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Watch of today. I've finally finished the Seiko 6119. Thank you folks. Not the 6119a I was recently posting about. Still haven't got the correct crown. However?..... I obtained a 6119 which was a 'b'. I did a teardown. Clean and full service. It came without a strap, so I've found a strap from another Seiko purchased last year. Not a great photograph, but, thank you to all. I'm on the way, getting there. Great fun this hobby.

I figured out how to have a million dollars as a watchmaker...start with two. I have no aspirations to make money at this. I am just having fun.

Working with de-cased hands and dials containing tritium is less concerning. By the time tritium lume is a teenager it has lost half of its radioactivity. Most of the existing watches with exposed tritium lume (as opposed to those using the isotope sealed in encapsulated glass tubes) are 30-50 years old and have only a small fraction of what they started with. Radium, however, has a half-life of 16 centuries, so it'll be there when we are all gone. It also emits a more penetrating and damaging type of radiation so it deserves a bit more consideration when exposure occurs during repair and restoration.

As my watch collection is growing I am starting to loose track of them, so I looked around for some software to help me out. I am aware that there are some products out there, but I have shifted to an open source life, so none are compatible with this ethos. So I have decided to 'take the bull by the horns' and create a database using the free and open source software (FOSS) LibreOffice Base format (software link here) which will be compatible with all OS formats and be 100% FOSS and should be compatible with MS Office (TBC). I'm currently putting the various fields (below) together and wondered if anyone could spot anything missing or have any suggestions as to what to add/remove? Being an open source junkie I will of course share the database on this forum completely free of charge and free of adds or any other nasties for anyone who wants to use/modify/redistribute it. NOTE: In an effort to avoid scope creep AKA 'growing arms and legs' I want to play the 80:20 rule and keep the fields limited to essential and useful data that would cover 80% of all my watch data needs, I know there are additional fields that could be added that would only be relevant to 20% of watches, which if included in the database would increase the size/complexity exponentially turning the whole thing into a chore, rather than a useful tool, so please keep this in mind when looking at the below : Currently I plan to have the following fields: Photo after - this will be displayed up front to provide a visual reference for the finished watch Nickname - easy way to identify the watch eg: "Watch I did for mother-in-law" or "Captain Willard" etc Make - eg Seiko Serial No - manufacturers serial number is present eg 2O12345 or if there were no manufacturers serial number I would use my own serial number based on the date started (see below) in yymmddxx format where xx is the sequential watch started that day, eg 23071601 would be the first watch i started on this date and 23071602 would be the second started that day and so on... Movement Cal. - eg 7009 Movement Type - thinking a drop down box with: Manual, Automatic, Quartz ....... I know this could get very complex with options like chronograph, moon-phase, etc.. so just wanted to play the 80:20 rule and keep this basic. However, I am open to adding options if I have missed something essential Case - eg 7009-4040 Previous service history - this is usually obscure scratchings on the inside of the case back, so thinking to make this a free text box where I can enter the date (if describable) or type yes/no if I cant make out the date(s) Date purchased/acquired - when I purchased or was given the watch, thinking yymmdd format? Date work started - when I first pickup the screwdriver, thinking yymmdd format? Date work finished - when I declared the watch is finished, or beyond repair, thinking yymmdd format? Before Rate (s/day) - timegrapher data used to determine effectiveness of repair/service/refurb Before Amplitude (Degrees) - timegrapher data used to determine effectiveness of repair/service/refurb Before Beat Error (ms) - timegrapher data used to determine effectiveness of repair/service/refurb After Rate (s/day) - timegrapher data used to determine effectiveness of repair/service/refurb After Amplitude (Degrees) - timegrapher data used to determine effectiveness of repair/service/refurb After Beat Error (ms) - timegrapher data used to determine effectiveness of repair/service/refurb Cost - how much did I pay for the watch (or average price if purchased as part of a job lot) Changed Parts - open text box to list what was replaced eg crystal, strap etc... Parts Cost - total of the complete cost of all new/replaced parts Repair successful - did I repair or junk the watch, thinking yes/no format Price - how much did I sell it for Date sold - when I sold or gifted the watch, thinking yymmdd format? Sold to Name - who did I sell/gift it to Sold to contact info - contact information: email phone No etc Assembly picture 1 to 10 - pictures I took during disassembly/assembly (see note below) Other - Open text (MEMO) to add any notes not captured above, can also add the other/missing 20% of data in the 80:20 rule here Note: I'm trying to think of a way to embed a zip/7z file rather than have 1-10 assembly pictures (or are the individual pictures better?... I'm 50:50 on this), but having trouble finding a way to embed a .7z file (FOSS archive format - similar to a .zip file only better) into a Base form/table - can anyone provide any help? I also want to avoid having links to outside data sources eg manufacturers web sites, data/service sheets etc as these links often become dead over time and these dead links can then cause problems, so planning to have enough information covered above so a quick web search (eg DuckDuckGo) will point to the external data needed. Also, my plan is to keep my copy of my database on my synced (and therefore backed up) cloud storage and access it from my home PC (or my laptop) that way, but it would also work on a hard-drive if that is your preferred method.

Any more that is off topic that is not to do with the original thread and this will be closed. You have been warned

Thats good to know, so I try to enjoy every nano liter of tritium I drink, but I can't care less how long after my death is radon active in fossils thats not my remains anyway.

Any recommendations on who might be able to restore this for me? Regarding Galilea's question: I'm no expert but the things i look for are raised painted numbers that look crusty, brownish in color. also, the year of manufacture, especially 40s-50s. Others may have other red flags they look for. Hope that helps. Arron.

There no doubt that Watchmakers are tool junkie but I think you have to ask your self is this just a hobby or are you taking this to next level and that is making money off of it. I just brought a crystal press just to complete one watch I have, never before did I need this in almost 4 years in this hobby. So yes we are tool junkie and if your going to fix it right then you will have to spend the money for the tools that are needed.

As a very rough estimate. Assuming tritium is present in water at 0.1 ppm, 2 litres of water drank per day and a life expectancy if 70 years, 5 ml.

Stop straying off the topic folks. Or I shall have to get out my naughty stick.

You know the bad bacteria may be hijacking your mother-in-law's mouth. It happens with ants, there is a fungus that zombifies ants, makes the ant be both carriage and snack bar. It controls when the ant drinks and more, and I am not making that up. Be thankful the bacteria holding you m.i.l. hostage aren't demanding a ransom, and don't want to return her

First things how does it sound? If there is enough that protrudes out from the brass and the leather is hard put oil on it to soften it up, it will take time for it to penetrate. If it sounds dreadful then replace it.

Yes put a new piece in

Heck no I don't have any fancy ones that are unsigned, lol, I don't have any fancy ones at all, hardly. Maybe one or two Longines, one U. Nardin woman's movement of unknown functioning state, no Vacheron, no. I had a Piaget for a minute but it turned out to be a fake. I think one of the things I like so much about watches is the sense of history/story I can attach to them. I like to imagine the wearer in the context of the day, etc. If you can't ID them, how do you ever know when they came from, and if that cannot be extrapolated then I suppose any further efforts at imaginative history are moot. How depressing. I still thank you kindly

No, one dip is mostly mineral spirits which will not harm metal nor ruby. Soak away.

That watch (which I am pretty sure I have, plus a couple of other Avalons) is awesome; cool lugs. I collect 60s non-brands, intentionally - at first they just were sort of leftovers in lots bought at auction. But I know so little about them, I can rarely find them in searches anywhere. I also notice you like pocket watches, as do I. Most of my watches are pocket watches. I collect only American ones, and those are of course very easy to ID. I am getting a drawer-full of Swiss ones just collaterally and I don't know how to figure them out. Advice for me? Thank you.

This is the favorite among jewellers and watch polishers. A hanging motor with around 200W. Fantastic torque. I used this type of motors in dental school until we moved to the new building where tabletop micromotors replaced them. The hanging motors were tough but a bit noisy. The only problem was the flexshaft, they can break occasionally.

I didn't mention it in my post but I take a Magnesium supplement too as I heard that before (thanks!). I also heard that Magnesium is crucially important for blood pressure. Cooking is not my strong side. Fortunately, my wife is quite the chef so I usually get a very healthy and varied meal almost every day. In return, I set the table and do the dishes (among many other things ). Yep, that's what I heard too, so that is what I get. Expensive yes, but what's more important than your health!?

There is so much that we don't understand about the bacterial flora in our bodies. (Bacterial microbiome) From the microbiome on our skin, oral cavity, to the gut. If we are thrown into the Amazonian jungle for a month, like in the Survivor tv series, we will get all kinds of sores and skin infections that a native would not. Recent medical research is of the opinion that periodontal health is responsible for a wide range of systematic diseases, like heart disease, diabetes, pancreatic cancer, low birth weight, etc. Some research also suggest that gut health is responsible for obesity. Experiments using 2 groups of germ-free mice, one infected with gut bacteria from healthy mice, the other infected with gut bacteria from obese mice, found that the 1st group remained healthy while the 2nd group developed obesity on an identical diet. Our microbiome is "inherited" from our parents, who "inoculate" us with the bacteria they carry. Scientists think that some familial traits and diseases are actually due the microbiome and not genetics.

OK - i think i figured it out. The original case back gasket was "hardened" and broken into pieces, with some pieces missing. I assumed it was a standard rubber gasket that had hardened. I now believe that it was a plastic hard gasket all along. That would have created a lip that allowed the case back to snap on. Replacing the original gasket with a soft rubber one wouldn't, and didn't, solve the problem. Doh! So now i'm in search for a hard (plastic) gasket. Thank you all for your insights and suggestions!

I think you may need to slightly reform the caseback, what I have seen a couple of times is the caseback is slightly concave with it being pressed on the middle, works this time but won’t the next. Tom

I explained up above but maybe pictures would help. I deal with this all of the time when doing American pocket watches. The most part it works really well it's only when the replacement spring and is an weight of the same design as the original first insert mainspring into the winder like this leaving a little bit out here's another example of a slightly different end type here's an example of the new spring which is currently in the barrel where the end is been riveted to the outside of the mainspring. Versus the original spring which I have setting on the outside with a end was riveted on the inside. This presents the challenge of trying to get that into the hole because they're not quite the right place. Fortunately this does not occur a lot but it does occur. now comes the next step rotating until the protruding part is over the whole it's supposed to go in and you need to push it down until it's in the whole turned over and look on the other side and verify it actually is where it's supposed to be. here's one example here's an example from the Elgin spring it uses both the T and it has a hole in other words they use both but as you can see the tea party is in the middle typically sometimes the slot isn't as big as this though now you still cannot push the mainspring out as even though it's in the whole and/or slot it will not stay you have to hold it down with something usually I use my largest screwdriver sometimes you can use the backside of the backend your tweezers now spring is where it's supposed to be the end is in the hole or slot and you are holding it down you can push out the spring.

Hi. The way the movement comes out it through the front. Remove the bezel and the glass, You will have to make some small pry levers for hand removal. Put some polythene over the dial to protect it then using the levers gently pry off the hands. Once removed turn over the watch onto a soft pad to protect the fourth wheel extension for the sweep hand, after that remove the two case screws holding the movement into the case (two on the very edge) and the movement will push/drop out from there. At this stage. Check the movement for power and release the click controlling the rundown. Once done now you can dismantle the watch, balance first checking its pivots and jewels for breakages and damage. The watch is a nice one and we’ll worth reviving, its a three quarter plate movement.

My guess was right. Slipping in that part was the cause. I could see a small gap between the wheels under a microscope so I figured out I might be able to push in a retaining ring you can see on top. I didn't dare use enough force in the jeweling tool so I eventually tapped it down in staking tool. Now the hour jumps and watch keeps somewhat decent time considering it's a pin lever escapement (Amida model something). At least the wheel train is pretty nice quality with small tolerances. 17 jewels.