Leaderboard

Just a quickie When my dad died 7 years ago my mum gave me his old Riquartz watch that she gave him for their 25th wedding anniversary in 1981. It was in a sorry state. Dad had worn it solidly from that day to the day he died. The case and case were badly scratched, the original strap lost, the day date mechanism jammed (broken as it turned out). It had been left neglected for the last 7 years. With a bit of patience and good fortune I located new-old stock movements and crystals. For a well worn 41 year old watch I think it's come up rather well after a strip down, polish and careful rebuild and new movement. I think it's good for a few more years. Before and after photos below. I can't wait to show my mum. James.

Buying assortments is something that you should consider if you like the chance to be covered about common parts. But some are mixed and one can't know in advance if what he needs is there. So maybe we can detail the content to help others, I'll start Clock brass screws assortments from Cousins, £4.95 for 100pcs M1, 1.4, 1.6, 2, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.2

I don't advise buying assortments because you are going to be left parts that will never be used. Buy what you need and after a time you will get to know what is popular and what is not. At first that is what I did and after around 30 years I still had mainsprings, watch glasses, balance staffs and watch stems that I never used. As material is so expensive these days many on here are practicing watchmaking as a hobby or a pastime and they cannot afford to build up a mass of spare parts that will never get used. Sorry jdm.

A pale blue transparent day/date Swatch SUOW701 (W56/09), possibly the "Sea Rebel" design, with box for 0.99p How could anyone resist? Needs at minimum, a crystal (I have a pile of potential donors from a 404 club job lot), and a good clean and polish.

I use the term "restoration" lightly. I did a full service, cleaned the case in an ultrasonic, and replaced the crystal. When I got the watch, it wasn't running, and now it is, so I'll take what I can get.

Hello Frankie. It's not a replica, it's a fake. Unlicenced use of other people's intellectual property is theft, and anonimity is an integral part of illegal trading. Sorry to be blunt, but it looks like you'll be needing the YOYO-FOFO technique. You already know it's an Incabloc shock-spring, or something very similar.

It needs to be replaced or have a new barrel made and fitted to the great wheel. The previous repair with that little plate was a hopeful stopgap, and the results are there.

As I await the arrival of some horology-specific tools (and two old Elgin movements) I see that almost all videos on YouTube show a Timegrapher 1000, watch cleaning machine and main spring winder. Until I've actually torn a movement apart and put one back together I don't think I need a Timegrapher (just seeing a dead train moving again will be my goal). As for a cleaning machine: washing parts in small batches in glass petri dishes or jars will be my initial plan and simply shelling out 10 USD for a new mainspring will serve to eliminate the need for a spring winder. Part of me knows that I get obsessive about things but I also know that despite best intentions I'm likely to fail. I had this grand idea once upon a time that I was going to build a tube amplifier and subsequently better understand the circuits involved in guitar amps. I bought a kit and did indeed build a working amp but during the build I realized that I wasn't very handy with a soldering pencil. Some things I do well and others, well Malcolm Gladwell says you need 10,000 hours or so... My biggest worry here is that my depth perception will impact my ability to grab screws with tweezers. We should know by this time next week. Patience

I don't use B Dip or its predecessor one dip, I use Essence of Renata and keep mine in what are essentially small Jam Jars and see no evaporation between uses, the metal lids have some sort of rubberised seal which is not damaged by the Renata, this my also be fine with your B Dip.

Try one thing...then another...then another until you succeed. Vinegar might work.

Been here a few times. Try soaking in alum solution to dissolve the steel. I have used a super penetrating oil with some success. Nucejoe recommends Coca-Cola soak as I recall.

Hello rich and welcome to the forum , If you Google "Ranfft EB 8385-66 the Ranfft web site will give you all the family variations and quite a bit of useful info. I have attached a bit of reading for you to get you started. 1612608791_ToolsfortheHobbyist (2) (1).pdf TZIllustratedGlossary.pdf

You can only do your best. Have you thought about repairing clocks? Much bigger and not such a strain on ones eyes.

This will be like looking for a needle in a haystack no two are the same. I have seen them on ebay in collections of old watch parts. One of the reasons you find they are without the case is the cases get sold for scrap and all parts that are not silver or gold have to be removed because they add weight no matter how little. You might find one you can adapt but getting it to fit correctly and the screw hole to line up will be hard I don't know of a tap that small that you can buy and I haven't a clue what thread it would be, something odd that's for sure.

There appears to be an overlap of the 1st and 2nd coil at the position near the stud. With the balanced wheel removed and the hairspring on the balance cock, is the collet centered properly? Unfortunately, it's hard to get a new hairspring and even more so for a ladies watch. I think you are almost there. Centre the collet properly and see if there is still an overlap of the outer coils. Ganbatte!

Surely you know, unless a kink in terminal curve is right inside the regulator slot it wont create any problem. Hairspring rubbing or fouling itself seem to be the cause in this case.

There is an app called watch accuracy meter free to download on your smart phone, shows accuracy and beat error but not amplitude, it will do until you decide weather you want to invest in tools. Mainspring winder is not a must have tool for non pro work either. I must have overhauled at least five hundered movements before I heard of ultrasonic cleaning machines. A cheap or scrap movement and some basic tools to tear down and reassemble will do to begin with, Oh plus a tooth brush and some lighter fluid. I haven't lost a spring eversince I discovered zip loc bags.

Welcome Rich! I too just joined and I'm also quickly going through Mark's "Basics" tutorials.

Welcome to the forum Rich enjoy your stay. Lots of really good advice from friendly members

Welcome to WRT forum Rich. What caliber is under the hood? In case you can not identify the movement will you post a picture of it.

Here are the "before" pictures from ebay. The crystal was yellowed, scratched, and either shrunk or was too small to begin with