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  1. Get a magnetic knife rack thingy....I bought one around a foot long but now wish I wasn't so cost conscious as the longer one would make sweeps under furniture easier. You should have a demagnetizer if you use magnets around watches.. Anil
    3 points
  2. You're not serious are you mate? The BEST way to learn how to do anything trade related is to be mentored. That's the whole principle behind apprenticeships ... and this forum is a global way of mentoring those who want to learn how to repair watches. I can think of nothing better then a complete library of movement walkthroughs to select from, so no matter what type of movement or skill level you're at, you'll find a walkthrough to mentor you through the process of servicing it. Even for advanced repairers, these walkthroughs are a great source of reference photos ... just incase you missed taking an important one in the stripping stage. Trying to learn watch repair by trail and error, especially when it comes to Chronos, is not only expensive, but would be down right frustrating. I'm a Fitter and Turner by trade, and now training to be a Watchmaker. NEVER, whilst learning as an apprentice, have to attempted anything by my own "initiative" in either trade. I read books, study schematics and seek guidance of a mentor when learning, and once I have mastered the trade, I too will become a mentor to someone who has just begun their journey. This is how proper techniques, confidence and tricks of the trade are pasted down generation by generation.
    2 points
  3. Hi, Just to update on the clock I was working on I now have it finished an running. What my son-in-law thought was a grandfather clock turned out to be a grandmother clock. The wood for the case was cherry and all I did was put the case together and applied two coats of polyurethane, wanted to let the natural wood show through. I did have to adjust the hammers a bit but not much. Other than that all went well.
    2 points
  4. ETA 7750 Service Walkthrough The 7750 was first available in 1974, having been one of the first movements to be designed with the aid of a computer. It's hard to believe that the 7750 is still the industry standard movement for chronographs considering it's history. It was developed over 40 years ago by Valjoux, who was then a legendary movement maker that was part of the giant ASUAG conglomerate. But by the end of 1975 production was stopped due to the onslaught of the Quartz Era, and the 7750, along with many other mechanical calibers, was abandoned. Industry demand for this movement was so low that the stock produced in that 1 year manufacturing lasted until 1982! Such was the devastation of cheap Japanese produced quartz watches to Swiss manufactures. History may have forgotten the 7750 except for the local management at Zenith who ignored the orders by Valjoux to destroy the dies and equipment used to manufacture the 7750, instead hiding the equipment away from corporate eyes. You can find many more fascinating facts about this caliber online, and it's well worth the read. ................................................... This walkthrough will be very detailed, and I hope this will give people the courage to tackle this movement. I've serviced quite a few calibers, and this is one of the most beautiful, with a very logical layout. ETA7750 Tech.PDF If you have built your skills with basic movements, and become proficient in servicing them, I would highly recommend this movement to be your first chronograph to tackle. Lets begin. DEMAGNETIZE THE MOVEMENT BEFORE DISASSEMBLY. Remove the Day Indicator and store it in a safe place where it won't be damaged. Unscrew (0.8 Driver) the Jumper Maintaining Plate and remove it. Do the same for the Date Indicator Maintaining Plate Carefully remove the Jumpers Spring, holding it with a piece of pegwood so it doesn't ping away. Next remove the jumpers for the day and date. The jumpers differ from one another, so here is a reference photo so you can see the difference. Remove the Date Indicator and place it in a safe place where it won't be damaged. The last piece to remove on the Date Platform is the Double Corrector Now unscrew (1.4 Driver) the Date Platform and gentle pry it from the movement. Be careful when removing this plate, as there is a fine spring pressed into the plate that can be easily damaged. Here is a reference photo of the screws that hold the Date Platform. Remove the Hour Hammer Spring, once again using the pegwood to hold the spring while removing the tension. Here is a reference photo of the correct orientation of the spring. Remove the Hour Counter Lock. Remove the Hour Hammer Operating Lever. Next is the Hour Hammer, be careful when removing this item so as not to damage the Hour-Counting Wheel. Now remove the Hour-Counting Wheel. Remove the Date Indicator Driving Wheel Remove the Day Star Driving Wheel Then remove the Intermediate Calendar Driving Wheel Remove the Hour Wheel Then the Minute Wheel Remove the Cannon Pinion, which does not require a puller. The last component to be removed on this side of the Main Plate is the Driver Cannon Pinion. To lift the Driver Cannon Pinion I used what Mark used, a set of hand lifter from Horotec (MSA05.007); but you can also use a Presto Tool (30636-1) which will also work well. The dial side of the movement is now complete disassembled. Flip the movement over and unscrew (1.5 Driver) the Oscillating Weight. To remove the Hammer Spring lift it up gently over the automatic work and move it inwards. This will move the tail of the spring in a clockwise motion to the opening in the slots, which will free the spring. Slide out the Clutch Spring. Here is a reference photo of this spring, and it's orientation. Remove the screws (1.4 Driver) for the Automatic Device Bridge, and gently pry it loose. Here is a reference photo of these screws for the bridge. Once the Automatic Bridge has been removed, the two wheels for the automatic work are able to be removed. Below is a reference photo of how the sit inside the bridge. We now begin to disassemble the chronograph section of this movement. Begin with removing the Hammer, 2 Functions. Next remove the Clutch 60s, 2 Functions. Then remove the Minute-counting Wheel, 30min. Remove the Chronograph Wheel 60s, 30min. Gently lift out the Oscillating Pinion, 60s. Here is a reference photo of the orientation of this pinion. Unscrew (1.4 Driver) the Chronograph Bridge and gently pry it off the Train Wheel Bridge. Remove the Ratchet Driving Wheel. Remove the Chronograph Wheel Fiction. Unscrew (1.4 Driver) the Operating Lever, 2 Functions. Unscrew (1.4 Driver) the Lock, 2 Functions. Next remove the Minute-counter Driving Wheel, 30min. Slide out the Operating Lever Spring, 2 Functions. This spring can be fitting in both directions; but only 1 way is correct. Here is a reference photo of it's correct orientation. Remove the Switch. Here I digress from the order the SwissLab document illustrates the order of removal. They show to remove the Chronograph Cam before removing the Hammer Cam Jumper. This in my opinion is not the best way, as all the force from the jumper is pressing on the cam whilst your trying to remove it, and could lead to damage. Instead I move the Chronograph Cam until it reaches the notch as shown in the photo below. Then lift the Hammer Cam Jumper up to the top of the Chronograph Cam, which will release it's tension. Then, just as you removed the previous hammer, rotate the jumper to the opening in the slots, which will free the spring. Now you can unscrew (1.4 Driver) and remove the Chronograph Cam safely without tension on it. RELEASE THE MAINSPRING TENSION Once the tension has been released, unscrew (1.4 Driver) and remove the Balance Cock. Then unscrew (1.4 Driver) the Pallet Bridge and remove the bridge and Pallets. Unscrew (1.2 Driver) and remove the Ratchet Wheel. Then remove the Crown Wheel. Unscrew (1.4 Driver) the Train Wheel Bridge and gently pry it off the Main Plate. Note that one of the screws is under the Operating Lever. This needs to be moved out of the way to access this screw. The last level of this movement contains the train. Here is a reference photo of the wheel locations. Remove the Stop Lever. Remove the Great Wheel. Here is a reference photo of the underneath of this wheel. Remove the Third Wheel. Here is a reference photo of the underneath of this wheel. Remove the Second Wheel. Here is a reference photo of the underneath of this wheel. Note this has the long lower pivot. Remove the Escape Wheel. Here is a reference photo of the underneath of this wheel. Then remove the Barrel. This completes the removal of the train. Flip the movement over so we can complete the disassembly by removing the keyless work. Firstly, release the tension from the Setting Lever Jumper. Then unscrew (1.2 Driver) and remove the Setting Lever Jumper. These are unique screws with pointed ends, and below is a reference photo of them. This will also remove the Intermediate Setting Wheel. Next remove the Setting Wheel Then remove the Yoke. Remove the Setting Lever. Remove the Rocking Bar. Now pull out the Stem. Once the Stem is removed the Winding and Sliding Pinion should fall out of the movement onto your work mat. Disassembly of the 7750 is now complete If you've come this far, congratulation on completing the disassembly. Make sure you pegwood all the jewels and reinstall the Balance back onto the movement for cleaning. Assembly of the movement will be posted as soon as I complete the write-up.
    1 point
  5. Hi, Some of the first watches I worked on were accutron 214's and I have always liked them. Anyway a week or so ago I was searching the web and came across this one. It was described as humming but the hour and minute hands were hanging up as well as being 14kt gold. I decided to take a chance and put a $550.00 bid on it. It is turning into one of my favorites .
    1 point
  6. Sure I totally got your point, and I am with you in sharing the knowledge, so please continue giving advices! As for the spare movement object of the polishing test as of he pictures above, I will continue experimenting, to see what level of finishing I am able to achieve. I polished already a couple of Seiko cases, a 5606 and a 7009 to almost a mirror finish, but I didn't want to get that far to still preserve some history of those watches... But that is for the usually visible part of a wristwatch. The movement is usually hidden from view... So that's another story!
    1 point
  7. Just had a small flat spring go and spent at least an hour with a strong magnet and very sticky tape. Covered the whole floor even cleared off my workspace and checked all the boxes etc on it to no avail. Decided to call it a day and carried on assembly as it is only a practice movement I never got around to play with. Wondered why a small wheel wouldn't sit properly only to find the spring in the vey small gap between the barrel and the plate. Goodness knows the odds on it getting there, I think I would have had difficulty fitting it myself !! Sad maybe but the feeling of success is great !!!
    1 point
  8. Hi Oldhippy, I have found that going through someone else's walk through helps me trouble shoot or understand a key step in the disassembly or reassembly of a movement. It may be the particular order or maybe an insight that helps me understand what I did wrong or why something is not coming together properly. So...yes it helps with my own "hands-on" approach to have a snapshot of what someone else has done and how they went about it. Regards, JC
    1 point
  9. I used to brush the floor a lot, sometimes I couldn't find the **BLEEP** thing, or in a few months it would be staring me in the face. Its part of the job having to sweep the floor looking for a part.
    1 point
  10. I agree with George, I think mine just cost in the region of £14.95, Red rooster sell the same set boxed up for a bit more (£18.95). I got them as I needed one size to do one job and that was only resizing a stripped out hole on. It worked ok but I was extremely careful and they now reside in the back of my tool box awaiting the next emergency. As I just tinker I am not likely to use them often, if you are expecting to be using them often, I would probably buy a better set - those do however come at a premium but like everything else you have to balance things out - you can buy a decent Omega for the same price as a Bergeon set !. Cheers, Vic
    1 point
  11. This is one of my favourite Hamilton movements - Buren in origin but a beautiful little movement: http://www.willswatchpages.com/hamilton-intra-matic.html
    1 point
  12. Aloha All , I went to the swap meet today but I didn't find any Accutrons . I did however find tuning forks ....
    1 point
  13. Yes ,....bigger and better .
    1 point
  14. About to build a Mega Accutron are we? :D
    1 point
  15. They are better than nothing, but not by much, I know because I have a set.
    1 point
  16. Thanks Vic , but to be honest I like mechanicals a bit more .......I have a few of those . Hand winds , automatics , chronographs , divers , etc . We'll talk about the Eco-drives , Solars , Kinetics , radio and satellite controlled another time .
    1 point
  17. Luck. patience, good fortune, wishing well, magic lamp, caseloads of dosh to bribe people - sorry went over to the dark side there. You need a sage versed in the art of Hamilton Knowledge or if Will can't help perhaps search the Hamilton watch forums on line or look here for an idea http://www.vintagehamilton.com/ Cheers, Vic
    1 point
  18. I just finished to service my new HEMA with Landeron 248 movement, which I recently bought. The movement came in working fine, but upon inspection I found a lot of oil and debris of unknown nature, thus the decision of servicing it. This is how it looked, in the picture of the seller: Removing the movement from the case, the sides of it was full of junk: The rest of the movement was in a fair condition, although submersed in oil: While all the parts were cleaning in the small ultrasonic machine, I manually cleaned the incabloc cap jewels: Even after cleaning the cap jewel, you can still notice some wear on it: A tiny drop of oil: And back it goes where it belongs: Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I took them with my mobile phone this time, the digital camera has dead batteries... One last picture of the balance wheel: And after reinstalling everything properly (I hope...) Here it is at my wrist: Still to do: change the glass... and find a proper leather band... I was wondering if I should change the dial, but I decided to leave it untouched: the patina tells its story very well! Any comments are very wellcome!
    1 point
  19. I started using an earth magnet I recycled from a dead PC hard disk... I have tose aplenty... plus it was for free. ;)
    1 point
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