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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/03/16 in all areas

  1. Just fixed a 1965 Chevrolet Clock for a friend's dad. He gave me three old ones and asked me to build one. I jumped in and did it. A solenoid pulls back a trigger that is spring loaded and the energy is then passed to the gears just like a pocket watch. The palate fork is two wires that are working like jewels on a normal palate fork. Smart design. Have a look. https://vimeo.com/194127151 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    2 points
  2. Nice job! Glad you found your click spring. You probably passed right by Pearland if you came down IH45 to Galveston. We're only about 25 or 30 miles from Galveston. I'll be interested to know what watch you tackle next. I haven't done much yet. My son is building me a little apartment behind his house and we don't quite have it done, so I'm "chompin' at the bit" to get my little workshop area set up. Right now, I can only change batteries and adjust bands and stuff. When I get set up, though, I'll have what I need to fully service a watch.
    2 points
  3. Just a wee reminder to everyone. Please do not make any posts that either directly or indirectly constitute a sales advert, as it contravenes the long established forum rules and it will be removed. Thank you.
    1 point
  4. Put down your hammers and back away....Just kidding . Some members have stated thar's how they service Timex Watches . I picked up this Timex Electronic , back-set , front loader at the swap meet for $8 . It wasn't running and had an AG10 battery still installed , but with no visible damage to the movement . This one has the M87 movement with the date . This is a late 60's model called " The Blue Nebula " with a West German movement that was produced by the Laco watch company that Timex acquired when they bought Durowe-Laco at the end of 1958 to get into the electronic watch arena ..... http://electric-watches.co.uk/makers/laco/ I got home from the swap meet , opened the watch up and installed a new battery . The watch would only tun for a minute or less . I did some reading on this movement and started to disassemble it for a service . If you have ever tried to service a Timex you know why the hammers are used . I got as far as taking off the magnet and then the balance and then a voice from above said , " don't do it . Don't go any further "...so I didn't . What I did do was to clean and tighten any electrical contacts that I could reach , and put a light oil on any jewels and bushing in reach and assembled the watch again . At that point it would tun for an hour or two , and stop . I would shake it and get another couple of hour worth of run time . I left the watch under a light bulb for a while and it ran for approx. 24 hours . Back to the light bulb treatment that I may patent and the watch has been running for 5 days now and actually keeping very accurate time .....Honest . I had a watchband in my stash but have had to file some areas where the lug area of the watch was binding . I still have to smooth and buff those areas so it has a better finish .
    1 point
  5. My name is Shirley. I have been fascinated by watch repair since the sixties. My father was a watch repairman for over fifty years in San Antonio, Texas, USA. He was a railroad watch inspector for Southern Pacific Railroad back when they used to have their watches inspected. That was before quartz watches. He worked on a lot of Hamilton, Illinois and Elgin pocket watches. When Bulova Accutrons came out, he worked on a ton of those. In fact, he wore a Railroad Accutron for many years. For a decade or so, he did watch repair by day (in my uncle's jewelry shop) and worked on the railroad at night. Eventually, he retired from the railroad and bought the jewelry store from my uncle and did watch repair full time. When he got older he developed Parkinson's and his hands became too shaky to repair watches. I bought his tools and thought I might try my hand at it, but it wasn't as easy as my father had made it look. I decided to take a watch repair course, but didn't get very far before my father became too ill and I had to quit and move back home to help take care of him. In the course, I had learned just enough to strip me of any false confidence I may have had. I can take a basic watch apart and put it back together... I don't promise I could repair it. But I'm dragging the tools and a few old watches out and trying my hand at it again. Mark's videos have given me back the confidence to try. I really look forward to interacting with any fellow watch repair friends here. I hope not only to learn a bit, but maybe share a bit of what I learn also. I will definitely take photos...
    1 point
  6. Hi everyone! Jesse here. I'm from Sydney, Australia. I've taken up a new hobby fixing watches and have been doing basic battery replacement and hand restoration for friends. It's a rewarding experiencing tinkering with watches and knowing that you're able to successfully fix stuff albeit minor. I hope to hang around the forum as I try to learn more of the trade. Thanks so much everyone. Jesse
    1 point
  7. Well done JD, you should be well pleased with the result!
    1 point
  8. So I did it. Replaced my first balance staff. I also change the impulse jewel on this watch so it was quite the adventure. In the end, truing the balance was the toughest job. And when I had it all together the balance just touched the center wheel when turned upside down. So I needed to true the balance again whole attached to the balance cock. Just noted where it was touching and muscled it with my fingers.https://vimeo.com/194183442 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  9. Thanks. It was tough but interesting Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  10. Mahalo Shirley , That's the right attitude...
    1 point
  11. Love the photos! This little clock movement has such an interesting look to it. Congratulations on the repair!
    1 point
  12. Hi HurleySG , It has been keeping very good time and doesn't stop any more . It must have been my advanced technique of putting it under the lightbulb and getting all those electrons going . Probably convinced the old lube to cooperate too. Keeps on tickin'....
    1 point
  13. very nice job. auto clocks and pannel (aircraft) clocks are also a good hobby. since that era of US auto clocks were not sealed in the dash board very well, go easy on the oil or grease as it attracts dust and dirt which is usually what stops them.
    1 point
  14. Looking like an old pin lever movement? Great job
    1 point
  15. Viennese Regulator Wall Clock for Parts/Spares. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Viennese-Regulator-Wall-Clock-for-Parts-Spares-/381849929904?hash=item58e80788b0:g:PLoAAOSwux5YKxJO No its not. It’s a wall clock with a German spring wound movement and is nothing like a Vienna Regulator. I know its only £30. Here is a Vienna Regulator
    1 point
  16. No your watch will be ok, as you said you have oiled the bottom. It isn't good to flood the pivots ether.
    1 point
  17. Its surprising what you find behind a clock dial. These types mainly have electric faults or the movement wears out due to lack of oil and grease, they love grease and I don't mean the film.
    1 point
  18. Hello Shirley, what a wonderful introduction. I'm retired and have been for many years, I had around 30 years with watches and clocks. I concentrated on high grade clocks which I still love today. Looking forward to your input.
    1 point
  19. Hello Shirly good to have you here and it's good to see your having another go. Mick
    1 point
  20. I recently serviced this Jardue with a valjoux 72 movement. I had intended to take more pictures but watch was in very bad shape and I got involved in repair a bit more than I thought I would. Watch did not run at all when I first got it but with a bit of manipulating I got it going except for when I engaged the chronograph. There were several things wrong with the watch. It had been serviced before by someone who thought that the more oil you use the better, it was soaking. Then the trigger for the hour recorder was bent, the hour recorder hand was floating around in the movement and the chronograph coupling clutch was hitting on the pillar wheel which prevented it from engaging chronograph runner wheel properly. By that I mean that when you engaged the chronograph the clutch would hit on the edge of the pillar wheel which prevented it from touching the eccentric next to its mounted wheel. Anyway I thought I would post what pictures I did take in case they could be of use to anyone. Watch is running now after a service and keeping good time. One thing that I enjoyed about this watch is the chronograph plate itself. It is engraved "Pilgrim Electric" I'm still trying to find where battery goes. Maybe it took a drop cord.
    1 point
  21. Welcome Shirley! You'll get plenty of help from everyone here....and Mark's videos are exactly how I've learned to do everything from simple pin lever escapements, to the valjoux 7750 chronograph. I've only done one chronograph, but I did manage to get it working perfectly. I've only recently started working on Pocket watches and just finished a nice 1899 Waltham movement in a hunter case. I believe you have the distinction of being the first woman to become an official member of WRT. Welcome and look forward to your posts! Regards, JC
    1 point
  22. Hi, Fellow Texan! I'm in Pearland (south of Houston) Where in North Texas are you? I might have a click spring for that Helbros, I have some old Helbros parts. It may take me awhile to find it, but I'd be happy to take a look. Let me know if you still need it...
    1 point
  23. The hour recording mechanism was actually pretty easy to deal with. Several springs but they didn't want to jump away. I did have an issue with one of those parts though. If you look at the third picture you will see that there is a part that pivots to engage the hour recording wheel itself. Underneath the right side there is a shaft that extends through the movement and is allowed to move when the chronograph is activated. This shaft was bent and hit on the side of the hole in the mainplate and would prevent the wheels from meshing so the hour wheel would not run. I of course didn't think to check on that before putting watch back together and had to take the dial off and figure out what was wrong. When I was researching the watch I saw were one like it sold on ebay about two weeks ago for about $3700. It's a pretty nice watch but I didn't understand that bidding. I see where I messed up the name earlier-I'm bad about that sort of thing. Watch is a Jardur instead of Jardue. As I've gotten older I think my fingers have gotten fatter.
    1 point
  24. Welcome Yorkie enjoy the forum. Be aware this can become very addictive.
    1 point
  25. I will have a look for the crystals you mentioned this weekend...
    1 point
  26. I haven't worn my Bulova Precisionist for, probably, over a couple of years. It's been sat in a case, along with others of my collection, ticking gently away. Anyway, I thought I'd get it on the wrist today - what with the clocks going back an hour this weekend. I took it out of the case and checked the time against the atomic clock - it was exactly, to the second, one hour fast. In other words, though not changed to compensate for changes in BST and back over two years or so, it had otherwise kept completely accurate time. The second hand is sweeping as smoothly as you would expect from a Precisionist. I think that's pretty good, and also a tribute to the Bulova brand. This is one of a very few quartz watches that I own and, I have to say, it's a beauty.
    1 point
  27. Here is a pick of a Timex that belonged to my wife's uncle years ago. It was missing the crown and the movement wasn't working. Oh yea it was also missing the seconds hand. I replaced the crown and seconds hand from a donor watch and the movement had a broken screw that I was able to replace. The only movement that I have actually taken completely apart and put back together is a 22r belonging to a ladies Helbros but I am waiting for a donor click spring before putting it back in the case.
    1 point
  28. Unless you know a friendly watch maker that will give you some oil your best bet is Cousins if you are in the UK, but be prepared for a price shock. You won't have much change out of £70 just to get the basics. Have a look at this thread for more information. http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/83-lubricants/
    1 point
  29. This piqued my interest into "how so accurate?"". Interesting article here: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/clocks-watches/bulova-precisionist3.htm . [This is a multi-page article so I've referenced the page that goes into some of the details of the special steps Bulova took].
    1 point
  30. Hello Clayton, I have two Omega's ( Omega Constellation Calendar 504) similar to your grandfather's watch and I had a hard time finding the right crystal. Because of trial and error I have two crystals that might work for you: One is a genuine Omega that measure 29.4mm and the other is an aftermarket crystal that is intended for Omega and measures 29.6mm and has a round cyclops window. Both are unused but packages opened (as I said...trial and ERROR!) If these are right for you, we can work something out. I see that O Frei wants $72.00 for the same crystal--its unconscionable! Just PM me. J
    1 point
  31. i just joined , glad to see no sales, !!
    1 point
  32. Padi Turtle finally arrived. Yup it's a big watch. I'm migrating towards smaller vintage watches but I just had to get this one. Very weighty. I'm very impressed with the standard bracelet with solid end links and the little diver's extension but I had to remove 5 links to get it on my 6.5" wrist.
    1 point
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