Leaderboard

I actually have the first kit, and it is usable. That said, however, the nylon tips on mine are not made very well, some holes are off center, there is some 'flash' from the molding process, and the ends are not all flat. Another instance of you get what you pay for.

This is a bit of a departure for me as I usually like to play with stuff a little more vintage and a little more Swiss. That being said I have done a few vintage Russians in the past and this is a watch that I had been curious about for some time. I picked this one up at a car boot sale last summer for just £3 in a less than wonderful state. As you can see, the seconds hand was off and it was described a not running. It turned out that it did run, just not too well and the hour and minute hands didn't move. Canon pinion anyone? First impression with the back off is pretty encouraging. Still looking good with the rotor off. This is a 31 jewel movement, 10 of the jewels are inside those reverser wheels. Somewhat minimalist under the dial. With the calendar wheel retaining plate off you can access the motion works, the calendar works, and the keyless works. Flipped back over and with the auto-wind bridge out of the way. This is an indirect driven centre seconds hand which has a tension spring to hold the seconds hand pinion in place. This has to be supported when installing the seconds hand otherwise the hand simply pushes the pinion against the spring and won't install. Balance cock removed with the shim that the soviets are so fond of for adjusting end shake. Hair spring is in good shape. With the train and barrel bridges out of the way the going train is revealed in all its glory. Flipped over again to strip out the bottom plate and a problem comes to light. There is some damage to the minute wheel (marked in red ink). Maybe the canon pinion isn't the problem after all? In close up you can see the damaged minute wheel tooth. This I didn't think would be a problem, just replace it..... I thought. Not so easy as it turned out as I couldn't find anyone that could supply a new wheel, and a donor movement proved elusive unless I wanted to spend a fortune on a complete, working watch, which I didn't, so I had to wait for eBay to come up with a spares or repair victim at the right price, which it eventually did. The stripped out main plate with the balance and cock, minus jewels, ready for the cleaning machine. The bottom plate back together again after a good wash cycle in the Elma. At this point I did check the canon pinion anyway and it was as well that I did. There was virtually no transfer of power through to the hands at all so a suitable adjustment was made and a tighter fit achieved. Back in the case and ticking like a champ. The rotor and massive case back gasket back in place. And a much improved trace on the timer. This is with the original mainspring which turned out to be in very good shape requiring just a clean and relube. The trace isn't perfect by any means, but compared with other Russian watches that I have played with (and with it's starting trace), it's pretty good. There is still a hint of a periodic variation that I may investigate at some point but for now I shall just wear it and enjoy it. And here it is on the wrist after a bit of a cosmetic brush up. These are available with many different dial designs, apparently this one is referred to as a "SCUBA Dude". I have worn it for two days now and it has gained about 5 seconds a day so there is a little fine tuning to do to get it right "on the wrist". All in all I'm very pleased with this one. I had been curious about the Amphibia for some time having read a couple of articles detailing its history and design. It also has quite a large following of avid enthusiasts who rate it for both value and robustness. On the value front I can't complain with this one as the total cost to me was just £11 (including the donor). As for ruggedness only time will tell, but the performance so far is very impressive.

Hi everyone - just wanted to wish all members a happy Christmas holiday and hope you all have a great 2016. :)

So for putting a watch in beat at least what you're supposed to see I've attached some images. There's a drawing showing what you're trying to achieve pallet fork between the banking pins. Then images from other watches where you can see the pallet fork and the banking pins. As far as seeing the roller jewel that is almost impossible except in the one photograph which has no hairspring. The roller jewel is so close to the center the of balance the hairspring covers it up normally unless you can look in a sideways angle your almost never going to see it. Then for Seiko watches the problem is there just isn't enough space to look in. Then there's a picture of the movement of the 7S26. Which is quite common with a lot of the Seiko's there just isn't any room to look. Then there's the other problem there's nothing to look at there is no banking pins. On a lot of modern watches banking pins have been replaced either with the pallet fork bridge machined to serve the purpose of banking pins or the main plate. So as you can see from the picture of the balance wheel removed and just the fork there is no way to visually see this at all from any angle. This is where you absolutely have to have a timing machine.

I will rather build a new unit myself for 15£ then buy one for 8£ as it is much more satisfying

Thanks for the encouragement. No, the cousins will get no money from me this Christmas, I have plenty of parts. Truly disappointed by Seiko this time. They put no oil where it was needed, but left a lot of dirt around. Getting there...

7S26 and family do not have banking pins. For the sake of simplicity they are replaced by shoulders on the main plate.

Greetings, and Happy Holidays! I'm sure you'll find lots of info here that will be helpful in recovering your watch.

Nice very nice. Reminds me of a Rolex GMT I owned for a few years.

Got any spare Omegas for a poor old soul who only has a couple? Signed, Will Cratchit :D

Try these guys. I know perrinwatchparts used to supply new barrels http://www.perrinwatchparts.com/cat_name/clock_parts.aspx http://www.ycbclocks.co.uk/index1.html?lang=en-uk&target=d114.html&gclid=CK66o7i-mbsCFZHItAodlSwA2g http://www.clockworks.com/clock-parts/clock-parts.html

Search forRetro Buler Swiss Century 2000 Wrist Watch Blue Face Stainless Jump Hour AS IS on ebay. I think its the same casing. Measure yours and ask them to measure theirs. Although it will have a different name on the front [emoji20]

Interesting, you're starting out almost the same way I did. I took apart an inexpensive quartz novelty watch (not as nice as your Invicta) to change the battery, the watch fell apart and the hands came off. I bought tools to replace the hands, then, before you know it, I'm servicing mechanical movements and having a great time! Well, there was stuff in between, but it has all been fun :-) Welcome!

Hi watchhobbyist, Welcome to the forum. Ronda 5040.D is a 150/90/26/20 hands movement (the option without the big date at the bottom). -- Big date option ".G" = US$90, regular date = US$53 (approximate common prices ) -- So, your hand setting tools should accommodate those measurements in order not to "over push" them. Otherwise the small hands could be in the way of the main hands. When choosing your tools check out the hole diameters. Cheers, Bob

Welcome to the forum. Purchase one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beadsmith-Jewel-Setters-Pick-up-place-Rhinestones-Swarovski-Crystals-gems-etc/360791973719?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3D222e0cd974e742e99b266a6702b047b7%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D360791973719 for picking up the hand and placing it on the arbour, then use one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Value-Watchmakers-Watch-hands-presser-pusher-tool-repair-hand-fitter-press-set-/191454537303?hash=item2c93946657:g:xO8AAOSw7ThUlEvA for gently pressing it in position.

Hi Roland, welcome to the forum. First of all I would strongly advise that you don't attempt to service your Rolex yourself until you have successfully stripped down and rebuilt a few other, less valuable movements. Probably the biggest challenge when you first start out working on watches is simply handling and manipulating the small parts without losing them. You are likely to encounter screws as small as 0.5mm (that's the screw driver size too not the thread size) so practice in handling parts on this scale is essential before tackling high value watches. The essential tools that you'll need are decent screw drivers, good tweezers, a movement holder, and a loupe. You will also need a case wrench that will fit your Rolex when you come to tackle that. A timegrapher is not essential (at least not to start with) but is nice to have, however you do not need to spend a fortune. There are some very good computer programmes out there which are available for free (look for Watch-O-Scope or Biburo to name a couple). New main springs don't require a winder as they are supplied ready wound in a washer, you just push them into the barrel. Lubricants are expensive though, even for the 2ml pack sizes, but they will last you for a lot of watches. The most important attribute though is patience, you will need that in abundance. You will certainly get all the advice you need here.

Thanks Geo, here is the secret to my lighting; eBay item #121337832210 It was a birthday present to myself at the beginning of March to use on my microscope. However a quick cobbling together of a suitable adapter and it now also fits my camera, providing enough light to permit hand held macro shots, so no more tripod on the bench. The wifey bought me cycling gear as she says that I spend far too much time sat on my fat backside fiddling with watches and I ought to do something to keep my circulation going!! I will spare you the photos of high vis lycra :thumbsd: