.

That you can do only if the date ring interchanges between old and new, which isn't said. Yes, but since you're intentioned to buy, get one with the correct date position.

Even though a lot of problems seems similar to other people's problems and watch repair and they probably are you really should start a new discussion. Because even the watches of the same there different and if you want help with your watch it's best to have your own discussion. Then we can look into your demagnetizer issue and proper use of a compass otherwise it can lead to confusion.

As Hector said nothing unusual with the stem, so its as said warm the crown and remove then look at the hole/stem tube for whats causing the blockage.

Thanks for the tip! "Usually, Epoxy can withstand up to 150° Celsius/300° Fahrenheit for a short period of time. Heat-resistant epoxy can withstand the extreme heat of up to 315° Celsius/600° Fahrenheit depending on the manufacturer and product." - Link I'll consider that method once summer is back. In Sweden our genius politicians have now tried to replace much of our nuclear power with wind power (to save the planet?) but forgot that during the winter (part of Sweden is within the Arctic Circle) there's very little and oftentimes no wind. Consequently the electricity prices are now killing us and the diesel prices are now $8.6 a gallon.

I used to use the technique described above by Nucejoe. It was also the technique taught to me by my mentor. But in recent years, I switched to using a technique which I learnt from YouTube. Basically, you put all the wheels into the holes of the bottom plate, stand them as upright as possible, then hover the upper plate over the wheels, trying to align the holes to the pivot and drop it on. There is a chance that you'll get a "hole-in-one" and all the pivots would go home into their respective holes. Failing which, you use the back end of your tweezer and tap lightly on the movement holder while observing the upper plate. The tapping will jar the wheels and when they are all aligned you'll be able to see the upper plate drop home. Sound ridiculously ludicrous, right? But I've been using this technique for the past 2 years, with only an occasional stubborn movement which will require the poke and pray method. And for Accutron movements, mastering this technique is essential to avoid damaging the delicate index wheel. Oh yes! May I add that with this method, I can get most top plates on in under 30 seconds.

You don't need to use a pin vise to grip the stem. Just grip the stem with a long nosed pliers. Warm the stem with a soldering iron and the crown should come off quite easily.

That's strange. It looks like a normal stem. Maybe there's some rust in the pendant tube. You can heat to soften any threadlocker as WW recommended and ream the pendant tube to allow the stem to pass through.

There is a HTGR ( high temperature gas cooled reactor) in Colrado where sprctre lives, at fort saint verain to be exact, thats the worlds only high temp gas cooled reactor, folks up there are used to logging their daily exposure and playing jokes on us whenever they like, just to scare us to death L o L But don't you worry, i ain't seen hair grow on palm of no ones hand over there.

Well, I fashioned a replacement click spring from a ball point pen spring but then got the hardware store to buy a big magnet. Lo and behold, the magnet found the spring!! I am back in business with original parts. Thanks for the advice.

John, nobody is questioning your advice. At the same time here everybody is free to express his opinion, mine is that the training by Mark Lovick is the best way a beginner can spend his time (and money), because is comprehensive, uncomplicated, and immediately applicable. Again, that is said with full respect to you and the Master teaching in that video.

Is it possible to provide pictures of the watch. Is it a one piece case (front Loader) or one of the type where although the back comes off the bezel is removed and the movement exits fron the front. some crows were glued on with thread lock so warming the crown with a soldering iron might release it. as you will appreciate a picture of two would help to answer a lot of questions. welcome to the forum.

There are plenty of my fellow nerds on here, so I imagine at least a few of you have already seen today's XKCD. If not: www.xkcd.com for the latest https://xkcd.com/2568/ if you're reading this in the future for the specific cartoon in question. FYI, all XKCD cartoons have a bonus punchline if you hover your mouse over the image in the mouseover text. It's not directly applicable to the topic at hand, but it sent me down a rabbit hole until I found this (they sell modern spinthariscopes if you're interested): https://unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_76&products_id=487 I don't know what it will do to assuage any concerns, but it will tell you if there's anything at all you might be concerned about to whatever degree you have decided is warranted. Might be able to give you a clue to the magnitude of the concern/non-concern in question if you've looked at enough dials to get a feel for what's "normal". I have a bunch of steel stock I rescued from dumpster at a decommissioning hospital when I worked at a software startup located in the former finance office (long story there) that I've always worried might be radioactive. I recall reading a while back about a rash of recycled steel coming out of China that was wildly radioactive due to its past life in medical equipment, so if you work with metal on a more macro scale at all, another potential use. There is a consolidated mess of a thread about radium and radiation, so there is clearly some interest in the subject. Mods, please do not add this to the thread. That will make this information unsearchable, impossible to find, and it will disappear forever into the void that is the forum storage device, costing Mark money while returning nothing to community.

Milestone: full service first time for a paying customer. Thank you Stephen. Made in Dumbarton, Scotland.

I just recently, and for the first time, used the same trick to get the case back off an Enicar Ocean Pearl having the same type of case back. It just wouldn't budge using my Jaxa tool and my sturdy case holder. Why anyone would screw on a case back that hard is beyond me, but perhaps it is necessary to preserve the water resistance!? I usually just use my suction grip ball to tighten the case back and then a final touch with my Jaxa tool to make sure. Anyway, I used Epoxy glue, and it probably was an overkill as it took many hours to dissolve it in acetone. Superglue is likely a better option. The case back just wouldn't budge using my Jaxa tool despite having a good grip. Using Epoxy glue was a probably an overkill. Using a wrench the case back still wouldn't budge but instead the jaws on my sturdy watch case holder started to give. Luckily the lugs fitted more or less precisely in my vise. It took many hours dissolve the Epoxy in acetone. Superglue is probably a better option.

If you enter these words inside double quotes on the search box top right you will have all the relevant discussions to learn at least the basics.

What is the amplitude, and beat error of the movement, If the movement , is still fast with the regulator in full retard, check the balance coils for fouling the cock or balance arms andthat they are not sticking together during oscillation. also bear in mind the fact that it may be magnetised so a demagnitisation would be in order.

No it is not necessary, a gasket in good conditions seals fine even with regular tightening. It's normal for people to think that more is better. Some "repairers" also tighten to the most using a bench opener to prevent owners to open again the watch by themselves. Case holders with nylon posts, and single-handed Jaxa tool never have the same effectiveness of a traditional bench opener. For anyone that can afford the EUR 150 that it may cost, I recommend to go that route instead of messing with adhesives and watches in a vice - lugs not not always fit nicely to jaws as in your case.